Following months of financial challenges, West Allis-based
Poblocki Sign Co. ceased operations earlier this month, leaving 91 employees without work.
The company’s West Allis plant, located at 922 S. 70
th St., had been in business for over 90 years. There were also Poblocki Sign locations in Orlando, Boston and Raleigh.
Poblocki Sign’s financial challenges first became evident at the start of 2022, said
Dustin Wengert, a senior project manager who had been with the company for 13 years.
“I had vendors asking me, ‘Why am I 90 days past due?’ and asking what was going on,” he said. “We were told the company was going through a bit of a cash flow crunch.”
Over the next two years, Wengert said employees were told by Poblocki Sign leadership the private equity firm that owned the business, Chicago-based
TJM Capital Partners, would be infusing capital into the business. However, the full amount of money anticipated never arrived.
State court records also show that Poblocki Sign Co. had $21,345 in delinquent tax warrants.
“Every time one of these large infusions was supposed to happen, there would be some downturn in banks in Greece, or Bitcoin went down, or whatever,” said Wengert. “We would only get a small portion of the money they told us the investors committed to.”
TJM Capital Partners did not respond to a request for comment.
In late March, Wengert said employees were told Poblocki Sign Co. was looking to switch the bank it was using to address cash flow issues. Before the company could do so, all of its assets were seized by Byline Bank, according to Wengert.
Poblocki Sign’s chief executive officer,
Lee Dawson, sent workers an email on March 19 telling them not to come in, as he was unsure if the business would be able to make payroll, Wengert said.
Dawson did not respond to a request for comment.
Just a few days later, Wengert learned there was interest from an outside firm in buying Poblocki Sign. That company invested an undisclosed amount of money to help Poblocki Sign Co. temporarily make payroll, Wengert said.
Workers temporarily went back to work, but they later learned on March 27 that the business had been put into receivership by Byline Bank.
Michael S. Polsky was appointed as receiver of the business, according to a WARN notice submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
On May 8, Poblocki Sign employees were officially notified of Byline Bank’s decision to shutter the business.
A formal WARN notice was submitted to the Wisconsin DWD on April 8.
“Poblocki Sign was not able to provide earlier notice, as it qualifies under the ‘unforeseeable business circumstances,’ ‘faltering company,’ and liquidating fiduciary,’ exceptions set forth in the WARN statutes,” according to the notice. “Further, Poblocki Sign was actively seeking capital and business to enable it to avoid or postpone indefinitely the potential business closing or mass layoff.”
