Guy & O’Neill may close its Fredonia plant

Guy & O’Neill, which has been a cornerstone of Fredonia’s industrial community for almost 50 years, may be closing its doors at the end of the month.

Company CEO Chris Moye sent a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development on Dec. 23 notifying it that the company would be permanently closing its doors “on or about” Jan. 31, laying off 196 employees.

Human Resources Manager Kristin Voigt said Monday the company is hoping to find a buyer who will keep the doors open.

Moye’s letter, she said, was precipitated by the fact its owner, the private equity firm Centre Partners, wants to sell Guy & O’Neill but will close the business if a buyer can’t be found.

“I think it’s just time for them to move on,” she said, noting Centre Partners has owned Guy & O’Neill, a maker of wet wipes and bottled disinfectant sprays for private brands, for about five years. “That’s just what they do.”

Since last January, Voigt said, the company has been working strategically to facilitate a sale.

“We’re doing everything we can to make it really profitable for the next buyer,” she said, adding employees have worked diligently to help in that process.

“They’ve done amazing things,” she said, adding employees have “known what’s going on every step of the way. Our team is fantastic. They’re committed to staying and riding it out to the end.”

“But,” she added, “we’re getting to the point where we need a buyer.”

There is a lot of interest in Guy & O’Neill, she said, but until a deal is made no one knows what the future of the business will be.

“They (buyers) can see the changes we’ve made, the improvements and the potential,” Voigt said. “There are some real positive things happening.”

Moye issued his letter, she said, to cover the legal bases in case a new buyer isn’t found in time.

“We’re hopeful this is not the situation,” she said.

No one knows what will happen if a deal is reached but not finalized by the Jan. 31 date, Voigt said.

“It depends on the buyer,” she said. “We’re hoping for the best.”

Moye’s letter sent a shock wave across Fredonia, with Village President Dan Gehrke saying he was “at a loss for words.”

“We had no idea this was going to happen. They’ve been here forever, supported the community. They just built on to their plant two years ago,” he said, adding they chose the site with an eye for future expansion.

“That was really exciting ... then this happened. We’re shocked. I think the general consensus is we’re disappointed and shocked. It’s never good to lose a staple of your community.”

Village Administrator Christophe Jenkins concurred, saying the arrival of Moye’s letter on Monday caught the village by surprise.

“We heard little rumors here and there but nothing concrete,” he said. “My guess is it’s been in the works for a while now.”

Jenkins said the village immediately reached out to its commercial real estate agent “so we can solicit another business.”

But, he added, the biggest concern is for the company’s almost 200 employees

“Our No. 1 concern is with the families this impacts, the people who live here and contribute to our community,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate.”

Guy & O’Neill is one of the village’s largest employers, Jenkins said, and has a large presence in the industrial park.

The firm also has a campus in North Carolina, he said, and a story in the Triad Business Journal indicates that campus is also expected to close in January, resulting in a loss of 102 jobs.

Guy & O’Neill was founded in 1975 by Fredonia resident Mike Guy as Pharmanco Inc. as a manufacturer of personal care creams and ointments.