Hilex Poly in Hartsville announces agreement to restructure its debt

HARTSVILLE — Hilex Poly Co., the world’s largest plastic bag company, said Tuesday it has reached an agreement with its lenders to restructure its senior secured debt.
In a press release, the company said it is taking this action to reduce its overall debt significantly and strengthen its balance sheet.
In addition to a substantial reduction in outstanding debt, the plan will reduce annual interest expense and significantly improve cash flow.
To facilitate this agreement, the company has elected to file a voluntary, pre-packaged Chapter 11 reorganization, which will allow the company to finalize the restructuring of debt while continuing to operate, business as usual, and serve its customers.
This filing was made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware.
“Hilex undertook a comprehensive strategic review to evaluate all options for restructuring our balance sheet and, after careful consideration, determined that a pre-packaged filing was in the best interest of all our stakeholders,”  David Pastrich, president and chief executive officer of Hilex, said in a prepared statement.
“We believe the restructuring will enable us to invest more capital in the business and position Hilex as a more attractive long-term partner for our customers and vendors. We will continue to focus on our industry-leading environmentally friendly solutions including HED degradable bags, Bag-2-Bag in store closed loop recycling systems, and Enviro-Count rack technology.”
The filing will not impact day-to-day operations for employees, customers, suppliers and general business operations. It ensures that employee pay and benefits are fully protected, all current and future obligations to its customers are fulfilled, and that suppliers will be paid in full as part of this process, a company press release said.
Hilex Poly Co., is a manufacturer of plastic bag and film products.
The company headquarters are in Hartsville, and it has 11  manufacturing facilities across the United States, which includes the world’s largest plastic bag recycling plant.