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Window Company Files For Chapter 7

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Dec 16, 2008 11:04 am US/Central

Window Company Files For Chapter 7

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Laid off workers peer through the doors of the their abruptly shuttered factory where they staged a sit-in on Dec. 5, 2008, demanding that the bank which cut off credit to the Chicago company free up some financing so they can be paid their final wages.
Mira Oberman/AFP/Getty Images

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Republic Windows and Doors filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Monday, the company said.

The bankruptcy filing for liquidation was a requirement of Bank of America in the negotiated settlement with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Republic said.

Republic Chief Executive Officer Richard Gillman blamed declining home sales, the credit debacle, and "the lack of cooperation from Bank of America."

"Republic had lost $10 million the past two years and had maxed out on its $5 million line of credit," bank spokeswoman Julie Westermann said.
Republic made headlines last week after the plant closed when Bank of America, concerned about the company's financial viability, refused to extend it additional credit. That left 240 workers without a job -- workers who were not given the legally required 60 days notice of a layoff.

Westermann said the bank started talking to Gillman about winding down operations in July. That would have enabled him to give earlier notice to workers.

Gillman has no plans to reopen the Goose Island plant, he said last week. But his family does plan to focus on its nonunion, Iowa-based Echo Windows. That company, which employs about 100 people, was created through the Gillman family's recent purchase of a division of window maker TRACO.