Edgewater Steel files Chapter 11
Pittsburgh Business Times - by Christopher Davis
For the third time in little more than a decade, Edgewater Steel Ltd. is navigating through bankruptcy proceedings.
The Oakmont-based steel wheel maker filed Monday for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents.
Neither Edgewater nor lead counsel Mark Freedlander of the Downtown law firm McGuireWoods LLP were immediately available for comment. Details were unclear about the current Chapter 11 filing and how many of its 146 employees might be affected.
The company has battled financial problems for years.
For three years in the early 1990s, the company operated under Chapter 11. In 1997, Edgewater was purchased out of a second Chapter 11 proceeding through an employee stock ownership program, saving it from certain closure.
For four months that year, the company operated with four employees and no water at its headquarters. It was later purchased by The Reserve Group -- a Cleveland-based company with a reputation for buying and turning around failing manufacturing companies.
The Reserve Group installed James Smith as president and CEO of Edgewater in May 2000. Mr. Smith came to Edgewater from Ryobe Die Casting of Indianapolis, where he was president and CEO during a turnaround assignment that had then been completed.
Mr. Smith told the Business Times in an interview last year that before he decided to take the Edgewater position, he met with the company's managers, employees and union heads.
"I came away with the feeling that there is a group of people working here that went through (the reorganization) and are still optimistic," Mr. Smith said at the time.
"There was also a group of customers that stood by. I saw willing, long-term investors, a solid knowledge base, a partnership with workers and customers that were stable. You really had the makings of success."
According to the bankruptcy court filings, Edgewater plans to try to pay employee wages, salaries and benefits during the proceedings.
Mr. Davis may be contacted at cdavis@bizjournals.com.
Latest News |
