GUILFORD, Maine - A co-owner of Hardwood Products Co., one of central Maine's largest employers, has filed a lawsuit against his cousin and fellow co-owner to settle company ownership.

 

Plaintiff Timothy Templet says his business partner John Cartwright is obstructing attempts to modernize and sell the company. Templet wishes to increase wages, upgrade information technology, and invest in new machinery. He also wants to sell the company to an investment group that has pledged to keep the company in operation in Guilford.

 

Cartwright is against all of those moves. 

 

Both co-owners have joint decision-making power. Both used to meet routinely to oversee budgets, salary increases, and other company expenses - but neither has spoken to each other since May of 2018.

 

Templet wants the court to dissolve the partnership and assign the company's general manager to keep the business running until a new ownership agreement can be crafted. Maine law allows a court to terminate a partership if business isn't feasible under the current agreement.

 

The century-old Hardwood Products employs 550 workers and earns about $55 million in revenue annually. It is the biggest employer in the county, manufacturing ice cream sticks, tooth picks, and other wooden supplies - all mostly out of white birch.

 

See the full story from the Press Herald: https://www.pressherald.com/2020/02/20/family-dispute-could-trigger-sale-of-legacy-wood-products-business/