Suffield Company Will Shut Down, Lose 100 Jobs

SUFFIELD, CT — Windsor Marketing Group, a Suffield based company, received $3.5 million in state economic development loans, but will now shut down and cut about 100 employees, The Hartford Courant reported. The firm reported in court that it is unable to undergo chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and will close operations after more than four decades in business.

The company had negotiated a refinancing plan with its creditors in January 2018, but an attorney for the company told the court that the plan was no longer feasible.

The state made loans on unusually favorable terms to Windsor Marketing Group of $2 million in 2009 and $1.5 million in 2015, but those efforts could not keep the business afloat, according to The Courant. Employees were told that Wednesday would be their last day on the job.

A small number of workers will continue for a few more days performing administrative tasks, but company's closure will reportedly be "abrupt."

The company supplies in-store advertising for clients, a business that has been rapidly shrinking due to the popularity of online shopping, The Journal-Inquirer reported.

As of January, when Windsor Marketing Group applied for Chapter 11, the business was planning to continue as usual at its 120,000-square-foot Suffield facility, which was built in 2016. The company was planning to consolidate operations in Windsor Locks at the time, according to The Journal Inquirer.

The first-in-line creditor, People's United Bank, is owed about $6 million, which it will recover most or all from the company's remaining financial and physical assets, according to The Courant.