Cosmetic packaging company Risdon International Inc. has restarted its U.S. production after weathering a credit crunch where it furloughed nearly 300 workers for a few days.
“We're going through a difficult economic credit crisis, the same as many businesses in America,” said Stephen Frater, a spokesman for Watertown, Conn.-based Risdon, in a Feb. 25 telephone interview.
A crisis occurred in mid-February, when the company's lender reduced Risdon's working capital by half. Risdon shut down when it could not meet operating costs, but the company had every intention of resuming business, Frater said.
“We were shut out for a few days, but it is not the first time we've furloughed workers. We do not intend to go into Chapter 11, but we will go through reorganization,” he said.
Frater said that through ongoing negotiations with its existing lender, new lenders, strategic investors, and state economic development officials, Risdon was able to reopen its U.S. facilities. “We are back supplying product. Our doors are open. The lights are on. The situation is grave, but we think we will be able to survive,” Frater said.
He said the company has many unique products and more than 100 patents. It operates eight facilities worldwide. They include the company's Watertown headquarters and plants in Middletown, N.Y.; Laconia, N.H.; Barrie, Ontario; two in Reynosa, Mexico; and two in Suzhou, China.
The Waterbury Republican-American reported that the company shut down its 65-member headquarters, as well as 300 workers nationwide. Frater would not give specifics, but he said all key personnel are back, more are returning, and the shutdown affected Risdon's overseas operations to a lesser degree than its U.S. business.
He added that the firm is cutting back on products that do not generate the proper profit margins. “We are doing everything we can to avoid Chapter 11,” Frater said.
