New owners hope to inject new life into Barbarian Rugby Wear.
The Kitchener-based shirt manufacturer shut down its factory on Trillium Drive in August after entering receivership, owing $2.5 million to creditors, suppliers and employees.
A total of 77 workers lost their jobs.
More than 70 bids were made for the company’s assets, with Steve Wagner – the owner of Waterloo-based Salus Marine Wear – coming out on top.
Wagner tells CTV News he wants to start production at the plant next week, and hopes to hire back 40 employees.
“People got up from their machines one day thinking they were going to come back two weeks later – we’re giving them that opportunity. (It’s) 10 weeks later, but it’s going to happen,” he says.
“We thought the best value in all of this was keeping everything together – the equipment, the raw material.”
The company will now be known as Barbarian Sports Wear Inc., but will retain the previous company’s equipment and logo.
Barbarian’s Kitchener plant has operated since 1981.
