Canadian company buying LaFayette business

Randy Phillips, owner and president of Phillips Bros. Machine Co. sits next to a a 14-ton press designed to shape steel in this 2012 file photo
Randy Phillips, owner and president of Phillips Bros. Machine Co. sits next to a a 14-ton press designed to shape steel in this 2012 file photo

A Canadian maker of equipment for the solid waste industry plans to buy a LaFayette, Ga., company that had filed for bankruptcy, and it aims to at least double the existing workforce.

Phillips Consolidated, a subsidiary of Quebec-based Labrie Enviroquip Group, is to pay a little more than $1 million for Phillips Bros. Machine Co., attorneys said Thursday. Phillips Consolidated is not related to Phillips Bros. president Randall Phillips.

"We're happy with the outcome," said Jerrold Farinash, a lawyer for Phillips Bros.

Also, the Canadian company has purchased the Phillips Bros.' Walker County, Ga., manufacturing facility, said Larry Brooks, who heads the county's development authority. That site, which for many years made Blue Bird school buses, was bought for $3 million, he said.

Brooks said Phillips Consolidated wants to add 50 people immediately to the 90 or so who work at the local facility.

"They're a strong company," he said.

Cara Alday, a lawyer for Phillips Consolidated, said the company wants to continue to run the existing business as "an ongoing concern."

"They're excited about being here in Walker County," she said. "They hope to bring more jobs to Walker County."

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Shelley D. Rucker said during a court hearing in Chattanooga that she plans to sign an order approving the sale.

photo Randy Phillips, owner and president of Phillips Bros. Machine Co. sits next to a a 14-ton press designed to shape steel in this 2012 file photo

Labrie says its clientele ranges from small and large private companies in the waste-hauling sector to municipalities.

It offers equipment such as side, rear, and front loaders, as well as liquid waste equipment and compactors, for the collection of residential and commercial refuse and recycling materials. Company brands include Labrie, Leach, Wittke and Pendpac.

Phillips Bros., a machining, welding and fabrication business that serviced the waste sector, sought bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Court filings showed it had liabilities of $3.5 million versus assets of $1.8 million.

Farinash said he talked to 20 to 30 people about the business. But, he said, only Phillips Consolidated wanted to keep it as an ongoing venture and he asked the judge for approval of the sale.

Brooks said Phillips Consolidated is paying cash for the business and the property. He said that while he hated to see Phillips Brothers' bankruptcy, the new company will mean greater stability for current employees and more jobs.

He said the new business is a competitor to Heil Environmental, which was a big customer of Phillips Brothers.

Labrie Enviroquip, in addition to its operations in Canada, has facilities in Wisconsin and in California. Labrie is a part of the larger Myers Power Products Inc., headquartered in Ontario, Calif. Myers engineers and makes medium- and low-voltage electrical equipment.

About three years ago, the development authority issued about $3 million in industrial revenue bonds to buy the LaFayette property and then lease the site to Phillips Brothers, which expanded its business to the 271,000-square-foot facility.

Blue Bird was once one of Walker County's biggest employers, but it shut down the bus-making operation in 2010.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

Upcoming Events