More than two weeks after Kansas City, Missouri-based Barton Nelson shut down, employees of the company as of last Friday have yet to receive back-paychecks and are unable to access their retirement accounts, reports Fox Kansas City.
The print and promotional products supplier closed its doors on June 13 after 53 years in business, issuing a message on its phone line stating that it had been “forced to close its doors by our lenders.” Fox Kansas City found that financial issues with lender Enterprise Bank may have been the primary reason for the shutdown. Said the report:
“June 13, Friday the 13th, not a very good day for us,” said George Cherry, a cutter who worked for the company for 29 years. He said when management told the employees what was happening, they explained it this way, “The banks and everything took all our money, and we have no way to pay you guys.”
One of the owners, Greg Nelson, said the company defaulted on a loan to Enterprise Bank, which was secured by accounts receivables, inventory and the building at 13700 Wyandotte in Kansas City, Mo. While trying to work through the default, Nelson said the bank pulled the plug.
Johnny Johnson has been running the printing press at Barton Nelson for 23 years. Regarding the issues with Enterprise Bank, he says, “We were told it was a work in progress, we’ve got a plan it just kept leading us on.”
According the news outlet, an Enterprise Bank representative did not comment on the situation, but said the bank has “nothing to do with paying employees.”
In 2013, Barton Nelson invested $15.4 million to expand its Kansas City facility, with plans to create 65 jobs over the next five years.
The company did not answer calls to its main phone line, but a new recorded message states: “We are currently maintaining a minimum level of operations while we restructure our finances under court order. We are interested in communicating with our customers, vendors and interested parties. We would like for you to leave a message. Please press zero. We will do our best to get back with you soon. Thank you.”
