BOSTON (Oct. 28, 2009)—GPX International Tire Corp. has filed for bankruptcy, and the off-the-road and industrial tire maker and distributor already has two bidders as it moves to sell its distribution and manufacturing businesses.
Alliance Tire Co. (1992) USA Ltd. has offered to buy GPX's U.S. and South African operations, customer relationships, warehouse footprint, worldwide rights to the Galaxy and Primex brands and GPX's medium radial truck tire distribution business for $38.3 million.
A group of investors in Canada, including Dynamic Tire Corp. executives Robert Sherkin and Peter Koszo, has offered $23.9 million for GPX's stock interest in Dynamic, an indirect GPX subsidiary.
Malden, Mass.-based GPX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Oct. 26 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. The firm said it would auction its solid tire assets—listed as its solid tire plant in Gorham, Maine, a specialty wheel plant in Red Lion, Pa., and its pneumatic and solid tire plant in Hebei, China. GPX suggests a minimum bid of $9 million plus assumed liabilities.
GPX is listing these assets separately from the distribution and brand name rights being sold to Alliance Tire Co. (1992) USA Ltd. and 2220753 Ontario Inc., the latter a group involving Dynamic Tire Corp. executives Robert Sherkin and Peter Koszo.
GPX has asked the court to allow it to solicit bids for these assets to ensure an “orderly sale process and promote the maximum recovery for the Solid Tire assets,” according to court filings. The request includes permission to sell “any combination of the Alliance assets, Dynamic assets and/or the Solid Tire assets.”
GPX acquired the Hebei and Gorham plants in 2006, the latter in its purchase of Maine Industrial Tires Ltd. In 2008 it consolidated some solid tire production at Gorham from the Mississauga, Ontario, plant it was closing. GPX predecessor Galaxy Tire Co. bought the Red Lion plant in 1997.
The Solid Tire business generated sales of $66 million in 2007 and 2008 and is projected to produce $45 million this year. The business has 110 employees in the U.S., 20 in Canada and 1,282 in China.
Together the Gorham and Hebei plants have annual solid tire capacity of 20,000 tons.