Artech Printing Crumbles into Oblivion
On February 1, employees asked a state court to prevent the company from selling off its equipment as they scrambled to organize an effort to purchase the business. By the end of the month, though, employees filed for the involuntary bankruptcy.
And although the state attorney general's office has filed a $5.25 million claim on the assets in federal bankruptcy court (the physical assets were scheduled to be auctioned June 18) to recover lost wages and benefits, the prospects of collecting are dim. Artech's largest customer, Golden Books Family Entertainment—ironically, the publisher that used to own the printer—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June, the second time it has filed in as many years. Golden Books is in the process of being sold to DIC Entertainment Holdings for $170 million.