SteelNews.com Article
PTC Alliance Employees Ratify New Collective Bargaining Agreements
Jul. 30, 2010 Employees at PTC Alliance facilities in Alliance, Ohio, and Darlington, Pa., have ratified new collective bargaining agreements.
The company said the new agreements — together with new accords that have already been ratified by employees at four additional facilities — will enable PTC Alliance to complete the sale of substantially all of its assets to funds managed by Black Diamond Capital Management LLC, which was authorized by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on April 21, 2010.
"These agreements enable PTC Alliance to execute our business plan and provide our customers with the highest quality products and services while ensuring all of our highly skilled union represented employees are compensated fairly," said Peter Whiting, the company's Chairman and CEO. "The modified collective bargaining agreements are essential to closing the sale and allowing the company to emerge from Chapter 11 as a stronger and more viable organization."
Employees in Alliance and Darlington ratified the new collective bargaining agreements after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved modifications to labor agreements with employees at the company's facilities in Richmond, Ind.; Fairbury and Dixmoor, Ill.; and Jane Lew, W.Va. The court ruling came on July 15, 2010.
"I'd also like to thank all of the union represented employees and their elected leadership for their role in reaching this agreement which will ensure the long-term survival and growth of PTC Alliance,” added Whiting. “This is now a business that people want to invest in, both in terms of our assets and our people, and we can be confident of our future.”
PTC Alliance and its U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on October 1, 2009 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The sale to agents of the company's credit facilities supported by funds managed by Black Diamond Capital Management LLC was authorized at a hearing on April 21, 2010.
PTC Alliance is a leading manufacturer and marketer of welded and cold drawn mechanical steel tubing and tubular shapes, fabricated parts, precision components and chrome-plated rod. The company's major customers include steel service centers, automotive and truck manufacturers, construction and agricultural equipment OEMs and machinery and appliance makers. The company operates eleven strategically located North American factories.