Architectural Traditions, LLC

Custom window and door manufacturer in Tucson, Arizona.

Situation

Architectural Traditions was a 40-year-old manufacturer of custom wood doors and steel frame windows systems located in Tucson, Arizona. The enterprise consisted of a 150,000 square foot manufacturing facility that, at its peak, generated close to $30M in revenue and employed 140 employees. The company’s personality for most of its time in business was as a custom wood door and window manufacturer to several distributors across the country. The company failed after undertaking an ill-advised investment in diversifying the business model to steel framed window systems. The subsequent challenges in getting up to speed on this new product offering in overall product quality and warranty claims cannibalized all available cash flow.

Through a consensus reached by both Lender and Borrower it was decided to appoint a Receiver to properly wind down operations and conduct an orderly liquidation of the enterprise. The use of a Receiver was identified as a practical solution to the financial challenges facing the business.

 

Strategy

Resolute approached this engagement with a two-step plan. The immediate priority was to secure and control all the assets of the business in the form of machinery, inventory and physical premise. Diving deep into the enterprise the team was able to become familiar with the accounting systems and records of the business. Time and effort were also dedicated to addressing lingering issues related to the transition of former employees and associated liabilities. Key staff were identified and retained to help with inventory, accounting, and overall asset protection.

Using the protections afforded by Receivership to stop collection by creditors, a financial baseline was established and all outstanding accounts payable and accounts receivable balances were quantified in order to arrive at a certified financial picture.
A sales process was quickly decided upon where the enterprise would be marketed for sale to strategic buyers within the industry looking for an expanded presence or differentiated product line. Resolute quickly went to work to assemble the due diligence materials necessary to sell the assets and business. This strategy quickly produced a qualified buyer with intimate knowledge of the company.

Due to manufacturing issues that plagued the quality of the products, warranty claims loomed large in the overall financial picture. Much of the accounts receivable was tied up in disputes about defective product and reconciling that against cash due to the company. The Resolute team quickly went to work to assemble vendor files and reconcile outstanding accounts receivable against open warranty claims.

Upon the successful sale of the enterprise the Receiver was left with the ability to pay secured lenders the full balance owed on the debts against the company and administer a claims process to distribute surplus proceeds. Given the previous work done by the Receiver in the wind down of the business, all known vendors were contacted to submit claims and records to support their outstanding payable position. The Receiver reviewed and organized all related claims and divided them into two distinct pools, true out of pocket loss and additional claims.
With the approval of the Court, Resolute presented this logical and practical solution for repayment to trade vendors. Final figures were calculated, and distributions were made.

 

Solution

Resolute was able to deliver a successful sale of the enterprise and assets to a strategic buyer within 45 days of appointment. The proceeds of the sale were able to retire the all outstanding secured debt in full and with the substantial surplus remit a payoff to all unsecured trade debt of approximately 40 cents on a dollar.

The entire process was completed in little over a year.