Sheffield spray painting company Orrmac goes bust with the loss of all jobs 'due to lack of investment'
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Orrmac Coatings of Newton Chambers Road, Thorncliffe Park Estate, Chapeltown, closed its doors on Tuesday after 28 years - leaving 20 devastated staff without wages.
Bosses called a crunch meeting last month and announced it had two weeks to find a buyer or it would close.
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Hide AdWorker Andy Collett said the way staff had been treated was ‘despicable’.
He joined in November and was told order books were full, he said. The bombshell meeting came just a week in.
He added: “So I was brought in to clear the workload and nothing more, it’s an absolutely outrageous way to treat someone. I am now out of a job for Christmas.
“The receptionist was in tears. She said she’d worked there for 30 years and was afraid she would not get paid before Christmas.
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Hide Ad“What grates is they only called the meeting because staff demanded it due to rumours.”
Workers must now apply to government to receive wages in ‘two to six weeks’, he added.
Kier Rees, of recruitment company Rise Technical, which placed Mr Collett, said he had called the firm after hearing of the meeting and was told business was fine. He asked to be kept up to date but heard nothing.
Orrmac owes Rise money, he added.
Coating inspector Zack Gascoigne joined at 16 and had worked at the firm for 17 years.
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Hide AdHe said: “It’s not a good time to lose your job, Christmas is going to be a bit rough.”
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He added: “I think this has been coming for a while. It think it was poorly managed the last few years. General manager Mark Woodward was brought in two months ago to turn the business round but found things that needed investment and the owners were not prepared to cover the costs.”
The firm had not made any money in the last two years and some suppliers had put it ‘on stop’ for failing to pay, he added.
Orrmac was bought by Leicestershire company Bradgate Containers three years ago but was loss making for at least two years, it is understood.
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Hide AdInsolvency practitioner Nathan Jones, of FRP Advisory, said Orrmac suffered a drop in sales due to the pandemic. It also needed investment to make it ‘safely operational’ and ‘compliant’.
It was too early to say how much creditors were owed, he added.
The Star contacted Bradgate Containers for comment. Danny Gallacher and Patrick Stapleton are listed as directors of both firms at Companies House.
Orrmac’s website is still live.
It states: ‘Orrmac Coatings Limited offers a full range of solvent-based and solvent free epoxies as well as polyurethane, alkyd, anti-slip and decking treatments…. Our work facility includes a floor space of approximately 4,200 square metres. The factory operates 10 overhead cranes, servicing three bays, with lifting capacity of over 70 tonnes’.
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Phone callers hear a message stating ‘all lines are busy’.
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Hide AdBradgate Containers is based on Leicester Road, Shepshed, Loughborough, Leicestershire.
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