OpenGate Capital has declared bankruptcy for the Golden Guernsey plant in Waukesha, which led to the plant’s shutdown on Saturday, the company said Tuesday.
More than 100 employees were left without answers when the plant shut down. One employee, Robert Storm, has filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development because the employees did not receive 60 days notice before they lost their jobs.
Online federal records did not yet have a bankruptcy notice posted late Tuesday.
The company started in 1930 as a farmer-owned cooperative in Milwaukee, and by 1935, Golden Guernsey delivered milk to the homes of 20,000 customers in Wisconsin, according to its website. By 1955, construction began at its current facility at 2101 Delafield St.
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Dean Foods was ordered to sell the plant by the U.S. and Wisconsin Departments of Justice in order to settle an antitrust lawsuit because Dean Foods owned about 60 percent of milk processing plants in the state. an investment firm that planned to continue operations of the dairy processing facility.
Golden Guernsey increased sales by 20 percent under OpenGate Capital’s ownership but the company was unable to reduce expenses, the news release states.
“We have to make realistic decisions about our investments, and the reality is that the Golden Guernsey business was unable to achieve financial autonomy given the pressure to lower prices and seemingly non-negotiable operating expenses,” OpenGate Capital CEO Andrew Nikou said in the press release. “This was a very difficult decision given the loss of jobs and disruption to milk delivery service, yet it had to be made.
“The closure of the plant is not a reflection of the hard work contributed by the Golden Guernsey family of employees," Nikou added. "Unfortunately, when expenses overwhelm revenue for too long, and we are unable to achieve cooperation from the people with whom we do business, the business cannot be sustained.”
If the business was losing money before the purchase, why didn't Dean Foods close the plant? Why would a well run investment firm dump millions into purchasing an operating business then releasing a statement about the business losing capital? Wasn't there due diligence of risk assessment for the investment firms investors? Of course there had to be. Do you think Dean is likely to gain market share? The stark reality is that the jobs and the people mean nothing to big business. They created the jobs, and they have the right to take them away. There is no such thing as community loyalty.
That's why they were forced to sell the plant. Again, it has nothing to do with Obama. Neither does the new owner running Golden Gurnsey into the ground. You just have the idea to blame SOMEONE and so you blame our president?.... But when our previous President used inside connections to put Halliburton in charge over seas it wasn't his fault. It's easy to avoid blame when defending your candidate and easy to place blame when attacking your opponents.