‘Strong interest’ for collapsed SA wheelie bin maker
Trident Plastics administrators say there is strong market interest in acquiring the collapsed Adelaide firm which owes $52 million.
Photo: City of Port Adelaide Enfield.
Having fallen into administration in late June, Trident Plastics and sister company Tranmor Enterprises have since been up for sale, with interested buyers moving to the offer stage.
Revealed to InDaily by restructuring advisory firm Cor Cordis, the sales campaign for the St Clair-based maker of wheelie bins, rainwater tanks and more has “resulted in strong interest from the market”.
Administrators have requested an extension from the Supreme Court to progress detailed discussions while trading continues business as usual.
It was also revealed that $52,146,481 is owed to secured and unsecured creditors, including $3.5 million owed to staff of both Trident and Tranmor.
Cor Cordis also said that the combined companies have about $40 million in assets, including $26.5 million in equipment, $1.7 million worth of motor vehicles, and almost $6 million of inventory.
Trident appointed Daniel Juratowitch and Rachel Burdett of Cor Cordis in June, with the company citing manufacturing and supply chain challenges, the impact of COVID-19 and “unplanned and unexpected relocation costs” of a recent acquisition for its decision to call in administrators.
Trident Plastics is one of the largest custom moulders in Australia and was established in 1995 by founder and CEO Steen Saurbrey but plastic products have been made at the St Clair plant since the mid-1980s. Tranmor owns the Maxiplas business as a rotational moulding manufacturer.
The company is a supplier of wheelie bins to councils including Port Adelaide Enfield and Charles Sturt, with manufacturing conducted at its 30,000sqm St Clair site.
In 2020 it expanded its product suite to include rainwater tanks following the acquisition of Adelaide-based Maxiplas, which gave it access to large rotational moulding machines and additional injection moulding machines.
On its website, the company claims the likes of Climate Air Conditioning and Holden as clients, while it also boasts the “largest moulding machine in the southern hemisphere”. At the time of appointing voluntary administrators, Trident had approximately 160 employees.
