[Ansteorra-archery] North Americasn Archery Group files Chapter 11

[Eadric Anstapa]

I dunno how many of you heard this little tidbit.

North Americasn Archery Group which is he parent company of Bear, Jennings,
Golden Eagle, etc. filed for Chapter 11 last week.

Rgeards,

--
Lord Eadric Anstapa
Coastal Regional Archery Marshal, Ansteorra
eadric at scabrewer.com

>
> Archery firm seeks Chapter 11 protection
> By JOE COOMBS
> Sun business writer
> Local manufacturer North American Archery Group LLC, the parent firm for
> Bear Archery and Golden Eagle/Satellite Archery, filed for Chapter 11
> bankruptcy protection Tuesday, but plans to reorganize the business and
> has said there will not be any layoffs.
> The company, which makes bows, arrows and related equipment, laid off a
> small cluster of employees in January in response to a decline in
> revenues. At the time, company officials didn't indicate that further
> problems were imminent, but that the layoffs were necessary due to
> financial difficulties at retail giant Kmart - which filed for Chapter
> 11 bankruptcy earlier this year and was North American's second-biggest
> customer.
>
> Company officials from North American declined to comment on Wednesday
> and referred all inquiries to an outside public relations agency in
> Pompano Beach. The agency's representative for North American, John
> Bell, issued a news release that said the company plans to emerge from
> Chapter 11 in late 2002, and that all 120 of its jobs were safe. "The
> good spin on all this is that the company will continue to operate, and
> everyone is still employed," Bell said.
>
> North American's chairman, Charles Palmer, was traveling Wednesday and
> couldn't be reached for comment. In a prepared statement, Palmer said
> the company opted for bankruptcy reorganization "to reconfigure the
> company's debt instruments and other obligations, as well as obtain
> further financing."
>
> The news release also said that North American has secured up to $12
> million of "debtor-in-possession" financing from LaSalle National Bank.
> The financing is subject to court approval and would be used to fund
> North American's continuing operations while it is under Chapter 11
> protection.
>
> In January, North American laid off 15 employees, including management,
> distribution and purchasing positions. No manufacturing jobs were lost
> at the plant, which is located on SW 41st Boulevard.
>
> At the time, company officials said North American still had steady
> accounts with Wal-Mart and other retailers, but would also shift its
> focus to smaller dealers to carry the company's products.
>
> North American chose Gainesville as its headquarters in January 2000.
> The company moved Golden Eagle/Satellite Archery from Odessa, a city
> north of Tampa, to the Gainesville plant, where Bear Archery was already
> conducting operations.
>
> The move brought 50 jobs to Gainesville, and involved some heavy
> lobbying from local economic development officials. Several entities
> joined forces to bring North American here, including Gainesville
> Regional Utilities - which provided discounts on its utility bills for a
> four-year period - and Santa Fe Community College, which provided job
> training for North American's workers.
>
> Joe Coombs can be reached at (352) 338-3102 or
> joe.coombs at gainesvillesun.com.
>