By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
MIDDLEBURY -- Patriot Homes, founded in Elkhart County in 1972, is preparing to lock the doors on its last remaining manufacturing facility in Indiana.
The company notified the Indiana Department of Workforce Development on Friday that it will be stopping operations at the Crystal Valley plant by Jan. 23 and laying off about 125 workers. Crystal Valley, part of Patriot since 1997, makes HUD-Code and modular homes.
Once the closure is completed, Patriot will have just one production facility and that 160,000-square-foot plant is located in Texas. At one time, Patriot operated 10 facilities in Elkhart County. The company is still deciding if it will move its corporate headquarters from Elkhart.
"It's very difficult," said Patriot president and founder Sam Weidner Sr. of his feelings about his company shutting down production in Indiana. "I'm not able to talk much about that."
In a letter to employees, Weidner outlined several reasons for closure but in an interview Monday afternoon, he laid most of the blame on the company's bank, Wells Fargo. Weidner contended the bank wanted Patriot to turn a profit and would not give the business consideration that its shareholders were continuing to loan the company money or allow the manufacturer to bring in other banks to cover part of its loans.
"I have no question in my mind, if the bank had been more cooperative, we could have made it," Weidner said. "We reduced the budget. We cut and cut and cut and we could have made it but we didn't get the opportunity."
Through spokeswoman Kelly Sprecher, Wells Fargo declined to comment on Patriot, citing customer confidentiality.
Aside from the banking situation, Patriot has also been struggling with other issues which it outlined in the employee letter.
The company was anticipating an order in early January from TL Industries to build ultra-low formaldehyde housing units for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, that order has been delayed at least until the end of the month and may not materialize at all. (If an order does arrive, Patriot stated it could re-open the Middlebury plant and recall some of the workers.)
Also, manufactured and modular housing retail dealers have canceled orders for new units because of the ongoing credit crunch. Major lenders have dropped out of manufactured housing industry, leaving dealers unable to secure the financing necessary to purchase the inventory.
Moreover, Patriot continues to work through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy that it filed in late September. Weidner indicated the reorganization did play a role in Patriot's recent decision.
"If we had a bank willing to be reasonable and cooperative in a reasonable way and we hadn't filed bankruptcy, I don't believe Crystal Valley would be closing," he said.
For the town of Middlebury, the Crystal Valley demise comes after a year of downsizing by Coachmen Industries and the closure of Pilgrim International. Workers at the plant came from around the area and while the closure will hurt the community, town council president Gary O'Dell struck an optimistic tone.
"We're always concerned about the number of people laid off but I truly believe if we just hang in there, we're going to be just fine," he said.