WEBSTER CITY (KWWL) -
The plan was to bring some 300 new jobs to Webster City with a project to build electric cars at Auto Manufacturing Systems, Incorporated.
Instead, Auto Manufacturing Systems has filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Webster City is out 790-thousand dollars the city loaned the company for the ambitious project.
Owner Joe Fleming filed bankruptcy in Iowa's Southern District U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Des Moines. Chapter 7 usually means a liquidation of assets and not a reorganization of the company. Fleming's bankruptcy petition listed four businesses, including A.M.S.
With numerous skilled workers in the area, Webster City was banking on Auto Manufacturing Systems to fill a huge void left by closure of the Electrolux plant in 2011. The company was to build battery-powered cars with help from an economic development loan from Webster City.
The City will try to recover proceeds from the loan made to Auto Manufacturing Systems, Inc.