JOC Staff | Jan 12, 2013 2:12PM EST
Auto processor FAPS Inc. has completed a recapitalization and signed an amended lease with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey through 2024, the company said.
Earlier this year, the port authority drew down the company’s $2.4 million security deposit to cover back rent and fees after FAPS encountered financial problems it blamed on the recession and disruption to U.S. auto imports from the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
FAPS processes about one-third of the vehicles handled by the port. The third-generation family owned company, originally Foreign Auto Preparation Services, was founded in 1956 by John LoBue.
Today it employs approximately 250 at a 120-acre terminal at Port Newark that includes more than 500,000 square feet of processing centers.
“The auto processing business has been and remains an important employer in our port, and we are pleased that FAPS has received a significant investment from Seacoast with a goal of assuring stability for years to come,” said Rick Larrabee, the port authority’s director of port commerce.