New owner of Guy & O’Neill building to lease part of facility

The former Guy & O’Neill building in Fredonia could soon see new life in at least a portion of the recently closed manufacturing facility.

The building’s new owner, California-based Diamond Wipes, is planning to lease the 125,000-square-foot expansion added to the building in 2021, Fredonia Village President Dan Gehrke said Monday.

Gehrke said the village will work “hand in hand” with Diamond Wipes to find a tenant for the facility.

When the expansion was built four years ago, it was lauded by Guy & O’Neill and village elected officials alike as a sign of the long-time Fredonia company’s success.

To the surprise of the community, Guy & O’Neill entered voluntary receivership in December and announced plans to layoff its 196 Wisconsin employees and 102 North Carolina workers.

Last month, Ozaukee Economic Development Director Kathleen Cady Schilling said she had been told by officials that Diamond Wipes is working on obtaining licenses for production in Wisconsin.

“Everyones’ hope is that they will reopen,” she said.

Diamond Wipes purchased the assets of Guy & O’Neill, including its Fredonia and Reidsville, N.C., facilities,  for $6.6 million at auction in January.

Village President Dan Gehrke said at the time that he was “at a loss for words.”

“That was really exciting ... then this happened. We’re shocked. I think the general consensus is we’re disappointed and shocked. It’s never good to lose a staple of your community.”