Cappaert Manufactured Housing, one of Warren County’s longest-standing employers, closed two months ago — but the company is moving forward on a new path.

Sources indicate the company is actively seeking to be acquired with the intent to resume production through new ownership. The business, which was at one time the largest manufactured home company in the United States, made the decision to move forward with a sale due to market fluctuations and soaring interest rates, which triggered a decline in demand for their product.

At one time, Cappaert Manufactured Housing employed an estimated 250 people.

The Cappaert family first entered the manufactured home business in 1953, when World War II veteran Francis Leo “F.L.” Cappaert started Magnolia Mobile Homes with a $50,000 small business loan. This marked one of the first industries to set up shop in Warren County, which up to that point had been largely dependent on agriculture.

F.L. then desired to take his company public and acquired Guerdon Mobile Homes. His business was on the stock market in a matter of days.

In 1987, F.L.’s son, Mike Cappaert, decided to set out on his own. He moved down the road on U.S. 61 South and opened Cappaert Manufactured Housing. The business survived the 2008 Housing Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brent Cappaert was named General Manager of the business in 2016. Cappaert provided no comment on the news.