Oldenburg Group, which has a facility in Ontonagon, is selling its underground mine and defense divisions to J.F. Lehman and Company. Lehman is a private equity firm based in New York. Oldenburg has manufacturing plants in Ontonagon, Iron River, Rhinelander (WI), and a technology center in Kingsford.

While the financial details will not be released for a month, the agreement calls for none of the plants to be closed and none of the current employee have to be laid off.

The Ontonagon facility opened in 1979 as Upper Peninsula Shipbuilding Company. UPSCO built an integrated tug/barge system for the State of Michigan. UPSCO then sold the building to Wedtech in 1981. Wedtech closed in 1986 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Oldenburg facility in Ontonagon was closed for a number of years, and re-opened with a small staff.

The Ontonagon plant is at the end of the Downtown District and located on both the Ontonagon Harbor and Lake Superior.

Representatives from the Oldenburg Company had not responded to the sale by press time.