The looms at Weave Corp. will run again next week, after a federal judge appointed a turnaround specialist to take over the business and sell it.
"We're definitely going to restart," said John Russell, senior consultant at Meridian Group, based in Pittsburgh.
"We're hoping to have production running Monday or Tuesday."
It's unclear how many of the upholstery-making plant's 55 employees — laid off when the Denver complex abruptly closed its doors Oct. 29 — will be recalled, Russell said.
That will be determined by the number of Weave customers who wish to resume receiving its products, he said Friday.
Weave sells to firms that make upholstered furniture.
"We have people calling customers right now to confirm orders. When customers were told the plant had shut down and was done for, they started trying to make other arrangements," he said.
But finding a replacement for Weave is easier said than done. Weave's high-end, copyrighted designs are not simple for rival fabric makers to duplicate.
"It's not like making a blue curtain. … ," Russell said. "These aren't stock items."
As a result, with Weave being idled for two weeks, customers "are desperate to get product. … Furniture manufacturers can't fill their orders if they can't get the fabric," he said.
Weave, based in Hackensack, N.J., had a New York City showroom and its sole factory on Walnut Street in Denver, where it opened in 1954.
But Weave hit hard times this year, as the recession cut demand for its fabrics, leading the company to default on two loans totaling $8.7 million from PNC and eventually close.
PNC went to federal court in Newark, N.J., asking the court to name Meridian the receiver for Weave.
U.S. District Judge William J. Martini did so by an order entered Thursday.
As the receiver, Meridian's job is to preserve Weave's assets — pledged by Weave as collateral on the loans — and sell them to repay PNC.
Since Weave will fetch a better price as an operating business with customers, Meridian is restarting the plant, said Russell.
To assist in the effort, Meridian has brought back Weave chief financial officer Bruce Nathan and production vice president Jeff Harbst, among other key managers.
Not among them is Weave president and chief executive officer Roger Berkley, Russell said.
Russell was optimistic that a buyer will be found. Meridian hopes to have a "short list" of suitors compiled within a month.
"There's a lot of interest. We have a number of people in the United States and a few from overseas, particularly people in Europe, with the euro being so strong," he said.