Robotic Process Systems Inc., of Liberty Lake, has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the second time in just under six years that the manufacturer of specialty equipment for the electronics industry has sought protection from creditors.


In its Jan. 23 Bankruptcy Court filing, the company reported that its assets and debts both were in the range of $1 million to $10 million. The filing lists secured and unsecured creditors with claims totaling about $1.2 million.


Jess Baker, president of Robotic Process Systems, which is located at 23301 E. Mission, says the manufacturers new financial woes partly are related to its previous Chapter 11 reorganization, from which it emerged in late 1997.


As part of a plan to strengthen the company following that experience, Robotic Process Systems spent about $1 million developing two new product lines, he says.


Then the market turned down just as we were starting to introduce these things, so we got hit twice, Baker says. I guess were between a rock and a hard spot.


The company has cut its work force to about 20 people, down from 50 a year ago, he says. In its filing, the company said it had revenue of $5.4 million in its fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2001, and revenue of $2.5 million for the first eight months of its current fiscal year.


It now is looking for additional investors, and Baker says, We have several companies that are looking at us as an acquisition. He adds that the Chapter 11 filing will help position the company for a rebound if no buyer emerges.


In addition, the reorganization petition stays several legal actions that have been filed against Robotic Process Systems, two of which are collections and a third that alleges breach of contract, court records say.


Some of the creditors the company listed in its filing have been carried over from its previous reorganization, which called for a three-year plan to pay off creditors. Although all of Robotic Process Systems secured creditors received full payment through that plan, a portion of the unsecured creditors still havent been paid, Baker says. We went a long way toward that (full payment), but we havent finished, he says.


The companys 20 largest creditors include the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and Intermountain Machine, L&M Precision Fabrication, and Wesco Distribution Inc., all of Spokane. In addition, both Baker and Alan Cable, who cofounded Robotic Process Systems with Baker, are listed as significant creditors.


Baker says he and Cablewho also were creditors in the earlier Chapter 11 filing, but who Baker says received nothing in that reorganizationhave been throwing our own personal money into the company since it began to falter.


The companys downturn was caused by the rocky U.S. economy, he says. Robotic Process Systems customers are Fortune 500 companies, and everybody has turned down to some degree, he says.


Still, he says, the two product lines introduced after the companys first reorganization have been successful.


One, a soldering system for electronic components, was growing around 40 percent per year, he says, but that growth wasnt sufficient to overcome other difficulties.


The other new product line is a laser-marking system that can be used by manufacturers to stamp identification numbers on parts permanently, he says.


Robotic Process Systems was founded in 1985 in California, and moved to Liberty Lake in 1993.