Chief Executive Jane Skeeter is closing UltraGlas, the Chatsworth manufacturing business she started nearly 50 years ago and turned into a pioneer in high-end decorative glass.
In an interview with the Business Journal, Skeeter said she had been looking to sell the business but was having difficulty finding a buyer. So she decided to sell off the equipment piecemeal to different companies that will continue the relationships she built with clients over the years, Skeeter said.
Big companies that could afford to buy the business weren’t interested because it is a little bit too niche-oriented and creative, while the smaller businesses that could handle it couldn’t afford it, she explained.
“So, it left us in a kind of no man’s land,” Skeeter said.
One of the reasons that Skeeter is selling UltraGlas, which she founded in 1987, is because of the real estate. She owns her building at 9200 Gazette Ave. and has a lot of equity in it having bought the property about 20 years ago, she said.
With real estate prices now at a premium, it made sense to sell the business now, she added.
Plus, she said, she was tired of running and managing a business after all these years.
“It’s time for a little bit of fun,” Skeeter continued. “That was my plan, so I am executing it now. With real estate having increased in price so much that I have a lot of equity in the property, I can afford to just retire.”
But she isn’t leaving the glass business entirely. She plans on consulting and advising other businesses in the industry.
She also is not leaving the area and will continue to be involved with the Valley Industry & Commerce Association and Valley Economic Alliance and supporting organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of the West Valley.
And she will be there for her customers, as well.
“I don’t want to leave anyone in the lurch and so that is one reason why I am looking for the right buyers for the equipment and continue with our legacy,” Skeeter said. “I have built a great foundation for someone to come along and build on it and take it to the next level.”