CIRCLEVILLE, OH – A local business that has been in business for over 30 years has shut its doors after being hit with a catastrophic financial blow. PCC Refrigerated Express, founded in 1983 and relocated to Circleville, Ohio, in 2019, was forced to close after a $615,000 unpaid debt owed by a middleman hired by Sofidel, an international paper manufacturer in Pickaway County Ohio.
The company, which had grown to employ 60 people across a variety of positions, from drivers to office staff and mechanics, was a part of the local economy. Owner Robert Perry Jr., who bought the business in 2009 after working there since he was 16 years old, expressed his frustration and disappointment with how the situation unfolded.
“I worked hard to build this company from the ground up,” Perry said. “We put over a million and a half dollars into the property and facility here in Circleville, and it’s heartbreaking to see it all taken away because Sofidel failed to stand behind the people they put in charge to handle their payments.”
The crisis began when PCC which had been working with Sofidel through a contracted middleman, found that payments for services rendered were not being processed. The middleman, identified as Cargo 24 LLC a company based in Illinois, was supposed to pay PCC, but the money never materialized. Instead, PCC was left with a massive debt of $615,000. The debt was linked to a series of financial missteps, including a tax lien of $90,000 against the middleman’s company that was discovered earlier this year.
Despite Perry’s concerns about the reliability of the middleman, he continued to work with Sofidel, trusting that they would ensure payments were made. However, as the financial situation deteriorated, Perry became increasingly alarmed, halting operations with the middleman by mid-July when the situation became untenable.
Perry described his interactions with Sofidel, saying that he had warned the company about the potential issues. “I told them I was nervous about this middleman, Cargo 24, and all the red flags that were popping up,” Perry said. “But Sofidel kept assuring me that everything was fine. They felt comfortable with the situation, and now here we are.”
The unpaid debt ultimately caused the company to shut down, leaving dozens of employees without jobs. Many of those impacted were locals from Circleville, Chillicothe, and surrounding areas, including drivers, office staff, and maintenance workers. Perry expressed his disappointment not only with Sofidel’s handling of the situation but also with the missed opportunities for local businesses.
“We were right down the road from them, just four miles away, and we never got a chance to work directly with them,” Perry said. “Instead, they trusted people with questionable backgrounds, and it’s a small business like ours that paid the price.”
As PCC closes its doors, Perry is left grappling with the aftermath of a devastating loss, not just for his business but for the employees who depended on it for their livelihoods. “It’s a sad day for our community, and it didn’t have to happen,” Perry concluded.
The loss isn’t just for the company according to Perry but to the community as well, “The staff buys food here locally, lunches sometimes dinner, we bought our company gear locally, it’s not a lot of impact but it adds up when it’s not there anymore.”
For now, the 60 employees of PCC Refrigerated Express are left to search for new opportunities, while the company’s closure marks the end of an era for a once-thriving local business in Circleville.
Perry says that he’s now in litigation against the company but it may be years before he sees the money that is owed to the company.
