Bankruptcy judge approves sale of Jasper Rubber assets, restart planned
Bankruptcy court approval cleared the way for Press-Seal to buy Jasper Rubber for $8.03 million and try to restart the Jasper plant this summer.
A bankruptcy judge cleared the $8.03 million sale of Jasper Rubber assets, opening the door for a restart at the Jasper plant and a possible return of jobs to Dubois County. The deal gives Press-Seal Corporation, a Fort Wayne-based company owned by the Skinner family, control of a long-running manufacturer that shut down day-to-day operations in March.
The sale was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after a hearing in Houston. Jasper Acquisition Co., LLC, the Indiana buyer backed by Press-Seal, said it plans to restart production at the Jasper facility this summer and rehire former employees. Press-Seal has said Jasper Rubber will continue under its own name, preserving a 77-year-old local brand that had been in danger of disappearing from West First Avenue.
Court filings said the transaction included the Jasper facility, equipment, inventory, contracts, permits, intellectual property, the Jasper Rubber brand name and manufacturing know-how. First Brands Group, LLC kept cash, accounts receivable and unrelated assets as part of the bankruptcy case. The proposed sale price was described as $8.03 million in cash plus the assumption of certain liabilities, and filings said the buyer first expressed interest as early as March 2026.
The plant’s closure put up to 345 jobs at risk. A WARN notice dated Feb. 27 warned workers that about 345 employees could lose their jobs if the plant closed, and later filings said operations were expected to end April 30. First Brands halted day-to-day operations at the Jasper site in March, deepening uncertainty for suppliers and customers tied to the Dubois County factory.
For Jasper and the wider county economy, the approval marks a decision point rather than an ending. If Press-Seal can move quickly enough to bring the plant back online, Dubois County could regain a manufacturing employer with deep local roots and restore at least part of the production network that was disrupted when the shutdown hit earlier this year.
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