Pyrolyx USA places Indiana unit into bankruptcy, reviewing other businesses

Terra Haute, Indiana – Tire pyrolysis company Pyrolyx has placed its PLX Indiana unit into bankruptcy and is reviewing “the viability of its entities” following a failure to raise capital for a major restructuring plan.

The bankruptcy filing, on 28 Oct, followed the withdrawal of support by “cornerstone investors” for a plan to restructure company debt, said an investor update, issued by Stephen Roberts, director, Pyrolyx USA Inc. board of directors.

The plan included the restructuring of around $30 million in ‘senior debt’ secured against PLX Indiana’s Terra Haute facility and site, and a $10-million business recapitalisation, said the statement on Pyrolyx’s website.  

The recovered carbon black (rCB) production plant in Terra Haute has been shut since 23 March, following the imposition of Covid-19 lock-down measures in Indiana.

The investor’s decision left “the company with no option but to review the viability and longevity of its various corporate entities and operations,” the Pyrolyx USA director informed investors.

This process, he explained, led to PLX Indiana – owner of the plant and land at Terra Haute – being placed into bankruptcy via a ‘chapter seven (7) filing’. 

Pyrolyx USA is still “actively [reviewing] the continued viability of its entities and is in regular contact with our largest lenders to try and agree a pathway which would see some, albeit limited, value retained for shareholders.”

This, noted the statement, includes seeking to dispose of its ‘tyre shred’ business – PTR LLC & PTS LLC – via a trade sale to raise cash to help “stabilise PLX USA.”

ERJ is in contact with Pyrolyx headquarters in Munich, Germany, requesting information about the status of the company’s operations in Europe.