Experienced executive now on board

Directors of Westmoreland Coal Co. have named an executive with a long history of leading corporate restructuring initiatives to a newly created seat on the company's board, the Colorado Springs-based energy company announced Wednesday.

Michael D'Appolonia is president and chief executive of Kinetics Systems Inc., a Durham, N.C.-based specialty mechanical contracting company with more than 2,000 employees and annual revenue of about $400 million. He also is a director of Exide Technologies Inc., an Atlanta-area manufacturer of vehicle batteries, and a former director of Washington Group International Inc., which was sold to URS Corp. in November.

D'Appolonia has "an in-depth operational knowledge of complex business situations, including operating companies in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings," according to his biography on the Web site of Nightingale & Associates LLC, a Connecticut-based consulting firm he heads that specializes in underperforming companies. The site goes on to say that he's worked on consulting assignments that included "troubled company turnarounds, operational and financial restructurings, business viability assessments, divestitures and asset recovery management."

"I am very pleased to have a person of such broad-based executive and board experience join our Board and believe Mike's knowledge will be of great value to our Board as it guides our company forward," said Westmoreland Chairman Keith Alessi. He did not respond to an e-mail seeking further comment.

Last month, Westmoreland refinanced the debt of its mining units with $150 million in loans and lines of credit that will end the company's cash crunch and provide additional funds to upgrade its mines. The refinancing completes a restructuring begun 14 months ago that included selling off contracts to manage power plants, buying out a partner in a mine, refinancing debt, slashing overhead expenses and restating financial results

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