Oberweis Dairy in North Aurora seeks bankruptcy protection for financial restructuring
NORTH AURORA, Ill. - A popular ice cream company in North Aurora has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Oberweis Dairy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday with the Northern District of Illinois, according to court documents. The company has not filed for bankruptcy.
The move is typically an attempt at reorganization and is an effort to help keep a business alive and pay creditors over time, according to U.S. Courts officials.
In other words, if Oberweis receives court approval, it could continue its operations and borrow new money.
The company owes at least $4 million to creditors, according to court documents.
Oberweis also has between $10 million and $50 million in estimated assets and between $10 million and $50 million in estimated liabilities, documents say.
On Wednesday, Oberweis issued a statement on the case, shared below:
"At Oberweis, we, like many companies, have been forced to make some very difficult decisions related to the structure of our company. These difficult decisions are always made with full consideration of other options and with an eye towards the best future of our company.
On Friday, April 12, 2024, the Oberweis company filed a Chapter 11 reorganization. The intent of this filing is to seek debt relief while the company continues to operate in the ordinary course of business as a sale is pursued. Detailed filing documents are now available to the public.
As part of this filing process, it was a necessary legal step to issue a WARN notice to employees in the North Aurora location. The intention is to complete the sale of the company through this court-approved process as swiftly as possible.
In 2024, Adam Kraber was elevated to the President's role to assist with the sale of the Company and related assets and, along with the leadership team and financial advisors, will oversee these legal processes.
During this time, we remain committed to continuing to provide our customers with the highest quality, delicious milk and ice cream, along with world-class service that our customers have come to expect."
Oberweis is laying off 127 workers at its plant following the filing.
The job cuts are expected to start on June 11, when the company stops operations at the plant that is being permanently closed.