If you think MRI tests are expensive, try buying a magnetic resonance imaging machine. Some health care providers invest millions in technology to help diagnose patients.FORT WAYNE – A Wells County meat processor refuses to be put through the grinder.
Ossian Smoked Meats Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with intentions of coming out of the reorganization a more financially stable company, one of its attorneys said Wednesday.
Founded in 1946, the company that does business under the name Ossian Packing Co. recorded $5.5 million in annual sales in 2010, Fort Wayne attorney Scot Skekloff said. Figures for last year are not available yet.
The business employs 17 workers. Ossian Smoked Meats has total assets between $650,000 to $700,000 and $2.9 million in debt. Skekloff said the company is putting together a bankruptcy exit strategy, but no timetable has been set.
Peter Sorg, president of Osssian Smoked Meats, declined to comment.
Skekloff said the business – known for its holiday hams, Canadian bacon and gift baskets – will continue to operate while it works on a debt restructuring plan.
“They actually were doing pretty well,” he said. “It’s just that there are some outstanding obligations” that likely were acquired during the recession. “The debt can snowball, and you have to reorganize to get things under control. You only have one or two options.”
Jay Wenther, head of the American Association of Meat Processors of Elizabethtown, Pa., said other companies have struggled as well.
“If you’re selling sirloins and people start buying ground beef you need to be able to switch gears quickly,” Wenther said. “During the recession, companies stopped giving employees holiday hams and gift baskets. That’s a killer if that is a big part of your business.”
Skekloff said he is confident about Ossian Smoked Meats returning to profitability.
“I tend to be an optimist,” he said. “Chapter 11 affords a company (an opportunity) so it doesn’t have to close. Retail sales expanding always help as well.”
