Dodger Industries , the team sports apparel company based in
Eldora, Iowa, has gone out of business. The company announced plans to close its Iowa and North Carolina operations,
laying off 10 workers in Eldora and 95 workers in a factory in Clinton,
N.C., according to a report in the Des Moines Register. Stephen Throssel, Dodger's chief executive, cited foreign competition and the recession among its reasons for closing.
According to a letter the company sent to the state
Department of Commerce, Dodger Industries, which celebrated its 70th
year in business in 2010, will close permanently on March 28. Companies are
required to notify the state of mass layoffs or permanent closures.
In the letter, Joseph Throssel, vice president of operations, said Dodger Industries
started trying to sell its assets last year but has not been able to find a
buyer.
“We have determined that time has run out on our
ability to cash flow the company and we are forced to give this notice of the
facilities closing,” Throssel wrote. “All affected employees have
been notified.”
Most of the job losses are in sewing and cutting.
A separate report indicated that the Dodger Industries name and intellectual property rights, along with some inventory, had been sold to Greene Co., a North Caroling company.
Founded in Fort Dodge, Iowa in 1940 as Dodger Gym Company, the company produced gym clothing for school physical education programs. In 1962, the company was purchased and relocated to Eldora, Iowa. The privately held company has been known as Dodger Industries, Inc. since 1988. A 1994 purchase of Hummer Sportswear established manufacturing, warehouse, and decoration in North Carolina.
