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Fenton plans to restructure, could be
sold
By SAM SHAWVER and
JEFFREY SAULTON, Staff Writers
WILLIAMSTOWN — Williamstown’s Fenton Art
Glass Co. on Friday announced plans to restructure, which could ultimately
result in the 102-year-old business being put up for sale.
“The company is pursuing restructuring alternatives which may involve new
investments in the company, a possible sale of the company, and may affect
employment,” company President George Fenton said in a prepared statement
Friday afternoon.
Asked if this could mean closure of the century-old glass factory, Fenton
said, “We’re trying not to do that.
“This has to do with financing and cost structure, and involves a variety of
options that we’re considering,” he said. “But there’s nothing firm at this
time.”
Fenton said at present “no employment changes are planned, provided adequate
financing is established.”
There are 156 people employed by the glassmaker.
Newmarket Partners LLC of Cleveland is the
financial advisory firm assisting the company in the development of a
restructuring plan.
Williamstown Mayor Jean Ford said the announcement from the company caught
her by surprise, as it did many others.
Ford, who is involved in the retail industry, said she knows all businesses
have up and down cycles.
“I knew they were in a down cycle,” she said.
Ford said the company is known around the world. She said a Fenton product
was presented to Hideichiro Chikahiro,
the outgoing president of Hino Motor Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc., on Monday and
to a delegation from Bulgaria visiting West Virginia University-Parkersburg
on Friday.
“When we gave him the vase, he was surprised,” Ford said. “He said his wife
would like it very much and had other Fenton pieces.”
The mayor said she is hopeful the company will be able to reverse the
situation.
“Fenton is everything to Williamstown,” Ford said. “We want to do anything we
can that will help them. We’ve always said there are two important things in Williamstown
— the high school and Fenton Art Glass. We definitely want to keep them.”
Keith Burdette, president of the Wood County Economic Development Authority
and the Area Roundtable, said he learned of the announcement late Friday and
did not have any additional information about the company’s situation.
“I have not talked with George Fenton, and I don’t know what they have in
mind at this time,” he said.
Burdette said the development authority is willing to help the company in any
way it can.
“Obviously we are anxious to do anything in our power to assist,” he said.
“We are willing to talk with them and learn about what they are planning.”
Burdette said he was aware the company had faced some difficulties in
increased energy costs and foreign competition, which were two factors Fenton
cited in the press release.
Burdette said he plans to be in touch with Fenton and the West Virginia
Development Office on Monday to see what assistance may be available to the
company.
Fenton’s reputation draws collectors to Williamstown from around the country
and the world. Vickie Moon, 44, of Augusta, Ga., has family in the area and
visits the factory two or three times a year.
She was in Williamstown Friday, looking for deals at Fenton’s tent sale.
“I hope they don’t sell it,” Moon said. “I love Fenton.”
Williamstown resident Bessie Uhl, 81, used to work
in Fenton’s hot metal department.
“I would really hate to see Fenton go out of business,” she said.
Uhl’s father, brother and sister also worked at the
factory.
“You can build a company up and put your life and soul into it, but sometimes
it seems the next generation just doesn’t have the same ability to keep it
going,” Uhl said.
But in his Friday statement, Fenton said the company is continuing to produce
its famous colored art glass and is processing orders for all of its
products.
“In fact, a recent major customer order would require full work for the
current workforce over the next two months to meet the shipping deadlines,”
he said.
“The collectible and giftware marketplaces are highly competitive, and the
past several years have been very difficult for us,” Fenton said. “Our sales
have been adversely affected by imported products, and our costs, especially
for natural gas, have risen sharply.”
Developing a restructuring plan is essential to bringing the company back to
profitability, he said.
The glass company has laid off a portion of its workforce on at least four
occasions since 2001, although some of those employees have been called back.
Fenton also noted the glass factory’s annual shutdown is scheduled during
July. That happens each year and is not related to the company’s
restructuring plans.
The news from Fenton comes less than a week after a major boost to the
economy of the city and the region with the announcement that Hino Motors, a
Toyota Group company, will open a truck assembly plant in Williamstown in
November.
Writer Evan Bevins contributed to this story.
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