A Columbus company that is more than 100 years old and employs more than 250 people has sought assistance from an investment banking firm to sell its business.
Sanderson Plumbing Products filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court last October, according to an online federal database. Court documents state that the company owes more than $2.8 million in unsecured claims to creditors. Heritage Equity Partners last week released a statement saying it had been retained by Sanderson Plumbing to seek a sale of its business and assets.
The company’s main operation in Columbus is joined by a second, smaller facility in Butler, Ala. The Columbus location is a 360,000-square-foot building on 30 acres along Tuffy Lane. The company manufactures toilet seats.
In 2012, Beneke Magnolia, led by CEO Tom Whitaker, acquired Sanderson Plumbing Products.
Sanderson produces woodflour plastic and vinyl bathroom seats. Woodflour is made from wood waste with resin under heat and pressure, according to the company.
Heritage Equity Partners Managing Director Fred Cross said in the release that this development provides the firm an opportunity to acquire a long-running company and broaden the scope of products it currently produces.
“They have a strong, cost-efficient work force in place,” Cross said. “This is a significant opportunity to not only expand the company’s current market share, but also utilize their excess injection molding and woodflour molding equipment to make new products in any number of different industries while broadening the company’s current distribution channels.”
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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