Company collapse
The company went into liquidation in 2009,[26] after it failed to pay finance on A$60 million worth of debt. The receivership was handled by McGrathNicol, with Ferrier Hodgson representing the company, and the company continued to trade throughout the process.[27] At the time it had 8 subsidiaries, some producing garden hose, Esky Coolers, film and plastic car parts and water tanks.
There were a number of reasons for the company's collapse. The company was competing with cheap Asian plastic imports. In the BTR and Austrim eras, the company had expanded exponentially, but this had cut down profit margins. The company also, under Alan Jackson, had moved into purchasing businesses in loss making sectors, including textiles, which were suffering huge downturns at the time. The company owned major iconic Australian brands but was unable to use them to generate cash to sustain the company.
The company had benefited from water tank arm of its business, which had received subsidies because of a drought, but when the drought broke Government subsidies stopped, and then tanks started being imported from Asia. In additions, the hard times in the car industry affected Nylex's car part business. The company had seen write downs for many of its businesses and had been supported by people like Kerry Stokes who had helped the business while others had pulled out. In addition to this, the 2008 financial crisis took its toll on the company.
At the time of collapse, it owed A$100 million to creditors. Some of the businesses were sold on at the time of collapse.[28] Esky coolers, a popular brand of lunch cooler, was sold to US company Colemans[29][30] Most of its industrial/commercial real estate was sold off, much of it being turned into residential apartments. The large Mentone site, which had previously housed 1000 workers, was sold off for part commercial, part residential, though a heritage protected Nylex sign remains.[31]
