Staff Report
Kyle’s Xtreme Power Inc., an energy storage company with facilities on Goforth Rd., has filed for bankruptcy according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman Monday. The company designs and builds energy storage and power management systems for wind farms, manufacturing companies and utilities.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. That status allows the firm to continue operations as it seeks an acquiring company.
In a written statement, CEO Alan Gotcher said, “I have no doubt new owners will find Xtreme Power an attractive acquisition, particularly given that we will be free and clear of
liabilities.”
Eric Schrock, who was Xtreme Power’s director of project engineering in this 2012 file photo, told the Hays Free Press that from 2011 to 2012, Xtreme Power doubled its revenue and “things are looking positive.” The firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in District court last week. (Hays Free Press file photos) | |
He added that the Chapter 11 filing was structured to allow one of the company’s creditors to file a stalking horse bid for the company, in the event that alternative bids during the Chapter 11 process prove to be insufficient.
In its heyday in 2012, Xtreme Power employed 285 people in Kyle and Austin. Today, the firm has 53 employees according to company officials, who also said layoffs are likely during the bankruptcy process.
According to the bankruptcy filing, Xtreme Power has $34,000 in cash in the bank and $10 million in debts, according to the tech site GigaOm.com. Some creditors listed include Arnel Investments, Spring Ventures in San Francisco, Horizon Batteries, which holds the license for the batteries Xtreme Power used, and the U.S. Department of Energy, which gave Xtreme Power a grant of more than $370,000 from the 1603 cash grant program.
Xtreme Power, founded in 2004, was funded by Sail Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners, among other investors. The company received a $2 million grant in 2007 from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
