Ousted Maine Poly workers may get some lost pay, bankruptcy trustee says

PORTLAND – The bankruptcy trustee overseeing the liquidation of plastic packaging maker Maine Poly says workers should be able to get at least some of their lost pay.

The 123 employees of the plant in Greene were not paid for their last week of work, accrued vacation or other benefits when Maine Poly closed July 6 with little notice and no offers of severance pay.

“I’m very optimistic employees will get something,” said attorney John Turner of Poland, who was named trustee of the Maine Poly estate after the company filed voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy on July 11.

At the time of the filing, the company estimated it had $9 million in assets and $13 million in debt.

The biggest of the 1,300 creditors includes General Electric Capital Corp., which is owed about $3 million; Textron Financial Corp., about $1.3 million; and UnitedKingfield Bank, about $700,000, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records.

Turner suggested there would be revenue available to pay secured creditors, other priority debts (such as property taxes) and wages and vacation pay for workers who lost their jobs.

Turner said his success would hinge on whether a company can be found that would buy the Route 202 plant, land and other holdings as a package.

“This is a large bankruptcy and obviously it is our goal to do the best we can in the liquidation process,” Turner said. “I would only repeat that our primary goal is to find a company to buy the entire operation.”

A Midwest company has shown interest in purchasing the business’s buildings and equipment.

“We all have the same goal; to get people back to work if we can,” said Greene Town Manager Steve Eldridge.

Maine Poly manufactured custom-made plastic packaging for everything from junk food to computers. Its plant and real estate is valued by the town at about $1.4 million, Eldridge said, while the personal property machinery and equipment is valued at $5.1 million.

The first creditors’ meeting in the bankruptcy case is set for Friday at the Lewiston Multi-Purpose Center.

Maine Poly is owned by JPB Enterprises, a Columbia, Md.-based investment, real estate and venture capital company owned by J.P. Bolduc, a Lewiston native who once ran W.R. Grace. Bolduc could not be reached for comment.

JPB Enterprises, a private, family owned holding company, also owns Crowe Rope, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That case is pending in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor.

Turner estimated that if all goes well, the Maine Poly liquidation process will take six to eight months.