Kanas City Law Firm Helps American Prestige Brand Emerge from Chapter 11
Shawnee – based Vita Craft Corporation has announced that its bankruptcy confirmation order became effective, allowing the successful reemergence of the company from bankruptcy court oversight. Their story provides more context to how Chapter 11 bankruptcy can be a tool with which a business can restructure and continue creating a sustainable business for the future.
On November 1, 2019, on the eve of the pandemic, Vita Craft sought bankruptcy protection to allow itself to reorganize following a series of events that forced it into bankruptcy. Despite suffering along with much of American business, forced plant shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, tariff and trade restrictions, and of course, employment challenges, on April 5, 2022, Judge Robert Berger entered an order approving Vita Craft’s Plan, stating in his order, “all of the evidence before this Court suggests that the goal of the Second Amended Plan is to restructure Vita Craft’s debt so that Vita Craft can continue its nearly 80-year history of producing top quality cookware in Shawnee, Kansas. That goal, which Vita Craft appears likely to achieve is perfectly consistent with – if not the embodiment of – the purpose of the Bankruptcy Code.” Vita Craft is wholly owned by Vita Craft Japan, a Kobe Japan based cookware company owned and operated by Masoru Imura.
Vita Craft was represented in its bankruptcy by attorneys at its long-time Kansas City law firm, Lathrop GPM. Vita Craft president Gary Martin remarked that “Vita Craft is proud to have been able to continue to provide employment to its tremendously loyal and talented employees while continuing to serve its worldwide distributors and customers. Without the commitment of its employees, customers, ownership group, and the local community, this survival would not have been possible. This is a very exciting time for Vita Craft; its future has never been brighter.”
Lathrop GPM attorneys Brian W. Fields and Robert J. Haupt led the Lathrop GPM team.
About Vita Craft Corporation
Vita Craft Corporation is an American cookware manufacturer proudly located in Shawnee, Kansas that has been in business for more than 80 years. Recognized as being an iconic American prestige brand, Vita Craft products have been used in prominent venues over the years, including the White House and have been featured by celebrity chefs on the Food Network. Vita Craft is owned by Vita Craft Japan, a high-end cookware retail company based in Kobe, Japan. Core to VC Japan’s business model is that it sells Vita Craft’s “Made in the USA” products.