Schweiger may close
Upholstery producer talking with potential buyers
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, March 21, 2004
JEFFERSON, Wis. — JEFFERSON, Wis. — Schweiger, a 105-year-old stationary upholstery producer based here, said last week it will shut down by mid-May if a buyer cannot be found.
The company said it has been seeking a buyer for months, and officials remained optimistic that a sale could be negotiated before the deadline. However, the company said that, under Wisconsin law, it was required to file a notice 60 days in advance of a plant closing.
"We're still pretty confident that we can get something done," said Schweiger President Leon Wilkosz. "We are in the negotiating mode with a couple of groups right now."
Wilkosz said the attempt to sell the company was prompted by principal owner K.C. Stock's decision to retire from the home furnishings industry. Stock, a Wisconsin businessman whose holdings include a lumber company that supplies Schweiger, acquired the upholstery producer in April 1995 while it was operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Wilkosz acknowledged the decision to close came as a surprise to many employees, since the company experienced double-digit sales growth in 2001 and 2002. However, recent competition from imports has driven down prices and hampered the company's ability to continue top-line growth.
The privately held company didn't disclose revenues.
"Although we have made tremendous strides internally, we have continued to be affected by downward price pressure from the import market," said Wilkosz. "The low price points that we needed to achieve were beyond the capabilities of our business model."
In recent years, the company has begun importing some frames, wood parts and occasional tables from Asia. Of late, it has been particularly successful marketing room packages that include coordinating upholstery pieces and occasional tables, Wilkosz said.
Production and delivery will continue during the 60-day period, and Wilkosz said. Schweiger will have its showroom open at the High Point market, which officially begins April 22.
Schweiger dates back to 1899, and has been best known for its upholstered sofas, loveseats, chairs and sofa-sleepers. It was issued a U.S. patent for a spring seating system in 1989, but fell on hard times in the early 1990s and eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1994.
Stock acquired the company the following year and it emerged from Chapter 11 protection as the Schweiger division of KCS Inc.
Its Jefferson factory, which encompasses 580,000 square feet, was renovated in 1998 and again in 2001. The company currently has 135 employees.
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