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Killington Wood Products closing down
August 29, 2003
By BRUCE EDWARDS Herald Staff
WEST RUTLAND — The Rutland economy took another hit Thursday when Killington Wood Products announced it would be going out of business at the end of next month.
The closing of the West Rutland pallet manufacturer will mean the loss of 30 jobs, company president William Carris said Thursday.
Carris said he attempted to sell the company to Pallets Inc. of Fort Edward, N.Y., but the deal fell through when Pallets Inc. failed to obtain financing from its bank in New York.
Located in the West Rutland Industrial Park, Killington Wood Products is part of the Carris Community of Companies — a group of three employee-owned companies. The poor economy has taken a toll on the Carris businesses, which include the flagship company, Carris Reels, a maker of reels for the wire and rope industries, and Vermont Tubbs in Brandon, an upscale bedroom furniture maker.
Carris said the reel business has been hurt by the slump in the telecommunications industry.
“Killington Wood Products for us was always a marginal business, and we felt we needed to sell it with the downturn in the reel business,” Carris said.
Instead, Carris will be forced to close the 37-year-old pallet company that supplies wooden pallets to a variety of industries.
He said local economic development officials did all they could to make the sale of Killington Wood Products possible but to no avail.
“The Chittenden Bank, Rutland Economic Development Corp., and Rural Development all stepped up to the plate in trying to put a package together,” he said.
REDC Executive Director William McGrath said the Killington Wood Products situation was unfortunate but that Carris could no longer afford to carry the company. McGrath said the deal to sell the company fell through because the New York company lacked enough collateral.
“Banks are very willing to finance operations … but there wasn’t enough collateral to cover the deal, and there were some other things with the deal that made it questionable,” McGrath said without elaborating.
The decision to close Killington Wood Products is part of a two-pronged approach to return Carris Reels to profitability. The other is to sell or close Vermont Tubbs.
Carris said that despite the slump in the reel business, Carris Reels, which has eight manufacturing sites in the United States and Mexico, is in no danger of closing.
“Sales are down because of the telecommunications bust, but our market share has held, and the company is profitable without the losses at Tubbs and Killington Wood products,” he said.
Carris said there are two parties interested in buying Vermont Tubbs. But he cautioned banks are in a non-risk-taking mood of late. If no deal is forthcoming, Carris said he would be forced to close Vermont Tubbs by the end of September.
The 30 employees of Killington Wood Products earn an average $9.50 an hour, plus an extensive package of benefits. Employees will also receive a severance package, Carris said.
The Rutland area has experienced several plant closings in recent years, including Himolene, Qualitad, Moore Business Forms and Wedeco-Ideal Horizons.
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