Summitville, OH, July 27-- Summitville Tiles is prepared to leave bankruptcy court protection with orders from some big-name customers, according to the Vindicator.
The Columbiana County-based tile maker has moved away from the residential tile market, which has been flooded with imports, and is focusing on its commercial products.
For example, the company's quarry tile is being used in all of the new KFC restaurants being built in China, said David Johnson, company president. One particular line of tile has a wood-grain look and durable quality that makes it popular among fast-food chains, including McDonald's and Burger King, he said.
Summitville Tiles filed its plan of reorganization this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Youngstown. Johnson said the plan has preliminary support from creditors and lenders and he expects it to be approved near the end of September.
The plan calls for financing from PNC Bank and Washington Mutual and lists how creditors would be paid. The company filed for protection in December with debts of $24 million and assets of $15 million.
The company employs about 250 people at plants in Summitville, Minerva and Pekin, which is near Minerva. Three years ago, it had 650 employees.
The trouble for the 92-year-old family owned company started in the 1990s when the rise in imports forced down tile prices. The company had just spent $18 million in 1990 to build a highly automated tile plant in North Carolina. The plant closed in 2001.
Johnson said the company has eliminated product lines that were most vulnerable to imports. Remaining products are more specialized, making them harder to duplicate, he said.
Besides China, the quarry tile is being exported to numerous countries, including Japan, Korea and Australia.
Another product Summitville Tiles is depending on is called thin brick. The half-inch thick brick has similar qualities of masonry brick but costs 20 percent to 30 percent less and is easier to install because it can be used in panels that are built away from a building construction site.
Thin bricks from Summitville Tiles have been used by Hilton, Home Depot and other big-name commercial accounts, Johnson said.
Future production also will include industrial floor brick, and the company is expanding its production of roofing tile, he said.
Key to these product lines is a $1.2 million equipment upgrade in Pekin, which is being funded with a low-interest state loan and grant, Johnson said.
The company must continue to invest in new technology, control its costs and develop strong marketing programs, he said.
