Williams Moving & Storage Ltd., which includes the Cranbrook and Lethbridge branches, is not affected by the recent announcement that the B.C. and Alberta-wide business has gone bankrupt.
Williams Moving & Storage filed for bankruptcy this week after 86 years in business.
Cory Stepney, manager and owner of Williams Moving & Storage (Cranbrook) Ltd. said his business is not affected because it’s under separate ownership from the Vancouver-based company.
“Williams Moving & Storage (Cranbrook) Ltd. is a separately owned identity,” Stepney explained. “Everything is run separately, so we weren’t part of the operating company that had to shut down.”
Stepney said that while the news of the storage and moving company’s closing was a surprise, his own employees weren’t worried about the state of the local business.
“All my employees here knew that we were okay no matter what happens — because we are a separate company,” Stepney said. “They all know we’re a separate company and we have nothing to do with the B.C. division.”
Stepney said they are open for business and there are no worries of closing down.
“We do storage, moving, commercial … everything,” he said. “Everything’s the same in the Cranbrook and Lethbridge area.”
Coquitlam-headquartered Williams Moving & Storage closed up shop suddenly following a Wednesday afternoon meeting and conference call where they informed employees the company would be filing under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
A notice posted on the Unifor Local 114 blog said the 3 p.m. meeting and call brought together all its B.C. and Alberta employees where they were informed the company wasn’t making money and that it would close with all its assets to be put up for auction.
According to the notice, the company said it “has been trading unprofitably for a period of time and has not been able to restructure appropriately in the current economic and competitive environment,” and that trade and operations would cease as of Wednesday.
With files from Postmedia News
