From “We Can’t Keep Up” to Shut Down. The Guy & O’Neill Story
In March 2020, Guy & O’Neill had a problem most manufacturers would love to have. They couldn't make product fast enough.
The Fredonia, Wisconsin manufacturer, just 11 miles from where I sit writing this, made disinfecting wipes, household cleaners and personal-care products. When COVID hit, demand exploded. They went from running its plants 24 hours a day, five days a week to 24/7 production. CEO Tom Misgen told Milwaukee’s FOX6 that the company simply couldn't keep up with worldwide demand. They were looking to hire another 40 employees—and potentially more.
This wasn't a startup riding its first hot product.
Guy & O’Neill had been around since 1975. In 2018, private-equity firm Centre Partners invested in the business specifically to accelerate growth, both organically and through acquisitions.
And accelerate it did.
The Growth Story
By 2021, Guy & O’Neill was named Ozaukee County's Large Business of the Year. The reason?
The company itself described its growth as “exponential.” Employment was increasing. Production capacity was increasing. And Guy & O’Neill was adding a 125,000-square-foot warehouse to its Fredonia facility.
Then it kept expanding.
In 2022, Guy & O’Neill acquired the U.S. wipes operations of Albaad USA, adding a Reidsville, North Carolina operation and significantly expanding its manufacturing capabilities and product offering.
If you were a supplier reviewing this customer, what did you see?
Growth.
New capacity.
Acquisitions.
Private-equity backing.
Hundreds of employees.
Major customers.
Basically, things that for the most part make a credit leader sleep well at night.
And in 2023, the story still looked good.
Guy & O’Neill was named one of Milwaukee's Best & Brightest Companies to Work For for the fourth consecutive year.
Even more interesting: a September 2023 third-party commercial credit report characterized Guy & O’Neill as low risk and concluded that a business relationship could be conducted with the company.
Then something changed, and not on their suppiers A/R aging.
At the ownership level.
Centre Partners had decided in 2023 that it wanted to exit the investment. Employees were told in early 2024 that the company was looking for a buyer. Eventually, a buyer was selected. Then the deal fell apart.
According to company officials, the prospective buyer backed out after deciding Guy & O’Neill no longer fit its growth strategy. The company began talking with other potential investors, but the clock was running.
On December 23, 2024, Guy & O’Neill issued its WARN notice, just 39 days before shuttering it’s company.
The Fredonia facility would permanently close January 31, 2025, eliminating 196 Wisconsin jobs. Another 102 employees were affected at its North Carolina operation. The official explanation:
“Current economic conditions.”
Company officials remained hopeful. In early January, management said it even had a verbal agreement with another buyer. But the transaction never saved the company. Production stopped. Nearly 300 jobs disappeared.
A 50-year-old Wisconsin manufacturer that only a few years earlier was running around the clock because it couldn't keep up with demand was suddenly gone.
The Credit Lesson
This is what makes Guy & O’Neill such an important credit-risk story. There wasn't necessarily a giant flashing sign saying:
CUSTOMER ABOUT TO FAIL.
A supplier could have looked at Guy & O’Neill and seen exactly what it wanted to see:
A long operating history. Strong demand. Expanding facilities. Acquisitions. Industry awards.
And maybe even a perfectly respectable payment history. But being paid tells you what happened yesterday.
It doesn't necessarily tell you what's happening inside the boardroom today.
Ownership changes. Private-equity exits. Failed acquisitions or divestitures. Loss of access to capital. Strategic decisions by an investor.
Those risks may never appear on an A/R aging until it is too late. Guy & O’Neill didn't become a 50-year-old company overnight. And it didn't suddenly forget how to manufacture wipes.
What changed was the circumstance surrounding the company. That's the risk credit managers are being asked to manage—but often can't see.
The Crescendo Take
Monitoring whether your customer paid you last month is important. But don't confuse it with monitoring whether they'll be able to pay you next month.
Sometimes the biggest credit event isn't a slow-pay customer. It's a perfectly good customer whose circumstances suddenly change.
That's why trade credit risk should be managed by design—not by looking in the rearview mirror.
Your Customer Doesn’t Have to Look Risky to Become a Bad Debt
Trade Credit Insurance helps companies protect against unexpected customer nonpayment while intentionally deciding which A/R risks to retain and which to transfer.