Three of those plants are on the west side of Michigan. Two factories are in South Haven and one is in Spring Lake.
But finding a buyer will be a challenge. Loans in the auto industry have been difficult to obtain, and deals for automotive assets have fallen apart in recent months.
Noble said it would like to sell the plants by May 31, when a bankruptcy loan it expects to receive soon will run out. That loan, totaling $10 million, has yet to be approved. The company still must negotiate with its lenders and customers, who are providing the loan.
Meanwhile, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Phillip Shefferly granted a $2-million loan Friday that will enable Noble to continue its remaining operations through next week.
The auto supplier has seven plants in the United States and employs 1,000 people.
Noble's largest customers, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, moved laser-welding work out of the company's four other plants, including one in Warren.
Noble, whose largest shareholder is steel giant ArcelorMittal SA, reported sales of $374.2 million from continuing operations last year.
This week, Noble's CEO Tom Saeli and Chief Operating Officer Frank Sovis left the company.
Contact JEWEL GOPWANI: 313-223-4550 or jgopwani@freepress.com
To see more of the Detroit Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.freep.com Copyright (c) 2009, Detroit Free Press Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index