October 20 -- A Richmond manufacturer has closed, leaving 15 people out of work.
Hoffco-Comet has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Our partners at Kicks 96 in Richmond report the company lost its biggest client, John Deere, less than two months ago.
Approximately a decade ago, Hoffco was servicing big name clients including Whirlpool and Amana and employed more than 300.
The company most recently manufactured lawn and garden equipment.
The John Deere contract represented about 50 percent of its business.
Kicks 96 reports the company has been borrowing money on a weekly basis to stay afloat.
Once it was no longer able to obtain financing, the company was forced into bankruptcy.
I will say that there were more than 15 people that lost their jobs when Hoffco shut down. About 4 weeks ago there was another group that had been laid off, but never brought back. My guess would be more like 75 jobs were lost. A far cry from the 254 when I worked there.
ReplyDeleteSad day in our industry. Hoffco comet was 60 years old.
Does some other mfg. build a CVT equal to the Comet Duster 94C/?
ReplyDeleteI need CVT for prototype with 35hp Briggs and Stratton Vanguard. http://aerotrike.net
mwbourne@aerobourne.com
thanks