Wilmington-based PolyQuest Inc. has announced a new joint venture and acquisition of the former DuraFiber Technologies facility in Grover, stopping the impending closure of the plant and retaining 90 jobs.

PolyQuest and Straterra Holdings announced the formation of Fiber Innovators International LLC – a joint venture between the respective companies – that acquired the Grover facility, according to a news release. The joint venture company took over the facility on Oct. 1. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. 

Huntersville-based DuraFiber Technologies announced in July that it was closing its manufacturing facilities in Grover and Salisbury, and with it, eliminating a total of 462 jobs in the state. A total of 89 workers would have been affected by the permanent closure of the facility, along with another 373 employees at the facility in Salisbury, according to state WARN layoff notices.

At the time, officials with DuraFiber said the move was part of a series of initiatives to lower production costs in response to increased competition in the textile industry, as well as a thorough review of strategic alternatives. The facilities were set to close if a buyer was not identified by Sept. 11.

PolyQuest CFO Randy Bragg said Wednesday that the plant has continued to operate through negotiations and the joint venture's purchase of the facility.

“The former DuraFiber plant was slated to cease operations had it not been for the asset sale. By the fact that we were able to successfully negotiate the purchase, approximately 90 jobs were saved in Cleveland County,” Bragg said.

“It is certainly our intent that this will be a long-term investment and a long-term manufacturing facility,” he added.

The facility has 75 manufacturing employees, with 15 others in executive, administrative and managerial positions, Bragg said. The company is maintaining the current employment base with no immediate plans for expansion.

The investment by PolyQuest and Straterra provides stability and supply continuity to the existing customer base as well as long-term employees at the Grover facility, officials said. When asked about the plant in Salisbury, Bragg said, "The other plant in Salisbury did close, and we have no immediate interest."

PolyQuest is a distributor of virgin PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and a manufacturer of recycled PET, Bragg said. The Grover plant, which produces medium and high tenacity industrial polyester filament threads, will be a customer of PolyQuest, he added.

PET is the clear and lightweight plastic used around the globe to package foods, beverages, personal care products and other consumer items, according to the PET Resin Association.

Fiber Innovators International's Grover facility has a long history of manufacturing polyester filament and is the only remaining facility in the nation making unique filament for certain technical applications, officials said. The Grover plant's filament capacity is used to supply both domestic and international customers.

PolyQuest will be a significant supplier of raw material to the Grover facility, which provides growth to the company's base business, Bragg said.

"The investment in Grover will provide additional diversification to our portfolio of available products, which will open opportunities to new markets and industries," Bragg said.

PolyQuest maintains its corporate offices in Wilmington but no production facilities in North Carolina. National the company has two PET resin production facilities and seven distribution sites across the nation. PolyQuest has 135 employees total, of which 18 are in the Wilmington office.

Straterra Holdings is a limited liability company made up of former key executives of DuraFiber Technologies.

"We are pleased that we have been able to consummate this deal with Straterra Holdings and plan for additional investments in Grover," John Marinelli, CEO of PolyQuest, said in the release. "Strategic customer relationships and retention of our excellent employees are two of the primary keys at Grover.

"We will be able to secure many manufacturing positions at the Grover facility in Cleveland County. Our workforce has the skills and talent to produce highly engineered filament that has been and will remain a standard in the industry. We plan to support the growing technical needs of our key accounts for many years," he added.

Established in 2000, PolyQuest's mission is to provide a comprehensive cost competitive supply portfolio of virgin and recycled PET resins in North America, according to the company's website. The company offers resin catalogs serving every major-end application for PET including bottle, sheet, strapping, compounding, film and fiber, the website states.