13D Filing: Wynnefield Partners Small Cap Value LP I and Xerium Technologies Inc (XRM)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13D

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

XERIUM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

(Name of Issuer)

Common Stock, $0.001 par value

(Title of Class of Securities)

98416J118

(CUSIP Number)

(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

May 1, 2017

(Date of Event which requires Filing of
this Statement)

If the filing person has previously filed
a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition which is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because
of §§ 240.13d-1(e), 240.13d-1(f) or 240.13d-1(g), check the following box ¨

Item 1. Security and Issuer.

This Statement of Beneficial
Ownership on Schedule 13D (the “Schedule 13D”) relates to the shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the
“Common Stock”) of Xerium Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”). The Issuer maintains
its principal executive office at 14101 Capital Boulevard, Youngsville, North Carolina 27596.

Item 2. Identity and Background.

This Schedule 13D is filed by the Wynnefield
Reporting Persons.

(a), (b), (c) and
(f). The “Wynnefield Reporting Persons” are Wynnefield Partners Small Cap Value, L.P. (“Wynnefield Partners”),
Wynnefield Partners Small Cap Value, L.P. I (“Wynnefield Partners I”), Wynnefield Small Cap Value Offshore Fund, Ltd.
(“Wynnefield Offshore”), Wynnefield Capital, Inc. Profit Sharing & Money Purchase Plan (“Plan”), Wynnefield
Capital Management, LLC (“WCM”), Wynnefield Capital, Inc. (“WCI”), Nelson Obus and Joshua H. Landes. The
Wynnefield Reporting Persons that are entities, are each separate and distinct entities with different beneficial owners (whether
designated as limited partners or stockholders).

WCM, a New York limited
liability company, is the general partner of Wynnefield Partners I and Wynnefield Partners, each a private investment company organized
as limited partnerships under the laws of the State of Delaware. Nelson Obus and Joshua H. Landes are the managing members of WCM
and the principal executive officers of WCI, the investment manager of Wynnefield Offshore, a private investment company organized
under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Plan is an employee profit sharing plan organized under the laws of the State of Delaware.
Messrs. Obus and Landes are the co-trustees of the Plan. Messrs. Obus and Landes are citizens of the United States of America.

The business address
of the Wynnefield Reporting Persons is 450 Seventh Avenue, Suite 509, New York, New York 10123.

(d) and (e). During
the last five years, none of the Wynnefield Reporting Persons had been (i) convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic
violations or similar misdemeanors) or (ii) a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction
and as a result of such proceeding was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting
or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws.

Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or
Other Consideration.

The securities reported
in this Schedule 13D as directly beneficially owned by the Wynnefield Reporting Persons were acquired with funds of approximately
$7,009,740.00 (including brokerage commissions). All such funds were provided from the working capital or personal funds of the
Wynnefield Reporting Persons who directly beneficially own such securities.

Item 4. Purpose of the Transaction

The Wynnefield Reporting
Persons are compelled to file a 13D following an astounding chain of events that included
the release of first quarter 2017 earnings which evidenced clear signs that the challenging turnaround of the Issuer’s
operations had begun to take hold. This upbeat news was accompanied by the firing WITHOUT CAUSE of the architect of the turnaround
effort, Harold Bevis, and the installation of his replacement, Mark Staton, an individual with no apparent experience managing
a highly leveraged small capitalization industrial company. The Wynnefield Reporting Persons strongly feel that the Issuer’s
shareholders are entitled to a much more substantive explanation of this unexpected and, in the Wynnefield Reporting Persons’
view, extremely untimely action. Channeling Bert Lance, Jimmy Carter’s head of the OMB,“[I]f it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it.”

This abrupt action
was compounded by the Issuer’s Board of Director’s unethical decision to prohibit shareholders from participating in
the Q&A session on the first quarter conference call held the afternoon of May 1^st. During the Q&A session following
the conference call, only sell-side analysts, interested mostly in details relating to their own earnings models, were permitted
to participate. The shareholders, the Issuer’s true owners, who have their own questions, including what was the cost to
the Issuer of the WITHOUT CAUSE termination of Mr. Bevis, were left on hold. The Wynnefield Reporting Persons regard such a policy
to be an egregious violation of shareholder rights. Such restrictions deprive Xerium’s shareholders/owners from the collective
probing of the actions of the Issuer’s management, whom are employed by these shareholders. While providing exclusive access
to sell-side analysts to ask questions during the public conference calls, Xerium then allows selective post-call access to large
shareholders through “one-on-one” conversations. The dubious approach Xerium has chosen regarding its conference call
and selective shareholder communications policy is one, in our opinion, that deserves SEC scrutiny.

The Wynnefield Reporting
Persons will carefully examine and evaluate the behavior and performance of Xerium and its management as it determines a future
course of action.

Other than as set forth
in this Item 4, the Wynnefield Reporting Persons do not have any current plans, proposals or negotiations that relate to or would
result in any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D. The Wynnefield Reporting Persons
intend to review their investment in the Issuer on a continuing basis, and to the extent permitted by law, may seek to engage in
discussions with other stockholders and/or with management and the Board of the Issuer concerning the business, operations or future
plans of the Issuer. Depending on various factors including, without limitation, the Issuer’s financial position, the price
levels of the shares of Common Stock, conditions in the securities markets and general economic and industry conditions, the Wynnefield
Reporting Persons may, in the future take such actions with respect to their investment in the Issuer as they deem appropriate
including, without limitation, purchasing additional shares of Common Stock, selling shares of Common Stock, engaging in short
selling of or any hedging or similar transaction with respect to the Common Stock, taking any other action with respect to the
Issuer or any of its securities in any manner permitted by law or changing its intention with respect to any and all matters referred
to in paragraphs (a) through (j) of Item 4.

Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer.

(a), (b) and (c) As
of May 1, 2017, the Wynnefield Reporting Persons beneficially owned in the aggregate 947,100 shares of Common Stock, constituting
approximately 5.92% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock. The percentage of shares of Common Stock reported as being beneficially
owned by the Wynnefield Reporting Persons is based upon 16,010,059 shares outstanding as of June 30, 2016, as set forth in the
Issuer’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2016, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the “Commission”) on March 1, 2017.

The following table
sets forth certain information with respect to shares of Common Stock directly beneficially owned by the Wynnefield Reporting Persons
listed below:

WCM is the sole general
partner of Wynnefield Partners and Wynnefield Partners I and, accordingly, may be deemed to be the indirect beneficial owner (as
that term is defined under Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock that Wynnefield Partners and Wynnefield Partners
I beneficially own. WCM, as the sole general partner of Wynnefield Partners and Wynnefield Partners I, has the sole power to direct
the voting and disposition of the Common Stock that Wynnefield Partners and Wynnefield Partners I beneficially own. Messrs. Obus
and Landes are the co-managing members of WCM and, accordingly, each of Messrs. Obus and Landes may be deemed to be the indirect
beneficial owner (as that term is defined under Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock that WCM may be deemed to
beneficially own. Each of Messrs. Obus and Landes, as co-managing members of WCM, share the power to direct the voting and disposition
of the shares of Common Stock that WCM may be deemed to beneficially own.

WCI is the sole investment
manager of Wynnefield Offshore and, accordingly, may be deemed to be the indirect beneficial owner (as that term is defined under
Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock that Wynnefield Offshore beneficially owns. WCI, as the sole investment
manager of Wynnefield Offshore, has the sole power to direct the voting and disposition of the Common Stock that Wynnefield Offshore
beneficially owns. Messrs. Obus and Landes are executive officers of WCI and, accordingly, each may be deemed to be the indirect
beneficial owner (as that term is defined under Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock that WCI may be deemed to
beneficially own. Messrs. Obus and Landes, as executive officers of WCI, share the power to direct the voting and disposition of
the shares of Common Stock that WCI may be deemed to beneficially own.

The Plan is an employee profit sharing
plan. Messrs. Obus and Landes are the co-trustees of the Plan and accordingly, Messrs. Obus and Landes may be deemed to be the
indirect beneficial owner (as that term is defined under Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of the shares of Common Stock that
the Plan may be deemed to beneficially own. Each of Messrs. Obus and Landes, as the trustees of the Plan, shares with the other
the power to direct the voting and disposition of the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the Plan.

Beneficial ownership
of the Common Stock shown on the cover pages of and set forth elsewhere in this Schedule 13D for each member of the Wynnefield
Reporting Persons assumes that they have not formed a group for purposes of Section 13(d)(3) under the Exchange Act, and Rule 13d-5(b)(1)
promulgated thereunder. If the members of the Wynnefield Reporting Persons were deemed to have formed a group for purposes of Section
13(d)(3) and Rule 13d-5(b)(1), the group would be deemed to own beneficially (and may be deemed to have shared voting and dispositive
power over) in the aggregate 1,600,000 shares of Common Stock, constituting approximately 5.92% of the outstanding shares of Common
Stock. The percentage of shares of Common Stock reported as being beneficially owned by the Wynnefield Reporting Persons is based
upon 16,010,059 shares outstanding as of June 30, 2016, set forth in the Issuer’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period
ended December 31, 2016 filed with the Commission on March 1, 2017.

The filing of this
Schedule 13D and any future amendment by the Wynnefield Reporting Persons, and the inclusion of information herein and therein
with respect to WCM, WCI and Messrs. Obus and Landes, shall not be considered an admission that any of such persons, for the purpose
of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act, are the beneficial owners of any shares in which such persons do not have a pecuniary interest.
Each of WCM, WCI and Messrs. Obus and Landes disclaims any beneficial ownership of the shares covered by this Schedule 13D.

The Wynnefield Reporting
Persons have acquired shares of Common Stock during the last 60 days as follows:

(d) and (e). Not Applicable.

Item 7. Material to be Filed as Exhibits.

Exhibit 1       Joint Filing Agreement,
dated as of May 3, 2017

SIGNATURE

After reasonable inquiry and to the best
of their knowledge and belief, the undersigned certify that the information set forth in this Schedule 13D is true, complete and
correct.

Dated: May 3, 2017

WYNNEFIELD PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE, L.P. I

By: Wynnefield Capital Management, LLC,

its General Partner

By: /s/ Nelson Obus

Nelson Obus, Co-Managing Member

WYNNEFIELD PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE, L.P.

By: Wynnefield Capital Management, LLC,

its General Partner

By: /s/ Nelson Obus

Nelson Obus, Co-Managing Member

WYNNEFIELD SMALL CAP VALUE OFFSHORE FUND, LTD.

By: Wynnefield Capital, Inc.,

its Investment Manager

By: /s/ Nelson Obus

Nelson Obus, President

WYNNEFIELD CAPITAL INC. PROFIT SHARING &

MONEY
PURCHASE PLAN

By: /s/ Nelson Obus

Nelson Obus, Co-Trustee

WYNNEFIELD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC

By: /s/ Nelson Obus

Nelson Obus, Co-Managing Member

WYNNEFIELD CAPITAL, INC.

By: /s/ Nelson Obus

Nelson Obus, President

/s/ Nelson Obus

Nelson Obus, Individually

/s/ Joshua Landes

Joshua Landes, Individually