Powermate Corp.

Power equipment manufacturer Powermate Corp. has filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to close its Kearney plant, eliminating about 200 jobs. Powermate said in its U.S. bankruptcy court filing recently that it owes between $50 million and $100 million to creditors, most of which are suppliers. The company is seeking Chapter 11 protection. It was not immediately clear how all of Powermate's operations would be affected by the filing because no one answered the phones at the company's Aurora, Ill., headquarters, and the company has not issued a statement. The company, which has plants in Kearney and in Springfield, Minn., manufacturers portable generators, air compressors and pressure washers. Sun Capital Partners bought Powermate, then called Coleman Powermate, from American Household in August 2004. In 2006, Sun Capital announced it was trying to sell Powermate, but that deal fell through.