A local bedding-manufacturing firm has closed its factories, and the future of its 300 employees is unknown.
United Sleep Products of Denver has shut the doors of its 89,000-square-foot building at 412 Oak St., where it began in 1970 as Kinder Furniture & Bedding. As many as 160 employees have worked at the factory in recent years.
The company also reportedly has closed its factory in Fort Wayne, Ind.
United Sleep produced bedding products such as futons and coil, no-flip and memory-foam mattresses. The Denver plant produced about 2,000 pieces of bedding daily.
Tom Smith, a United Sleep employee who answered the phone Monday afternoon at the Denver factory, confirmed the plant was shut down and only skeleton crews have been working.
"United Sleep is closing their doors," Smith said.
Recorded messages Monday at United Sleep's headquarters in Denver and its factory in Fort Wayne stated the offices "are currently closed."
Representatives of the bedding producer acknowledged in February it had "a temporary cash flow imbalance," according to an article in the weekly industry newspaper Furniture Today.
Lisa Kaufman, named CEO of United Sleep earlier this year, did not return phone calls seeking comment Monday.
Denver Mayor Mary Ann Fichthorn said she heard reports employees were still being paid despite the plant closing. She said representatives from the borough tried to contact the company but got no response.
Fichthorn said she wasn't sure what the local economic impact would be from the closing, but she said Denver has always employed more people than live in the town.
"(The closing) happened very suddenly, and I was kind of surprised about it," Fichthorn said.
United Sleep Products was sold to Northlight Capital, a Chicago investment firm, for an undisclosed price in January 2006. Kaufman is the managing partner of Northlight Capital and was named chairman of United Sleep, replacing Marc Werner, earlier this year.
At the time of the sale, former United Sleep Products spokesman Tim Dyson said the deal would help the local firm grow its sales from its 2005 figure of $55 million a year and would not result in cuts to its work force.
Northlight Capital is a private equity firm with headquarters in Chicago. It invests $10 million to $50 million in middle-market companies involved in manufacturing, consumer products and business services.
According to its Web site, Northlight was "founded on the principals of integrity, respect and follow-through" and has "a true passion for business, not just for financial ratios, and a respect for the team that has built the business."
Executives from Northlight Capital became involved in product development after taking control from former owner Mike Jester last year.
According to United Sleep's Web site, Kaufman picked the plush velour cover for the Bel-Aire Super Box Pillow Top, a mattress that retails at $4,999. The cover was known as "the Lisa cover."
The company showcased its new line of products at the Pure Nightclub at Caesar's Palace in July 2006 in an event called "A Night with Nature's Dreams."
According to Furniture Today, Kaufman said earlier this year that 2006 had been "a challenging year for the company and the industry." In the article she was quoted as saying the company's cash flow imbalance was caused by overpurchasing of inventory, primarily from China.
United Sleep revamped its senior management team earlier this year. John Katerenchuk, a former United Sleep executive, rejoined the company as president.
And according to Furniture Today, Kaufman expressed confidence about the company's future.
"This will be a banner year for United Sleep," she said.
United Sleep started producing furniture for mobile homes at the Denver plant in the fall of 1970 before focusing on the bedding industry.
E-mail: myoder@lnpnews.com