BURLINGTON RUGS TO CLOSE;
EQUIPMENT TO BE SOLD
MONTICELLO, Ark. -- Burlington Rugs is closing its doors for good in early April, according to Gary Brookshire, chief executive officer.
"It is unfortunate that this move has become necessary. We almost made the turn-around," said Brookshire. "I want to emphasize that we are commited to fully satisfying all the orders we currently have in house. We appreciate the loyalty of our customers."
The Burlington factory here will close and the equipment will be sold, said Brookshire. The Burlington Rugs name will revert to Burlington Industries which licenses several of its former brand names. Burlington tufted bath and accent rugs were manufactured at the Monticello plant.
The plant closing will affect approximately 175 employees."We made efforts to sell the facility as an ongoing operation, but unfortunately a buyer could not be found," Brookshire told rugnews.com
Brookshire, who is a turn-around specialist, has been ceo of Burlington Rugs since it was acquired in August, 2004 by Prudential Capital Partners LLC. He will stay with the company until the closure is complete.
Burlington Rugs has had a troubled history in recent years.
Before the acquisition by Prudential, Burlington Rug was owned by Yanoor Corp, whose founder and ceo was Saeid Korhani. Yanoor owned both Burlington Rugs and Monticello Carpet Mills.
Yanoor purchased the Arkansas plants in February 2001 from Burlington Industries. At the time Korhani's company stepped in, the manufacturing facilities had been scheduled to close. Korhani's ownership extended the life of the manufacturing operation for four years.
Prudential Capital Partners was an investor in Yanoor Corp. since 2002. After Prudential acquired Burlington Rug, it invested more than $10 million into the company.
Monticello Carpets, the broadloom division of Burlington Rug, was sold last year to Mattel Industries.
As part of Burlington Industries, Burlington Rugs and Monticello Carpets manufactured rugs and carpeting for over 50 years. Burlington Rugs was a leading manufacturer of bath rugs and accent rugs until the late 1990's.
The company operated a one million square foot manufacturing facility in Monticello, AR.
The list of former executives of Burlington Rugs and Monticello reads like a Who's Who of the carpet and rug industry. In the 1970's, John Graham, who later founded Sphinx by Oriental Weavers, was president of Monticello Mills.
Bryan Bogas, another alumnus, was recently named to head the rug divisions of Natco Home, including Central Oriental.