Norwalk Furniture to reopen
23.09.2008 13:00
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- Source: toledoblade.com
NORWALK, Ohio - A group of five local investors has purchased Norwalk Furniture and expects to reopen the 106-year-old manufacturer this week, the firm said. The sale could restore up to 350 of the over 500 jobs lost when the custom furniture maker ceased work in July, said Jim McTevia, a restructuring officer hired by the firm. The parties have agreed to the sale and it could be finalized today, he said. Neither the sale price nor the prospective buyer group was disclosed. Comerica, the bank that withdrew the company's credit line in the summer will finance the sale, Mr. McTevia said. City officials could not be reached for comment after the announcement. The company, which shut down sales in July and briefly reopened, is in a struggling national industry. The firm has 400 workers at a Fulton, Miss., factory and 50 more at a Cookeville, Tenn., operation, Mr. McTevia said. A deal will be worked on next to get the Mississippi plant open, he added. The shutdown of the big employer in Norwalk was devastating to the town of 16,200. Huron County's 10.7 percent unemployment rate in July topped the state. "There's no hiring going on. It's just tough times. There are no magic answers," said Milt Cassara, president of United Steelworkers Local 48U. "We have people a little up in age. Whose going to hire them?" The state of Ohio had reached out with a $2 million low-interest loan. Officials in Fulton, Miss., offered similar aid. Veh and Son, a Gibsonburg furniture shop, imposed a discount on stock of Norwalk Furniture sofas and chairs after the July shutdown, co-owner Matt Kohler said. The merchandise originally was priced between $799 and $1,299. "We have orders in house with them, and we fully expect for those orders to be filled," he said. If the firm plans to reopen, the discounts likely will stop, he added. Mr. McTevia said that such customer loyalty was the backbone of the sale. "That's the frosting on the cake for this group," he said. "They get an immediate backlog of orders." Contact Bridget Tharp at:
btharp@theblade.com
or 419-724-6061.
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