How long can your business survive without customers?

Here's a story we knew was coming. The amazing part is that it took this long. Guide Corp., once a major supplier to General Motors Corp., shut down on Friday. Injection molding equipment in the Anderson, Ind., plant will be auctioned on March 13, according to the Indianapolis Star story. A plant in Monroe, La., also closed. GM pulled nearly all of its business from Guide two years ago. Our story at the time said the move would probably doom Guide, but that its owner, B.N. Bahadur, was looking for a buyer. In our 2004 ranking, Guide was North America's 12th-largest injection molder with $428 million in related sales and an estimated 300 injection presses. For you history buffs, Guide dates all the way back to 1906, when it was a motor vehicle lamp repair shop known as Guide Motor Lamp Co. When GM owned the business, it was known as Delphi Lighting.