The idle American Tissue facility in Menasha, Wis., has hosted tours by five or six prospective buyers since its Hauppauge, N.Y.-based owner filed for bankruptcy last September.
"I think there's a deal in the works," said Dale Marcus, the executive vice president and partner in Kugman and Associates, the Chicago-based investment banking firm named interim plant manager.
Marcus declined to elaborate on reasons behind his optimism during an interview this week. Union officials say the plant was a moneymaker that was forced to shut down because of the bankruptcy, not because of inefficiency.
Fifteen salaried and 12 hourly employees remain on hand at the mill, said Scott LaRue, the human resources manager.
LaRue said customary human resources tasks along with the need to maintain a crew to lead potential buyers through the plant and maintain it have been demanding attention.
"The salaried staff is helping with the due diligence process, helping with the cost models and so forth. Then we're administering the COBRA, and medical and dental and 401k administration," LaRue said.
The potential buyers have been investment groups, LaRue said. Due diligence refers to a process in which each potential buyer evaluates the value of the facility, potential of the equipment and workers and all-around capabilities of the plant.
The mill is one of American Tissue's 28 domestic subsidiaries whose assets are all on the auction block. On Feb. 22, a group of creditors decided to shut down the town facility, idling the remaining 233 workers who were part of a bigger group who all had gradually returned to work since Sept. 10. The (Wis.) Post Crescent