The Republic Staff and Wire Reports
CHICAGO - Home Products International Inc., a housewares manufacturer and importer with facilities in Seymour, has filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection.
The Chicago-based company, which filed jointly with its affiliate Home Products International-North America, said it expects to continue operating while undergoing the financial restructuring.
The filing followed an announcement that Home Products announced plans to shutter its production and distribution plant in El Paso, Texas, resulting in the loss of about 150 jobs.
The company also operates an injection molding plant in Chicago; two ironing board plants in Seymour; a fabric printing plant in Mooresville, N.C.; and a sewing factory in Reynosa, Mexico.
The facilities in Seymour have a long history, established in 1942 as Seymour Tool and Engineering.
It was renamed Seymour Industries in 1966, acquired by Lear Siegler in 1968, became Seymour Housewares Corp. in 1993 and bought by Home Products International for $100.6 million in 1998.
Chief Financial Officer Donald Hotz said in the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., that the plan will allow the firms to "maintain and continue their profitable business, provide employment to their 700 employees, pay their suppliers and provide quality products at fair prices to their customers."
The filing lists assets of $172 million and liabilities of $217 million and asks for permission to convert more than $116 million in public debt to equity. It said the company failed to make its debt payment of $6 million last month due to a lack of available cash.
Home Products International, Inc. sells its products under the HOMZ brand through national and regional retailers.