Lamson & Goodnow Files for Chapter 11 Reorganization

Lamson & Goodnow Manufacturing Co., a maker of knives, tableware and kitchen tools based in Shelburne Falls, Mass., has filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection from its creditors, according to The Republican newspaper in Massachusetts.

It was reported that the company’s 18-acre factory complex on the Deerfield River was up for sale for $2.1 million and that Lamson & Goodnow could turn its business around once it secured a $500,000 loan for raw materials to fill existing customer orders. 

Lamson currently has 31 employees at its plant and a retail operation in Shelburne Falls with three employees. The company, founded in 1837, is owned by James Ross Anderson, and James Pelletier is the chief operating officer.

The Republican noted that Anderson bought back the company in 1998 from 30-year owner Lunt Silversmith, a now-defunct firm that was in Greenfield, Mass. 

Lamson owes $2.055 million in a loan it took out in 2012 from Newtek Small Business Finance Corp. in New York, and an additional $1.06 million from a U.S. Small Business Administration loan, the paper said.

The newspaper quoted Pelletier as saying: “We are not sure where we will end up. We know this is not the right kind of factory we need. Once we sell this building, we will look for a suitable home. We want to be as close by as we can be. We have a lot of talented workers here.”