BRISTOL – Goetz Custom Boats, although still in receivership, has reopened and called back about two-thirds of its 75-person staff. “We’re not up to full capacity but we have brought back a number of people,” a company spokeswoman said.
“We’re bringing back all 75 employees,” confirmed Guy Gauvin, the company’s general manager. “Last week, we brought back half, this week we brought back another dozen.” The remainder, he said, will be back on the job “probably by the end of next week.”
The company – a maker of high-tech sail and motor yachts – had laid off its entire staff a week before it entered receivership on Jan. 6. (READ MORE) At the time, founder Eric Goetz cited the ailing economy, the difficulty of obtaining new financing amid the global credit freeze and the cancellation of a foreign customer’s contract for an 85-foot racing sailboat.
“We’ve cleared that up,” Gauvin said of the dispute over the half-completed sail racer. “That’s why we were able to call people back: Over the past two weeks, with the help of the receiver, we renegotiated those contracts.”
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The boatmaker’s other difficulties, however, have yet to be resolved.
“We are still in receivership. … We probably will be for another month or two,” Gauvin said. “Right now, the receiver is calling for bids from buyers,” he added, explaining that, “under the terms of the receivership, it has to be put out as an open bid.”
Likely bidders include Eric Goetz, the company founder, who earlier this month told Marine Business News that he has been working with lenders and investors.
Thomas S. Hemmendinger – a business lawyer with Brennan, Recupero, Cascione, Scungio & McAllister LLP of Providence and Taunton – is serving as receiver for the company, which formally is known as Eric Goetz Custom Sailboats Inc.
“I was appointed permanent receiver yesterday, and I have already started the process of marketing the company,” the lawyer told PBN. He said he is “in negotiations with one potential buyer,” and has begun reaching out to others.
“My goal is to obtain a buyer and present a purchaser to the court by the end of March,” Hemmendinger added. “It’s an ambitious goal. … In the meantime, the company will continue to operate.”
Eric Goetz Custom Sailboats Inc., founded in 1975, is a maker of sail and power yachts for racing and cruising. It also accepts custom design and fabrication projects from non-marine clients. To learn more, visit GoetzBoats.com.
Brennan, Recupero, Cascione, Scungio & McAllister LLP is a local law firm with offices in Providence and Taunton. Additional information is available at www.lawyers.com.
