Key Bank Sells Assets of Failed Baby-Clothing Maker in Fort Kent, Maine

The sprawling Kent Inc. facility, buildings, real estate and assorted personal property of the bankrupt company, were sold Monday morning at auction to the Northern Maine Finance Corp. for $460,000.

Duane Walton, corporation vice president, was the only bidder at the auction called by Key Bank, holder of the mortgage on the real estate of the baby clothing manufacturer. The deal will be closed within 45 days.

Within six months, the corporation will in turn sell the property, buildings and personal property inside the buildings to the town of Fort Kent.

NMFC is an equity corporation administered by Northern Maine Development Commission that secures funding from government programs for equity investments.

Kent Inc., a baby clothing manufacturer with a more than 40-year history in Fort Kent, closed its doors two months ago in bankruptcy. The company, which had 185 employees during the summer of 2002, saw its contracts sold to a Chicago company, which moved the contracts to offshore manufacturers.

"The opportunity presented itself for this project with the town," Walton said after the sale. "We will be working with the town to raise funds for the purchase.

""We have been working with the town on multiple fronts to raise grant money for the town to purchase the property," he said. "It will ultimately be owned by the town."

Walton said the objective is for the town to own buildings which can be used for job creation for the local workforce. It is the town's objective to find manufacturers to lease space in the building.

Ownership of the buildings, which total 138,610 square feet, went to Key Bank which has held a mortgage on the buildings since March 26, 1998.

The auction sale was conducted in the offices of the buildings by Catherine Alexander, a Portland attorney representing Key Bank.

The two, light-blue, steel buildings are located on a 6.6 acre parcel of land in the Fort Kent Industrial Park on Route 1, just west of town. The front building also includes a brick addition in the front where administrative offices are located.

Creative Apparel Associates of Belfast leases some of the space in the building. The company manufactures Kevlar jumpsuits for the military. It was said Monday that more than 30 people are working for the Belfast company at Fort Kent.

"We have had a couple of inquiries about leasing space in the building," Fort Kent Town Manager Donald Guimond said after the sale. "We are working with them to try and bring jobs here.

"It may take a few months or more to make anything happen," Guimond said.

In the meantime, Northern Maine Finance Corp. has 45 days to finalize the sale with Key Bank. Prior to the auction, NMDC officials were checking the building, including the roofs of the structure.

During the sale negotiations, Walton raised the issue of the possibility of lost or stolen personal property in the building since Kent Inc. closed. He negotiated a deal in which the locks on the building could be changed Monday afternoon. The town became caretakers of the building until the sale is finalized.

Personal property, equipment, tools, machinery like air conditioners, refrigerators, desks, shelving and even curtains, made up about 25 percent of the value of the building, according to Walton.

There also was talk between Walton and Guimond that local police may look to find personal property that has been removed from the building.