Horsehead Holding Corp. and its affiliated companies, including Ellwood City-based Inmetco, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, Feb. 2. According to published sources, Horsehead missed a $1.9 million payment and saw its stock drop more than 90 percent.
Horsehead Holding Corp. is based in Pittsburgh and owns seven affiliated facilities, including Inmetco, a battery recycling plant.
In a press release on Jan. 22, Horsehead announced it was temporarily idling its zinc plant in Mooresboro*, N.C. The plant opened in June 2014 after Horsehead shut down a facility in Beaver County.
A press release on Feb. 2 announced that Horsehead and “certain of its subsidiaries commenced voluntary restructuring.”
According to the docket information, the subsidiaries that filed a petition for bankruptcy are Horsehead Corporation, Horsehead Metals Products, LLC., The International Metals Reclamation Companyc, LLC. (Inmetco) and Zochem Inc.
Roughly a year ago, EllwoodCity.org published a Horsehead press release announcing the company was expanding its Inmetco facilities with a $10 million dollar project.
Regarding the bankruptcy, Jim Hensler, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said: “The actions we are announcing today represent an important step that we believe will allow us to restructure the Company’s balance sheet for the long-term. Filing for Chapter 11 protection is the best available option to preserve stakeholder value. We intend to emerge with increased financial flexibility and a capital structure that will enable us to invest in growing our business.”
More about Chapter 11 bankruptcy can be found here.
Correction: Mooresboro was incorrectly named Moorhead.
I wss downsized from Inmetco almost 15 years ago.It is a shame that the ones who were left to operate the place didn’t have a clue.