Some Boomerang Tube assets to be auctioned

Boomerang did not respond to requests for comment. 

Equipment, inventory and other significant parts of the company’s operations are on the auction block. The equipment includes two weld mills and two heat-treat lines, as well as about $5.8 million worth of coil and $21.7 million worth of finished goods from its Southern Tube LLC (STL) and Liberty operations in Texas as well as outside yards, according to the prospectus. 

The coils weigh 7,104 tons and the finished goods 15,181 tons, according to the document. 

The reason for the auction was not disclosed, but Boomerang was recently listed as a significant creditor – owed $5.31 million – in the bankruptcy of energy pipe distributor Eagle Pipe LLC.

Boomerang filed for Chapter 11 protection in mid-2015, emerging in early 2016. 

The Chesterfield, Missouri-based company, which started operations in 2010, can make 400,000 tons of OCTG and line pipe annually in Liberty; the purchase of STL in mid-2018 increased its finished alloy tube production to almost 400,000 tons per year.

It also diversified its product offerings to include seamless tube and third-party processing of green tube.

Boomerang appointed a new chief executive officer, Jim Tregenza, in May, according to a statement. He was most recently general manager at US Steel in the tubular business and has served as senior vice president of operations at Stupp Corp and chief operations officer at former US tubular producer TMK Ipsco.

Fastmarkets’ latest price assessment for steel OCTG API 5CT – Casing J55, fob mill US stands at $890-950 per ton, compared with $950-1,025 per ton a year ago, amid a slump in oil and gas market activity due to the impact of the coronavirus.