Lacking Buyer, Modem Pioneer Hayes to Close

Hayes Corp., a company that once dominated the personal computer modem business, is shutting down after failing to find a buyer.

About 250 employees were laid off Monday, leaving only a handful from a peak of 1,200.

Hayes sought protection from creditors in October, in its second trip to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the 1990s, and attempted a reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code as it talked to potential buyers.

Although there hasn’t been a formal bankruptcy liquidation, Ron Howard, Hayes’ chief executive, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Norcross, Ga.-based company is closing down.

Co-founder Dennis Hayes was a 29-year-old engineer when he and a partner worked on his dining room table to create home-use modems. His company began in 1978.