Walker-based Taylor Tooling Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Walker-based Taylor Tooling Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Taylor Tooling Group’s location at 4303 3 Mile Road NW in Walker

WALKER — Taylor Tooling Group LLC, a CNC machining company and tool and die maker, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Walker-based Taylor Tooling Group is seeking bankruptcy protection while attempting to restructure its business to respond to a severe loss of profit, according to filings on Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan.

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James “Jim” Taylor, a managing partner of Taylor Tooling Group, said in an affidavit filed with the court that the company has “significantly reduced its workforce” while refocusing sales on “a more profitable sector of operations.” The company intends to use the provisions of Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize and to pay a percentage of unsecured claims owed to vendors, he said.

According to court filings, the company has $1 million to $10 million in liabilities and $500,001 to $1 million in assets. Taylor Tooling Group estimates that it has between 50 and 99 creditors.

Taylor owns a 50-percent interest in Taylor Tooling Group, with the remaining interest held by Thomas Taylor, Jr.

The bankruptcy filing comes after “a series of forbearance agreements” with the company’s primary creditor, Harbor Springs-based First Community Bank (FCB) — the most recent of which extended the maturity date of a loan to Feb. 23, 2019.

Taylor Tooling Group owes FCB approximately $364,016 for a secured loan.

After receiving the loan from FCB in 2014, Taylor Tooling Group’s manufacturing business continued to decline, leading to a loss of $2 million in gross sales between 2017 and 2018, according to Taylor. In response, the company laid off employees and attempted to consolidate its business, per court filings in the case.

Taylor believes “the liquidation of the company with the attendant loss of employment and any chance for payment to unsecured creditors is unacceptable,” according to the court documents.

Additionally, the court documents indicate that Taylor Tooling Group owes approximately $184,000 in tax obligations to the federal Internal Revenue Service, the state of Michigan, and the city of Walker.

Much of Taylor Tooling Group’s remaining debt is owed to other companies in the region. Among the top unsecured creditors are Walker-based Precision Wire EDM Service Inc. ($81,973), Walker-based Midway Machinery Movers LLC ($19,500), and Grand Rapids-based Ajacs Die Sales Corp. ($15,134).

A meeting of creditors in the case is scheduled for 2 p.m., April 24 at the U.S. Trustee’s office.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge Scott Dales is presiding over the case. Taylor Tooling Group is represented in the case by Grand Rapids-based law firm Keller & Almassian PLC.

Neither the law firm nor executives at Taylor Tooling Group responded to requests for comment at the time this report was published.