This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
The company was kind enough to send the city a note saying "Secured creditors will take control of all assets, which have a value less than the secured debts, so there will be no funds to pay unsecured creditors." I think (though I'll be happy to be proved wrong) that's code for "Don't expect to get paid for that electric bill."
At least we can't take the blame for this one. Even I thought this enterprise looked like a winner. Dakota Vinyl was making plastic lumber, that fake stuff that's supposed to make longer-lasting decks and fences and such. (I'm still a wood guy, but I could be persuaded to convert, especially given some talk that plastic lumber may have a smaller environmental impact than chopping down trees.) The industry is growing, so it looked like a good opportunity for Madison.
Alas, it looks like the company couldn't deliver on its financial promises:
On Aug. 18, John Calvin, Dakota Vinyl's chief executive officer and company investor, won by default in the Third Circuit Court a judgment of about $305,000 from Dakota Vinyl for the nonpayment of a loan and interest. In the court documents, Calvin asserted that Dakota Vinyl had failed to make an interest payment that was due on June 30 and had defaulted on the conditions for a $280,000 loan. Calvin's court judgment also included about $25,000 in interest from the loan [Chuck Clement, "Dakota Vinyl Closes Doors," Madison Daily Leader, 2008.09.11].
Oh well. This just means we have one more nice industrial facility available, plus a nice new paved street, for the next eager entrepreneur. Let's do some thinking, figure out what comes next!
