The local Agway store at 600 Main St. will continue its operations virtually unchanged by the national company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Michael Uryniak, owner of the local store for the past 10 years, said the effect of the national company's problems will amount to "basically nothing" for his operation.
"Agway, Inc., has no financial control or responsibilities at this location," said Uryniak, who owns the business outright. "If the public has a perception there's a problem, I'll change the name."
Uryniak said his store buys only a tiny percentage of its inventory from the national company, and that that portion is easily replaced from other sources. "Up until a few years ago, we were buying our product from them," Uryniak said in a telephone interview yesterday.
"Now we buy from other places, and now we buy only grain. And I have grain sales reps in here all the time trying to sell me their product," he said.
"The national company's bankruptcy will have very, very little impact," he said. "The effect will range from non-existent to negligible."
"The latest information I have on their grain is that the Agway feed mills are being bought by someone else who will continue to operate them," he said.
"None of the inventory here comes from Agway except a couple thousand dollars worth of feed, and that's a negligible amount," he said. Some products are now made by different companies that still use the Agway name, he said.
"The store's doing very well," he said. That translates, he said, to "just under $1 million annually," and, he added, "this year in spite of the economy we've had a gain in volume in 11 of the 12 months."
"People think Agway is Agway, and that it's all connected and managed under one roof, but that's incorrect," he said.
Uryniak leases the building, formerly a car dealership, from the McMahon family. Uryniak worked for Agway for 19 years before buying the business, at a time when the national company was selling many of its stores to private individuals. He moved the store from its previous location off Cole Avenue by the former Boston & Maine railroad tracks.
Petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code from Agway, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries were expected to be filed yesterday, Oct. 1, with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York in Utica, N.Y.
Agway, Inc., announced its plans in a press release Monday from Stephen H. Hoevfer, senior five president for public affairs for the Syracuse, N.Y., offices.
Subsidiaries included in the petition are Agway Feed and Nutrition, Agway Agronomy, Seedway, Feed Commodities International, Country Best Produce, CPG Nutrients, Agway CPG Technologies and Agway General Agency.
The company's energy businesses are not included in the Chapter 11 filing.
Agway, Inc. is an agricultural cooperative owned by 69,000 Northeast farmer-members, headquartered in DeWitt, N.Y.
Monday, the company reported a net loss of $98.2 million for the year ended June 30, which includes a net loss of $85.4 million directly related to the sale of discontinued operations, and not, said a spokesman, directly related to the company's ongoing business operations..
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Four Pets Lost in North Adams Fire
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A cat may be the cause of a fire that forced a woman to flee her home on Saturday night and lose four of her five pets.
The occupant of the small home at 1561 Massachusetts Ave. called 911 to report a fire on her kitchen stove at about 9:10 p.m.
"Looked like the fire started in the kitchen area. Best guess at this point is that it an animal turned the stove on," said Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre, repeating what the woman had reported.
"Basically, the occupant was alerted to the sound of the stove igniting, the electronic ignition. She came downstairs and witnessed the cat on the stove. Unfortunately, there was a box on top of the stove, and that lit, and that got the cabinets going."
One cat was saved but firefighters were unable to rescue two other cats and two dogs.
The chief said he hadn't completed his investigation but was going by what the resident had reported at this point.
Firefighters were able to swiftly douse the blaze on arrival and were rolling up hose about an hour later. Mass Ave was closed at Ashton Avenue on the city side.
Since 2020, Roxie's Barkery has been making all-natural treats for dogs after owner McKenna Burzimati realized there weren't many options for pet owners. click for more
