DALLAS TWP. – Facing the loss of jobs and the end of Coates Toners, three company executives bought the business from its parent owner, Sun Chemical, last month.
The deal announced Thursday saved 30 jobs at the manufacturer of toner for copiers, laser and digital printers on Country Club Road.
Four additional positions could be created as Coates transfers equipment to make color toner from a division Sun closed in the United Kingdom in December, said Paul Clothier, chief executive officer of the local operation.
“We’d love to be able to install that by the middle of the year,” he said Friday.
Clothier, chief marketing officer Larry Berti and Jim Collins, chief financial officer, teamed up for the management buyout. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The management team worked with the law firm of Rosenn Jenkins & Greenwald and Pennstar Bank to make the deal happen, Berti said.
“They came to our side and supported us,” he said.
As a result Coates is in the hands of local owners. Berti is from West Pittston. Collins, a Scranton native, lives in Nanticoke. Clothier, a native of the UK, lives at Harveys Lake.
Sun, a worldwide leader of printing inks and pigments, wanted to focus on its core business and had the option of liquidating Coates or selling it for a good price.
“We’ve been working with Sun since August,” Collins said.
The three executives have years of experience with Coates, a well known name in the industry. “We didn’t want to see that name disappear and we didn’t want to see people lose their jobs,” Clothier said.
Plus the business is profitable, said Berti. “We’re looking at every bit of $10.5 million in sales for this year,” he said.
Berti said management believes it can increase sales by 10 percent to 20 percent next year.
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