Van Wert, Ohio —Kennedy Manufacturing Co., a manufacturer of industrial storage equipment, has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

The filing, which took place last month in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dayton, Ohio, affects Kennedy and its subsidiaries, MarkHon, Inc., Lord Healthcare and Blue Bell Bio-Medical.

According to papers in the bankruptcy case, the filing was prompted by the general economic downturn since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and unresolved issues with Kennedy's primary working capital lender.

In a prepared statement, Dave Thompson, president of Kennedy Mfg., said that "during the past two years, we have worked hard to rebuild our order book post 9-11, while at the same time trying to refinance our obligations to our primary lender in order to avoid a bankruptcy filing. We saw encouraging growth in orders during the fall of 2003, but have been unable to resolve matters with our lender, despite having reduced our obligations to it by almost $2 million over this same time period."

He went on to say that "we expect the bankruptcy process to provide us with a mechanism for dealing with the lender while permitting us to maintain the enterprise value of Kennedy for the benefit of its customers, trade vendors, employees and shareholders."

In a February interview, Thompson said he was hopeful the firm would emerge from Chapter 11 as an independent company, and noted an increase in orders in recent weeks.

Kennedy Manufacturing was founded in 1911 in Fort Wayne, Ind., and moved to Van Wert three years later. The company makes steel tool chests, roller cabinets, stationary mobile workbenches, and industrial stool storage equipment.

Blue Bell Bio-Medical, also located in Van Wert, markets and distributes carts and accessories for hospitals in the United States and abroad.

In December, Kennedy closed its MarkHon plant in Wabash, Ind. MarkHon manufactures custom electronic sheet metal enclosures for customers such as Honeywell and Raytheon. About 60 employees were affected by the closing and their jobs have been moved to Van Wert.

Kennedy has 217 employees in three buildings in Van Wert.

Since announcing the bankruptcy filing, Thompson has been contacting his vendors and distributors.

"We're encouraged by the great support and encouragement we've received," Thompson said.