Werner Co.
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Werner Co. is the world's largest producer of ladders. The company also supplies other climbing equipment, and specializes in aluminum extrusion and fiberglass pultrusion. This private company is currently undergoing bankruptcy restructing.
[edit] History
Werner Co. was founded in 1922 by Richard D. Werner as "R. D. Werner Co., Inc.," a small business, selling materials for floors, carpets, and walls. The company quickly began to specialize in metal moldings, including a patented brand of metal kitchen trim called ChromtrimTM. R. D. Werner Co., Inc. became a leader in plastics extrusion during the World War II restrictions on civilian metal usage. After the war, the started working with aluminum and developed the various types of aluminum ladders for which it is best known. Werner ladders were also made using other materials (esp. fiberglass and wood) in later decades.
In 1997, the company restructured, and sold a majority holding to the international investment group Investcorp S.A.. This increased Werner Co.'s capital base, but the resulting leveraged capital would lead to bankruptcy within a decade.
[edit] Bankruptcy
Werner Co. filed for Chapter 11. protection under the bankruptcy code on June 12, 2006, in Delaware. Werner reported audited net sales of $472.3 million for the year ending Dec. 31, 2005. As of March 31, 2006, Werner reported assets of $201 million and liabilities of $473.4 million [1].
As part of the resulting restructuring, the Extruded Products Division (formerly WXP, Inc.) was sold to HIG Capital [2]
