Permission Sought to Sell Glass Plant's Equipment in Pittsburgh, Pa

Margaret Good, the court appointed chief operating officer of the company, has asked the court to retain an auctioneer, Rabin Worldwide of San Francisco, to sell the plant's fixed assets, including production equipment.U.S.Bankruptcy Court Judge Bruce McCullough is scheduled to entertain the motion at a hearing on May 23.

Good said yesterday that she was still discussing a sale of the plant with two potential buyers, but that none had yet made an offer to buy the facility and restart it.

"I wish we had a buyer that was going to restart the plant," she said. "Some things just aren't meant to be."

But Good said an auction would not preclude any potential buyers from making a bulk bid for assets necessary to restart the facility, which suffered substantial damage in flooding in September.

If the court approves the motion to hire Rabin, Good said an auction of the assets would likely be held in the first or second week of August.

That would give the auctioneer enough time to advertise the sale in trade publications.

The Meridian Group, the management company headed by Good, has sold inventory of glass products to buy down debt. She said Rabin had guaranteed a minimum of $1 million for the equipment.

"We're still trying to sell, to get the plant restarted, but right now, we have not come to a point where that is a feasible option," she said. "We continue to solicit buyers but no one has stepped forward and made the commitment yet."

Good also said she was soliciting offers from brokers to sell the plant's real estate, located in the Glenshaw section of Shaler.

A broker should be chosen within the next few days, she said.

Glenshaw Glass closed in November, idling about 300 employees, after Good was unable to quickly find a buyer following the court-order ouster of former owner John Ghaznavi.

The company was originally put under court-appointed receivership at the request of PNC Financial Services Group, a mortgage holder. The case was transferred to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March at the request of unsecured creditors.