Ferguson-Neudorf Glass: five Suffolk jobs and a $17 million floor

Ferguson-Neudorf Glass Inc., founded in 1986, designs, engineers, fabricates and installs the curtain walls, skylights and other facades of buildings that general contractors put up across Canada and the United States. Its head office and main production plant are in Beamsville, at 4275 North Service Road, Lincoln. The second generation of the Neudorf family manages the company, which employs approximately 80 people, and the affidavit its president, Jeffrey Neudorf, swore on October 6 counts among its assets the goodwill of "its reputation as one of North America's largest building envelope contractors," per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, paras. 5–9, 13, 30–31. Its active and recent jobs run from the McMaster McLean Centre in Hamilton, about 99% finished, to a skybridge in Detroit for a new customer, about 5% complete. Five more are in the Boston area, all for one general contractor, Suffolk Construction Company, per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, paras. 24–25, 28–29.

As KPMG Inc., the proposal trustee, sets out the last three years, the company's contract revenue was $124.0 million in the year ended July 31, 2024, $49.1 million in fiscal 2025 and $24.9 million in fiscal 2026; contract costs exceeded revenue in each year, and net operating losses over the three total approximately $46.7 million, per the First Report, Oct. 7, 2026, paras. 17–18.

On October 2, 2026, the company (FNG in the filings) and 2030247 Ontario Inc. (PropCo), the holding company that owns the Beamsville property and a second plant in Fort Erie, each filed a notice of intention to make a proposal under s. 50.4(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, with KPMG as trustee, per the Official Receiver's Certificate of Filing (FNG), Oct. 5, 2026 and Certificate of Filing (2030247 Ontario Inc.), Oct. 5, 2026. The estates are numbered 32-3432653 and 32-3432656 in the Hamilton division. Four days later the companies brought a motion in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (In Bankruptcy and Insolvency) for the orders that would shape the case: interim financing from Royal Bank of Canada, a sale process built on a $17,000,000 stalking horse bid, and 40 more days to make a proposal, per the Notice of Motion, Oct. 6, 2026, pp. 6–8, 12.

Five jobs, one general contractor

FNG works under subcontracts billed as work progresses, with holdbacks released on substantial completion, often months later. Holdbacks, "which represent completed work for which payment is contractually deferred, are a material component of FNG's receivables," Mr. Neudorf swears, per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, paras. 9–10.

The affidavit's receivables summary lists US$14,797,255 owed on the five Suffolk projects, holdbacks included, against C$1,061,027 on the McMaster job, and says Suffolk "has refused to release holdbacks" across all five. At 585 Kendall, about 90% complete, the holdback is US$1,829,942, and Suffolk "has alleged setoff against the Parcel 12, Citizen M, and Boston University projects." At Landmark Phase 3, 421 Park Drive, about 97% complete, a US$2,963,522 holdback faces setoff Suffolk has alleged against other Suffolk projects. The Boston University job is finished, and US$150,000 is withheld over door-related deficiencies that the affidavit says FNG is addressing. The Parcel 12 office building and the Parcel 12 Citizen M Hotel are complete, with holdbacks of US$2,034,121 and US$721,765; on each, Suffolk "has refused to pay following alleged project delays," and the collection amount and timing "are subject to ongoing legal action and potential settlement," per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, paras. 15, 28. The record holds no filing from Suffolk; its setoff and delay positions appear in it only as the affidavit describes them.

Euler Hermes North America Insurance Company, operating as Allianz Trade, has advanced approximately US$22,964,000 under an Indemnity and Security Agreement dated February 6, 2019, on bonded projects in the Boston area "for which claims were made under performance bonds," to complete them, per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, paras. 18, 22, 35. KPMG ties those advances to "certain bonded Suffolk projects." The surety holds a general security interest over the personal property of FNG and of related companies party to the agreement, PropCo among them, and the trustee understands its debt ranks behind RBC's secured claims, per the First Report, Oct. 7, 2026, paras. 22, 32.

In the affidavit's account of the liquidity crisis, FNG's financial position "has been materially affected by disputes with Suffolk"; the surety debt, "combined with the outstanding Bank indebtedness, has created a level of total secured debt that significantly exceeds the value of the Companies' assets"; and "the delays in payments on certain projects and the general slowdown in construction activity due to volatility in the market arising from the new US tariffs and rising fuel costs have impacted FNG's deal pipeline." The Stevensville plant in Fort Erie, approximately 154,142 square feet on approximately 17 acres, ceased operations as of December 19, 2025, per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, paras. 32–36.

The bank, and the books

On November 19, 2025, RBC's lawyers at Aird & Berlis LLP wrote to both companies listing events of default, among them three financial ratios outside their required levels and fiscal 2025 financial statements RBC had not received. The letter also said a temporary $6,000,000 bulge in FNG's operating line had been extended to December 31, 2025 "on the basis that" Allianz Trade Surety and Markel Insurance Company would execute a postponement agreement, that the agreement was not executed, and that FNG was therefore above its available credit limit on the line, "capped at CAD$10,000,000." No further credit would be extended until the line came back under the limit, and RBC was "not seeking repayment at this time," per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, Ex. "I".

On February 20, 2026, RBC demanded $23,959,680.07, which it put as owing at February 18, and delivered notices of intention to enforce security under s. 244(1) of the BIA to both companies, per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, Ex. "J". No formal standstill or forbearance agreement has been entered into, and "the Bank is in a position to initiate proceedings to appoint a receiver at any time since the RBC Demand matured," Mr. Neudorf swears, per the Affidavit of Jeffrey Neudorf, Oct. 6, 2026, paras. 37–38. The companies' efforts to find financing or a sale that would repay RBC in full produced no transaction, KPMG reports, and the trustee understands RBC "is not willing to continue to support the Companies absent the commencement of a public sales process by way of the proposed SISP," per the First Report, Oct. 7, 2026, paras. 23–25.

The trustee puts RBC's secured debt across both companies at approximately $22.1 million: FNG's operating facility, drawn to approximately $10.8 million at the filing against a current limit of $11 million, about $0.8 million of equipment leases, and a term facility owed by PropCo and guaranteed by FNG. RBC's security includes a general security interest over FNG's personal property, charges against both properties and equipment financing security. The companies' unaudited balance sheet at July 31, 2026 shows book assets of $23.0 million against book liabilities of $74.6 million, primarily the RBC and surety debt, for negative equity of $51.6 million, per the First Report, Oct. 7, 2026, paras. 19–20, 29–31.