The Roslyn-based Northwest Company LLC, one of the country’s most prominent producers of textiles and blankets, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The business, which claims to be the top manufacturer of blankets and throws in the United States, said in court papers filed in March that tariffs and product shortcomings had restricted its cash flow before the coronavirus hit, indicating that it owes about $57 million to companies including the National Football League and Disney.
Court filings also suggest that the company had over $86 million in debt.
Without additional borrowing, the company “will not have sufficient liquidity to continue to fund [its] operations, fund employee payroll and benefits obligations, pay vendors of necessary goods and services, and satisfy other operational requirements,” Northwest CEO and President Ross Auerbach said in a court declaration.
The company employs about 118 people, according to court papers.
Concerns with product and supply quality as well as higher tariffs have dogged the company for years, according to Auerbach, whose parents originally ran the business out of their home in Roslyn.
In addition to its corporate offices in Roslyn at 49 Bryant Ave., Northwest operates a showroom in New York City, a sourcing office in Shanghai, China, a corporate office in Bentonville, Arkansas, a weaving facility in Ronda, North Carolina, a distribution center in Wilmington, North Carolina, and a logistics warehouse encompassing over one million square feet in Bloomington, California.
