Conn.-based Panolam Industries International, parent to Auburn’s Pioneer Plastics, a manufacturer of laminates, has reached a tentative agreement with shareholders to let the company shed $151 million in debt.
Panolam, which bought Pioneer Plastics in 1999, posted $121 million in net losses in 2008 and $10 million in losses for the first quarter of 2009, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as reported by the Sun Journal. Citing the downturn in the housing industry, Pioneer Plastics laid off 48 employees – about 16% of its local work force – at the Auburn plant in December.
Shareholders filed a default notice in February. If approved, the tentative agreement would allow the company to eliminate $16 million in annual credit payments, according to the paper.
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