Accountant Colin Wollstein, of Brady and Wollstein, in Oamaru, was appointed receiver on May 5 at the request of Mr Willetts that all the company's property and assets be placed in receivership.
Mr Wollstein is overseas and could not be contacted for comment.
When contacted yesterday, but Mr Willetts said the company could continue to trade in the immediate future.
"I believe we can trade out of the receivership in time.
We have a huge amount of forward orders and very strong support from staff, suppliers and customers," he said.
That includes strong interest for the new Eco range of furniture the company has just launched on the market.
The range uses a special treatment on New Zealand plantation timbers, including pine, to produce wood that looks like native timber.
The company employs 12 staff at its showroom and production plant in buildings in Harbour St, the heart of Oamaru's historic precinctThe receivership follows a series of setbacks the company encountered over recent years, with no single one being the predominant factor.
Mr Willetts established the company in Oamaru in 1985, producing crafted furniture, initially recycling kauri.
Its reputation grew to the extent it attracted contracts to provide furniture for hotels, resorts and other developments.
These included the Millbrook Resort development, the Queenstown boutique hotel Eichardt's, the St Moritz Hotel in Queenstown and the executive residence at Otago University.
The company continues to supply Millbrook Resort.
It established an export market for rimu furniture to the United Kingdom and until recently had its own retail outlets in Dunedin, Christchurch and Auckland.
At its peak in the mid-1990s, Willetts Furniture employed about 90 staff.
It received a major setback in 2003 when Government legislation cut off its supply of rimu timber, which ended the export market in the United Kingdom it had built up over a 10-year period.
Willetts then switched to New Zealand native beech.
The beech timber used by the company is accredited by the worldwide Forest Stewardship Council as a sustainable product, reflecting the strong ecological approach taken since the company was formed in 1985 using recycled kauri timber.
