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When Bedford business owner Chris Bass began working at therecently-sold Rubatex plant in the early 1990s, it was thriving and"entrenched in the rubber world," he said. The company on Railroad Avenue in Bedford was the biggest, if notonly plant, to go from raw chemicals to producing rubber andfinished parts, said Bass, a 12-year employee who served asbusiness unit manager for the engineered products division. The facility was once the city"s largest employer with morethan 1,000 workers and over the years made material for productsranging from wet suits to tires for toy Hot Wheels cars. "In a town this size, that means an awful lot," saidBass. "There were generations of families that workedthere." The plant"s closure in 2004 and loss of jobs jolted the area,and the city is seeking reversion to town status partly because ofits reduced economic situation. Whether Bedford becomes a town or remains a city, the Rubatexfacility is on its way to once again creating jobs, theplant"s new owners say. Gran Tee Investments LLC purchased the plant in March in abankruptcy auction for about $675,000. Trevor Ballou, company vice president, said in a recent phoneinterview that a big hurdle facing new ownership is restoring powerto the plant. He explained that a former owner had stripped the factory of wiringand sold off electric equipment. But Ballou said he believes theplant has much "potential." "It left a hole in the [rubber] industry that we hope tofill," Ballou said. The new company plans to have the plant up and running by 2013, hesaid, emphasizing that "it will be small in thebeginning." As many as a dozen jobs are expected, he said, with probably moreover time. He stopped short of an exact projection. Ballou and business partner Chet Mitchell formed Gran TeeInvestments in Virginia, but are based in California. "What we do want to keep our eye on is what we can be capableof in the future," said Ballou, adding he is optimistic aboutmoving forward. "It"s difficult to say what a cap willbe on this … we look forward to the opportunity to bringmore jobs to the area." Bass is among those who have moved on to new careers after Rubatex. His last day with the company, "along with a lot ofpeople," was April 1, 2004. A month later, Bass started a rubber-producing company in Bedfordcalled Protech Fabrications Inc., which has recently moved to thesite of the former Coffey & Saunders Farm & Hardware Storeon Macon Street. Most of his current customers were also customers when he worked atRubatex, he said. "Rubatex was fairly unique in a lot of products," Basssaid. "There were a lot of customers of mine who were goingto be left in the cold." He hired a few Rubatex employees whom he referred to as"walking encyclopedias" in terms of rubber industryknowledge. He said his phone has been "ringing off thehook" lately due to interest in the plant"s future. "There"s a lot of excitement with regards to jobs,without a doubt," Bass said. "There are a lot of peoplein town really happy to see the rubber side come back rather thansome other industry." He said he holds fond memories of Rubatex and what it meant to thearea. "A lot of smart people were associated with it," Basssaid. "It was a good place to be." Industry changes and overseas competition hurt the Bedford plant.He worked with the company through two bankruptcies. Harry Schickling, a Bedford County resident who had served as vicepresident and corporate secretary of RBX Industries Corp., theplant"s parent company, also said he believes the newownership will reap benefits for the area. "I was very pleased, in fact, that someone was willing toinvest in that infrastructure," said Schickling."They"ve got a lot of work to do on the infrastructure… I still think it would be a very positive contributor tothe local economy." Schickling is general manager of Fostek Corp., a company on BroadStreet in the city that has some workers who were also employed atRubatex. Most of the people who had worked at the plant are retiredand very few are left of working age, he said. Bass and Schickling each said that though they do not knowspecifics about the new owners" plans, they can agree aboutBedford"s potential. "The infrastructure is here with the knowledge, withequipment and facilities and a government that is familiar withrubber production," Bass said. "It"s a goodfit." Sedo Chemicals, a German-based company, and other investorspurchased the plant in 2004 after it closed and resumed factoryoperations on a lesser scale until another closure in 2010. Rubatex International LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy inSeptember 2010 and a year later requested to sell the property topay back creditors, according to court documents. The courtapproved the sale to California-based Mitchell Rubber Products,Inc. Ballou said he has traveled to Bedford and was impressed with thearea, which he described as a "very hospitable place to own abusiness." "Given our attitude and the local government," he said,"we are incredibly optimistic about its success.". I am an expert from alloysteel-forgings.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Forged Steel Shaft , China Steam Turbine Rotor, Forged Steel Shaft,and more.
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