NORWICH--The company behind some of the most familiar packaging on our stores' shelves is no more.
After 99 years in business, the Atlantic Packaging Group of Norwich has gone out of business. This week, the company's seven-acre property and all the equipment inside are being auctioned off.
"The Great Recession hit and one of our major customers went belly up, and that cost us a million dollars," said Steve Vizoukis, one of the cardboard carton maker's owners.
The final straw, he said, was the aftermath of a job Atlantic took on earlier this year because a Chinese company couldn't finish the work on time.
"We did it for a better price, but we still lost the business," he said.
Atlantic is the second Norwich-area box business one employee has worked for that went belly up.
"It's one of those eerie feelings," said Jeff Blanchard, Atlantic's plant manager for the past five years.
Layoffs of the roughly 30 employees started around Labor Day.
"Looking at the future, more and more customers were gonna, were gonna probably leave us and so we had to make a tough decision," says Vizoukis, who added that the Affordable Care Act and difficulty doing business in Connecticut were major factors in the business folding as well.
Just over a month ago, Atlantic Packaging produced its final cartons for Taylor Pork, a small, repeat customer.
Vizoukis made a point to compliment his diverse, valuable group of employees, who he credits with keeping the business afloat longer than it probably should have been, given the obstacles.
"We had people with 30, 40 years experience working here," he said. "It's actually a pretty sad day."
