ARLINGTON — After attracting more than $40 million from outside investors, MicroGreen Polymers, a hot, up-and-coming clean-tech company, suddenly closed its doors Friday.
The company, which at one point employed more than 100 people, did not respond to voice mail messages and emails on Monday. But the main phone number is answered with a recorded message: “We have ceased operations and are closed until further notice.”
Demand for MicroGreen’s eco-friendly InCycle Cups — insulated disposable cups made from recycled materials — seemed to be booming.
The company, which was founded in 2002, was supplying the cups to several airlines. And it had raised $17 million from investors in the past two years to pay for expansions to keep up with orders. Those backers included the Stillaguamish Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde in Oregon and trash and recycling giant Waste Management.
“Our investors expect big things from us — it’s go-time,” MicroGreen CEO Tom Malone said in a statement last year. “Production is running 24/7 on our existing lines, while we’re also managing the construction site and training new employees.”
The company had also gotten backing from members of Element 8, a Seattle-based group of angel investors. They do due diligence together but it is up to individual members to invest in a company, said Kristi Growdon, the group’s executive director.
Representatives from MicroGreen gave Element 8 members an update in December.
Growdon, who was at the meeting, said the company at the time seemed to be OK.
Company executives were talking about expansion in January when Gov. Jay Inslee toured the facility in Jensen Business Park near Highway 9.
One reason for Inslee’s visit was so MicroGreen execs could express support for expanding Highway 531 to make it easier for the company to ship larger volumes from their facility, said Jaime Smith, a spokeswoman for Inslee.
Even an attorney representing MicroGreen in an ongoing lawsuit said he didn’t know the company had closed until hearing about it secondhand Monday. The litigation was filed last year by an investment bank that alleges that the company owes it fees from investment money raised in recent years.
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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