Fredonia-based manufacturer Guy & O’Neill, Inc. is seeking a new buyer for the business after a previous deal fell through, leaving the fate of nearly 300 employees in the air.
Guy & O’Neill makes household cleaning and personal care products, including Ally adult care bathing cloths, Care4 makeup remover wipes, Clean Cut disinfecting wipes, Evoke personal lubricant, Green & Clean cleaning products and Zippy car interior wipes.
The company has approximately 200 employees in Fredonia and 100 employees located in Reidsville, North Carolina. The Fredonia plant is located at 200 Industrial Drive.
A recently submitted WARN notice states the business will have to cease operations, however, Guy & O’Neill is working to find a new buyer to keep running.
The decision to sell the business came from New York-based private equity firm Centre Partners, which acquired Guy & O’Neill in 2018.
At the start of the year, Centre Partners appointed a new chief executive officer, Chris Moye, to lead the company. He was tasked with revamping Guy & O’Neill’s operations as Centre Partners was approaching the end of the typical timeline when it would look to sell a business.
“Since January, we’ve been going through this whole change and really examining how we do business,” said Kristin Voigt, human resources manager at Guy & O’Neill. “Things had been going really well and several efficiencies were implemented in production.”
In September, Centre Partners officially decided it wanted to sell the company, according to Voigt. Several parties did express interest in purchasing Guy & O’Neill.
After spending nearly a month working to get a deal done with one interested buyer, that buyer backed out of the deal.
“They decided at the ninth hour that because of the workload they had, along with the growth plan they wanted, they would not have enough bandwidth,” said Voigt.
Guy & O’Neill will launch an auction sale next week to find a new buyer. The auction sale is necessary because the company has run out of time to go through a normal sale process, said Voigt.
Guy & O’Neill issued its WARN notice as a precautionary measure. If a new buyer is not found, the company’s two plants in Fredonia and North Carolina will have to close.
“We have not given up this fight yet and everyone is working hard to make this happen,” said Voigt. “At the same time, we are putting resources in place for our employees just in case it gets to that point.
She said the company is working with local temp agencies and other manufacturers to find open positions for workers if a buyer is not secured.
