Wheland properties on auction block next month

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The property, plant and parts of bankrupt Wheland Automotive Industries are going up for auction next month, a move city officials hope will attract economic development.<br> <br> Houston-based Plant & Machinery Inc., the company hired by federal bankruptcy court to handle the liquidation, plans to begin a weeklong auction Sept. 10.<br> <br> &#34;This could be one of the biggest foundry auctions ever and perhaps our biggest liquidation sale this year,&#34; said Power & Machinery president Robert Jay Braman.<br> <br> Wheland filed for bankruptcy in November 2001 following a failed expansion and a sag in the automotive supply market. The company, which once supplied parts to half of all U.S. built cars and trucks, employed 2,000 workers in Chattanooga and Warrenton, Ga.<br> <br> Dozens of representatives from the real estate and foundry industry toured Wheland&#39;s properties last week. Both city officials and unsecured creditors hope someone liked what they saw.<br> <br> &#34;An auction of this size and type should attract a lot of bidders, and it is our understanding there is one, possibly two prospects, looking at trying to reactivate the foundry here,&#34; said Tom Ray, an attorney for the unsecured creditors.<br> <br> Ray and others, however, acknowledge that bidders probably will offer just a fraction of the $140 million in unpaid debts owed by the company.<br> <br> Sealed bids for Wheland&#39;s major properties will be opened the morning of Sept. 10. Groups made of lenders, unsecured creditors and Wheland representatives will review the bids and immediately award title to the winner.<br> <br> Hundreds of pieces of equipment will be auctioned Sept. 11-12, followed Sept. 13 by a public sale of office furniture and other equipment.<br> <br> Wheland&#39;s properties may qualify for faster depreciation and more tax credits because most of the 60 acres fall within the federally designated Renewal Community zone. A new company on the site could also earn additional employee tax credits.<br> <br> &#34;It certainly makes it attractive to somebody to buy an asset for less than market value, plus get extra tax credits for new investments or hiring downtown workers,&#34; said Amy Walker Cherry, director of economic development for Mayor Bob Corker&#39;s office.<br>

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