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South Jersey wind energy manufacturer files for bankruptcy after project cancellations
The company lost two major contracts and faces eviction from Paulsboro Marine Terminal. An administrative law judge also ruled it unlawfully tried to block unionization.
A South Jersey manufacturer of steel components for U.S. offshore wind power generation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the cancellation of two projects, a pending eviction action by the port operator and labor strife.
Paulsboro-based EEW American Offshore Structures and its affiliate EEW AOS Paulsboro Urban Renewal filed for protection on Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Both are subsidiaries of Germany’s EEW Group.
EEW manufactures monopiles — massive, single-cylinder steel pile foundations that are driven deep into the seabed to support offshore wind turbines — at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal in Gloucester County.
Scheduled assets and liabilities each fall in the $10 million to $50 million range, according to the bankruptcy filing. EEW said in the filing that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors. The German parent company owns 100% of the equity.
EEW's work was kickstarted in December 2020, when then-New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a $250 million investment to build monopiles for offshore wind turbines that will serve the entire U.S. offshore wind industry. Housed at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, the announcement held the promise of creating more than 500 high-paying jobs at full build out. Construction of the facility began in 2021 on approximately 70 acres leased from Holt Logistics Corp.
Charles Lamb, the company's CEO, said as political and economic tailwinds shifted, offshore windfarms that were heavily supported with public and private investments have been significantly curtailed under the Trump administration.
“EEW has been strategically pursuing a plan to maximize value for all stakeholders for over a year,” Lamb said in a statement to the Business Journal.
“Notwithstanding these good faith efforts, EEW has been under constant pressure, and the filing today will allow EEW to obtain a `breathing spell’ while allowing for the continued marketing of EEW’s assets to execute a value-maximizing transaction, to benefit all stakeholders.”
In its petition, EEW said it would file a motion with the Bankruptcy Court “seeking approval of bidding procedures to be used to facilitate the sale of all or substantially all” of the company’s assets through one or more sales.
The top creditors with unsecured claims are:
1. IRS - $2.2 million;
2. Paulsboro Waterfront Development - $1.69 million;
3. New Jersey Department of Treasury - $465,000;
4. Borough of Paulsboro - $187,802
The bankruptcy filing indicated there were between 50 and 99 creditors in all.
Tom Pratt of Applied Business Strategy LLC was retained by the company as chief restructuring officer. EEW’s attorney in the case, Brett S. Theisen of Roseland’s Connell Foley, could not be reached for comment Friday. Hilco Corporate Finance has been retained as financial adviser.
In 2023, Danish renewable energy company Orstead cancelled two projectswith EEW that would have invested $200 million into the manufacturing facility, citing rising interest rates, inflation and supply chain disruptions. Orsted ultimately agreed to pay the state of New Jersey $125 million for pulling out of the two wind projects.
In January 2025, EEW lost another project to supply monopile foundations to the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project when Shell withdrew from a 50-50 joint venture between it had with EDF Renewables.
Holt Logistics filed a lawsuit in Gloucester County Superior Court in October that sought to evict EEW from the facility — claiming it breached a lease agreement, violated state fire codes and federal labor laws. EEW denied the allegations in a counterclaim.
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