Henrico-based signal maker shuts down, data files for liquidation | Local Small business Information

Henrico County-based mostly Acorn Sign Graphics Inc., makers of customized architectural indications that has landed twice on the Inc. 5000 record of the nation’s speediest growing non-public corporations, has ceased functions.

The business shut down immediately after filing for Chapter 7 liquidation in the U.S. Individual bankruptcy Court in Richmond on Wednesday.

Acorn Signal Graphics, started in the 1970s, has been co-owned by partner and spouse Beth and Steve Gillispie due to the fact 2003.

The corporation shown among $500,000 and $1 million in belongings and $1 million and $10 million in liabilities, court files show.

It experienced concerning 200 and 999 creditors. The filing didn’t record the company’s major unsecured collectors, but numerous of the collectors are from the Richmond location.

Acorn Indication Graphics said in a statement that it was recovering from organization impacts from the pandemic and supply chain problems.

But the organization stated it “was unable to prevail in a agreement payments dispute with its most significant shopper, LL Flooring. The resulting liquidity crisis pressured closure of the firm.”

The business mentioned it expects to go after its assert in individual bankruptcy courtroom towards LL Flooring, the Henrico-dependent flooring huge that formerly was termed Lumber Liquidators. Acorn Signal Graphics didn’t offer any particulars about the payment dispute, which includes the volume.

Beth Gillispie, who is detailed as the company’s president and CEO, could not be reached for remark.

“We are deeply saddened by the hardship in this condition for our stakeholders, 43 staff, distributors and customers,” the business assertion stated. “The legacy we hope stays echoes our vision: to have increased the human experience in the crafted environment and offered a place exactly where our staff would flourish.”

Acorn Sign Graphics was recognized for its substantial-high quality design and style, fabrication and set up products and services. It has made tens of hundreds of signs for places of work, retail suppliers, hospitals and educational institutions in Virginia and elsewhere.

The firm also was a advantage company, or B Corporation, committed to social and environmental obligation.

That meant its mission was to make the signs in an environmentally pleasant way. At Acorn’s primary workplace and creation facility on West Clay Avenue around Dabney Road, the corporation experienced invested various yrs ago in devices developed to assemble and paint indicators with a lot less waste and much less toxic chemical substances. It also utilised recycled or eco-friendly-helpful resources in its signs.

In 2015, the corporation was acknowledged in the “Best for the Environment” classification in the Best for the Planet awards program by B Lab, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that certifies companies as B Corps and advocates for that business product.

Acorn Signal Graphics also manufactured it twice on the Inc. 5000 checklist of the nation’s swiftest-escalating private enterprises centered on the companies’ a few-12 months earnings progress costs.

In 2017, the company was ranked No. 4,756 with a 47% a few-calendar year growth rate producing $6 million in annual product sales. In 2015, it had a 66% growth rate with $5.9 million in sales landing it at No. 4,193.

The company is represented in its individual bankruptcy circumstance by the Richmond legislation company of Spiro & Browne PLC.