Local manufacturing company shuts down months after planned expansion
A manufacturing company that announced a $3 million expansion in March last year is now in bankruptcy proceedings and will soon be up for auction.
Brandon Ruppe, associate director of Cleveland County Economic Development Partnership, said they were notified by Mafic USA the company would close effective Monday, Oct. 31, 2022.
“Unfortunately, a series of technical issues compounded with financial constraints forced Mafic USA to cease operations to establish a restructuring plan,” Ruppe said. “The company was unable to restructure, and all assets are now in receivership.”
He said the county agreed to an incentive once taxes were paid timely.
“The county only paid out this grant one time in the 2019 tax year and has not paid anything else since,” Ruppe said.
In a release, Iron Horse Auction Co. announced it would be conducting a two-part auction on Aug. 22, for “virtually all assets of Mafic USA LLC.”
Assets include a state-of-the-art basalt production facility spanning 45,780 square feet, property, and all machinery and equipment related to the production of basalt fibers, platinum, and rhodium sleeves/loose metals, as well as the inventory of basalt rocks and basalt fibers.
The release states North Carolina Business Court appointed Richard S. Wright of Moon Wright & Houston, PLLC as the bankruptcy trustee for Mafic USA LLC on May 11, 2023. He entrusted Iron Horse with the execution of an orderly liquidation process.
“It is a great honor to represent the bankruptcy trustee in this very important transaction,” said Will Lilly, an executive at Iron Horse. “We believe that the customized, orderly liquidation process presents a rare opportunity to acquire a basalt plant that could be operational much faster than a startup project. The facility is a truly state-of-the-art basalt fiber production site that has already piqued the interest of international parties active in the industry.”
For more information about the sales process, visit ironhorseauction.com/auction/mafic-68144/details or call 800-997-2248.
Mafic USA is the U.S. unit of privately held Mafic Inc., which was founded in 2012 and is based in Ontario, Canada. The company is a part of a global producer of continuous and chopped basalt fiber, as well as long fiber thermoplastic resins. Mafic products are shipped to buyers in the automotive, aerospace, alternative energy and numerous other industries.
According to Mafic’s website, it is the only producer of continuous high quality basalt fiber in the U.S., and its production facility in Shelby was “set to be the largest such facility in the world.”
The company initially received $13.1 million in loans from the Rural Development department of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to a 2020 Star article. In an announcement by the governor in 2016, Mafic promised to bring 113 jobs and invest $15 million.
Located on Metrolina Drive near Greenheck and other industries, the company began production in July 2020.
Cleveland County received a Building Re-use grant of $500,000 on behalf of Mafic in 2021.
“All requirements of the grant were satisfied including job creation, and the grant was closed out,” Ruppe. “This required no matching funds from the county, and the county acted only as a pass through for the state funds.”
As far as employees, he said many of them were able to transition into other manufacturing jobs.
“While closures are always unfortunate, we are currently in a tight labor market meaning there are plenty of jobs to go around,” Ruppe said. “I know that many of the displaced employees from Mafic transitioned into other local manufacturing companies.”
Any former Mafic employees still seeking work can reach out to the local NC Works Career Center located at 404 E. Marion St., Shelby, 704-480-5414.
Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Local manufacturing company shuts down months after planned expansion
