Auto supplier Contech LLC files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
by Alex Nixon | Kalamazoo Gazette

PORTAGE, MI — Local auto supplier Contech LLC has filed for federal bankruptcy protection citing weakness in the automotive industry for its financial problems, the Portage-based company announced Friday.

Contech, which employs about 65 workers at its Portage headquarters and operates nine plants in four states, said it will reorganize its operations under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

“The move, which was made with the support of Contech’s key customers, will make it possible to relieve Contech’s strong underlying operations from significant debt obligations, sell certain non-core operations and address the unprecedented low volumes in the North American automotive industry by rationalizing its operational cost structure,” the company said in a written statement.

Contech is a metal-part casting company that supplies the parts automotive and heavy truck industries. It leases in the Trade Centre office complex in Portage. The company was acquired in 2007 by New York-based private equity firm Marathon Asset Management from Charlotte, N.C.-based SPX Corp. for $146 million.

In its statement, Contech said it’s “conducting normal business operations, and remains focused on serving its customers.”

It expects to use interim financing and cash flow from operations to continue making parts and paying employees, the company said. The company employs a total of 1,000 workers.

“This action is an integral part of our ongoing efforts to restructure Contech and meet the challenges of the automotive industry going forward,” Morris Rowlett, chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement.

“Over the past year, we have faced the same challenges many of our competitors and colleagues in the automotive industry have faced resulting from significantly reduced production levels at our largest customers,” Rowlett said.

The company said its United Kingdom operations aren’t affected by the bankruptcy filing.

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