High-tech workshop TechShop filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today (Wednesday), with all its locations, including in Crystal City, now closed.
TechShop, which had a 20,000-square-foot space at 2110-B Crystal Drive, opened in Arlington County in 2014. The company was founded in 2006, and at one stage had 10 locations in the United States and four more overseas.
It offered access to high-tech equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters, and had monthly and annual memberships for use of its facilities, as well as classes for non-members to learn how to use the equipment.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy means a court-appointed trustee will now sell all TechShop’s assets. Anyone who left personal items in one of its locations will be contacted with a time to come and collect them.
In a statement, founder Jim Newton said the business was no longer financially viable.
“I’m very proud of what my team and I did to build TechShop,” Newton said. “I’m very sad that we were not able to make TechShop into a sustainable business. It is my prayer that each of the people we touched will take those little sparks they received while they worked on their dreams at TechShop, and turn them into their own grand experiment.”
According to figures provided by the company, TechShop provided access to over $1.4 million of high quality tools and machinery to its users for a membership fee of less than $4 per day. It had more than 9,000 active members in the United States, and engaged more than 100,000 people, including through memberships, classes and youth programs. It also helped train more than 3,000 veterans.
“As a veteran myself, I’m proud to say that TechShop has provided membership and training to over three thousand returning veterans,” TechShop CEO Dan Woods said in a statement. “This program enabled veterans to develop skills and experience–preparing them for jobs in advanced manufacturing and helping dozens of vets to launch their own companies.”