Westerly - The nearly century-old Bradford Dyeing Association, at one time the largest employer in town, closed last week, but a new buyer has promised to reopen the manufacturing plant in January, a union official said Monday.

The closure Thursday affected about 115 workers, some 71 of whom are members of UNITE Here! Local 432, a textile-workers' union based in Boston, said union business manager Carlos Visinho.

The new owner will reportedly be Nick Griseto, the executive vice president for sales and marketing at Bradford Dye. Griseto, who could not be reached Monday, already has registered a new name for the company, Bradford Printing and Finishing LLC, and has promised to reopen the plant Jan. 5.

”We don't know if they are going to rehire all the people back,” Visinho said. “We have a concern, the way the economy is, particularly in Rhode Island. We're going to see if everyone can find a job.”

Visinho said Bradford Dye's owner, Michael R. Grills, announced two months ago that the company was in trouble and would likely have to close and maybe even move out of state. Grills cited as one reason for the closure a dispute with the government over the quality of materials produced at the plant. Attempts to reach Grills Monday were unsuccessful.

Bradford Dye, with more than 500,000 square feet of manufacturing space, has had a lucrative contract for decades with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide various military uniforms. But the Defense Logistics Agency has complained recently about color differences between the Air Force shirts and pants produced at the local plant, resulting in large numbers of uniforms being rejected by the procurement agency, according to a report in The Westerly Sun.

Bradford Dye, in addition to its ties to the military, specializes in fabrics for law enforcement, hunting, hospitals and Homeland Security.

The manufacturing plant had as many as 275 employees as recently as May 2007, when a devastating fire hit Bradford Dye. The company announced the layoff of 48 people last November, and reduced its force again last spring.

In August 2005, the company was hit by charges that it had violated federal environmental laws by dumping illegally into the Pawcatuck River. It settled the suit in November 2006 by paying a fine of $150,000 and agreeing to make improvements to deal with air and water pollution problems.

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