Washington business park terminates OTR tyre plant talks

ERJ staff report (TB)

Ephrata, Washington State -- The commissioners of the Port of Ephrata voted unanimously on Sept. 20 to terminate further negotiations with Washington Tire Corp. (WTC) related to the sale of 98 acres of Port property, where WTC had purported to build an OTR tyre plant.

The commissioners' action in a public session comes after WTC's failure to respond to the Port's request to provide documentation that would establish the legitimate incorporation of Washington Tire and the legal authority of Abraham Hengyucius to bind WTC as its president.

The Port said it had requested this certification after discovering that Mr. Hengyucius signed all legal documents relating to the sale as Abraham Hengyucius, while his legal name is Hengyu Zhang.

The Port had granted WTC an extension of its initial deadline for this information to Sept. 1 at the request of WTC´s legal counsel, but as of Sept. 20, the Port said it had received no response from WTC or its legal counsel.

Mr. Hengyucius first floated the idea of building a plant in Washington in 2007, but his connection to the Port of Ephrata surfaced in October 2008 when American Tire Corp. - a predecessor company to WTC -- took an option on a 96-acre plot of land at the port.

Throughout the three years since first proposing the plant, Mr. Hengyucius has estimated its cost at anywhere from $200 million to $1 billion.

The Port said it is “disappointed that this project did not come to fruition, but believes this vote produces a result that is in the best interest of our community.”

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)