A fabric printing plant in Westerly has closed, leaving 48 people without jobs. Nick Griseto, the owner of Bradford Printing and Finishing, says the plant has not been able to rebound from damage suffered in last year's flooding and informed workers on Tuesday they were being furloughed.
He says he hopes to reopen the plant, which prints fabric for military uniforms, but has not yet received a $700,000 federal grant to help with flood relief. Griseto told The Westerly Sun that the floods of 2010 caused about $4 million in damage, and only about half of that amount was recouped. The company had no flood insurance and was renting from the previous owners. Everyone told him to shut down then, but he pushed ahead.
He told WJAR-TV the company has already invested about $2 million of its own funds in the rebuilding effort and is out of money. The Day of New London reports some workers were not paid last week. Westerly Town Manager Steven Hartford says getting the funds to the company has become a top priority.