Dan River Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Dan River Inc., Danville, Va., has filed a voluntary petition for protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware — the second such filing for the company in four years.

Dan River emerged from its previous bankruptcy in February 2005. Late that year, India-based soda ash and textiles manufacturer Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd. (GHCL) acquired the company and ultimately closed all of the Dan River manufacturing facilities, retaining the Dan River brand and its global marketing platform, and expanding GHCL’s home-textile manufacturing capacity in India. Dan River has continued to maintain its corporate offices and several distribution facilities in Danville, as well as sales offices in New York City, Atlanta and several other locations, according to Calvin Barnhardt, the company’s vice president of human resources.

GHCL recently announced its own restructuring and is splitting its textile business from the soda ash business, according to Barnhardt. He added that GHCL is looking into setting up a separate company to handle all of the sourcing globally for its textile businesses, which also include retail operations in the United Kingdom.

April 22, 2008