CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A family-owned
North Carolina-based manufacturer
is calling upon the federal government and governors from five
states to probe the reasons why a Chinese-owned company has failed
to pay its debts and review its investment practices into foreign
owned businesses.
Charlotte, N.C.-based
Industrial Piping, Inc. (IPI), a leading manufacturer of custom
fabricated process equipment for the industrial marketplace, wants
both federal and state officials to open investigations as to why
the Chinese government has been allowed to use federal bankruptcy
laws to shield its assets, but refuses to pay debts when it has
hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank to settle with its
creditors.
IPI officials were advised that Hoku Corporation (OTC: HOKUQ)
and two of its affiliates filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
July 3, using American-based
bankruptcy laws to avoid settling debts owed by China. Contractors in five states, including
North Carolina, Idaho, South
Carolina, Alabama and
Utah, are owed huge sums of money
after they built a Pocatello,
Idaho polysilicon plant in good faith.
On July 5, IPI filed a complaint
with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) related to the
multi-million dollar debt owed by Hoku and its parent corporation,
Chengdu, China-based TIANWEI New
Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. (TWNE). TIANWEI is operated by key
Chinese government officials and had revenues of $44 billion in 2011.
Another American contractor – JH Kelly LLC – announced in
August 2013 it is also taking its
fight against Hoku and TIANWEI to federal court to be reimbursed
for its losses. JH Kelly also filed RICO (Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act) and fraud charges associated with this
matter against Hoku in August
2013.
TIANWEI owns a majority stake in Hoku and is one of several
large companies controlled by the government of China. As of today, Hoku/TIANWEI owes at least
$100 million to various U.S.
companies for work and goods furnished in good faith without
pay.
"Hoku/TIANWEI currently has – at minimum – an estimated
$100 million approved and available
in Chinese banks to be paid out on their Pocatello project. IPI is entitled to be
paid for all the services that we provided, and we believe IPI will
prevail in the courts on this outstanding debt," said T.J. Bucholz, IPI spokesman. "While we will
remain strong as a company, this debt cannot be allowed to remain
unpaid. State and federal authorities must address these untenable
issues, as part of their responsibility to us and all
American-owned businesses."
Bucholz also said that while these debts incurred by TIANWEI and
the Chinese government remain outstanding, the Obama Administration
awarded a contract and continues to pay Hoku hundreds of millions
of dollars for a project in Forest
City, Hawaii, a community
that recently flipped the switch on a 1.23-megawatt solar farm for
military housing on Oahu at a
United States Naval base.
Despite asking questions behind the scenes to state and federal
officials, IPI has not received satisfactory answers to even basic
questions associated with these unscrupulous business practices,
Bucholz said.
IPI has not been paid for months of work for Hoku's polysilicon
plant in Pocatello, Idaho, which
included engineering, project management, fabrication, procurement
and construction services.
IPI fabricates and installs industrial manufacturing equipment
and piping systems, custom modular process plants, automatic fire
protection, and also provides engineering services. It
employs approximately 300 employees and teamed with an additional
group of sub-contractors on the Pocatello project that represent an additional
700 employees and a total of $50
million in completed, but unpaid, work.
Hoku has inspected and approved the completed work, but
executives at the company's Chinese parent refuse to pay. In the
complaint, IPI alleges that it provided materials, labor and other
construction services to build the Hoku polysilicon plant.
Polysilicon is used to make solar photovoltaic cells in solar
panels and in electronic devices.
About Industrial Piping, Inc.
Industrial Piping, Inc. ("IPI") is one of the leading mechanical
construction, fabrication, and fire protection companies in the
Southeast. IPI was founded in December
1945. Headquartered in Pineville,
North Carolina, the company is divided into three operating
divisions: Process Mechanical Construction, Automatic Fire
Protection Systems and Custom Fabrication of Vessels and Skid
Mounted Process Equipment. IPI serves industrial and
commercial enterprises in the chemical, oil and gas, food /
agricultural, polysilicon, and other industries. For more
information, please visit www.goipi.com.
About TIANWEI New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd.
(TWNE)
TIANWEI New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. (TWNE) is an
affiliate of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC), a
global 500 company. The TIANWEI Group is a leading enterprise in
the power transmission industry, and has the biggest transformer
plant in the world.TWNE has 6 subsidiaries, including Hoku
Corporation. (NASDAQ:HOKU).
About Hoku Corporation. (NASDAQ:HOKU)
Hoku
Corporation (NASDAQ: HOKU) is a solar energy products and services
company with three business units: Hoku Materials, Hoku Solar, and Tianwei Solar USA. Hoku Materials manufactures, markets and
sells polysilicon for the solar market from its plant currently
under construction in Pocatello,
Idaho. Hoku Solar markets and
installs turnkey photovoltaic systems and provides related
services. Tianwei Solar USA
markets and sells photovoltaic modules manufactured by Tianwei New
Energy. Hoku Corporation is a majority owned subsidiary of Tianwei
New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. For more information, visit
www.hokucorp.com.
Hoku, Hoku Solar, and the Hoku
Corporation logo are trademarks of Hoku Corporation, and Hoku
Materials is the trademark of Hoku Materials, Inc., all rights
reserved. All other trademarks, trade names and service marks
appearing in this press release are the property of their
respective holders.
SOURCE Industrial Piping, Inc.