Court orders Hero BX into receivership

U.S. biodiesel producer and distributor Hero BX has been ordered into receivership June 4 after being sued for more than $6.1 million by Siena Lending Group for defaulting on a loan, according to court documents obtained by Biobased Diesel Daily®.

Compass Advisory Partners was appointed the receiver by Susan Paradise Baxter, a judge for the U.S. district court of western Pennsylvania.

Hero BX owns biodiesel production assets in Pennsylvania, Alabama and Iowa, as well as a distribution center in New Hampshire and property in Illinois.

“It’s unfortunate for sure, but a sign of the times and a measure of the health of the industry at this point,” Chris Peterson, president of Hero BX, told Biobased Diesel Daily®.

Peterson said he planned to meet with the receiver June 9-10 to discuss the process.

“But at a high level, our plant assets are going to be sold off in the near term to settle our debts,” Peterson said.

“We’ll see what happens from there,” he added.

Although the U.S. biodiesel industry is currently struggling due to federal policy uncertainty, other sources have suggested this is not the reason Hero BX is in this position.

Hero BX is one of several companies owned by Samuel “Pat” Black, who founded Lake Erie Biofuels doing business as Hero BX in 2005.