Cerplex Group Finds Chief to Manage Restructuring

Cerplex Group Inc. said Tuesday that a turnaround specialist recommended by its bankers will take over as chief executive to guide the computer repair services firm through a restructuring.

Stephen J. Hopkins, a principal of Nightingale & Associates LLC, a Connecticut-based financial and management consulting firm, replaces Cerplex founder William A. Klein.

Klein, who remains chairman of the struggling firm, had been serving as interim chief executive since the previous job holder left in October.

Hopkins was not available for comment Tuesday but said in a prepared statement that his job is to direct efforts to overcome “difficult financial conditions for Cerplex operations in the U.S.”

The company, which overexpanded in the early 1990s, has been restructuring its U.S. operations for several years, selling some units and closing others as it tries to bring costs into line with revenue.

Cerplex lost $5 million in the first three months this year after posting annual losses of $27.4 million last year and $39.4 million in 1995.

Hopkins’ selection as chief executive follows the company’s June 27 announcement of a consolidation and cost-reduction plan in North America. The plan includes layoffs of 125 employees, or 16% of its staff of nearly 800.

Last year, the company cut 400 employees from its payroll, laying off 130 as it closed a Texas operation and sold an Orange County manufacturing operation with 270 workers to a Salt Lake City firm.

In the United States, Cerplex contracts with corporations to handle computer system repairs and provide parts.

The company said its European operations, which also are involved in conversions and adaptations of high-end copiers and other specialty equipment for businesses, are operating profitably.