Young Plumbing, located at 3426 N. Lake Park Ave. in Hobart, was placed in receivership in Lake Superior Court on July 18.

Typically, the responsibility of the receiver is to recoup as much of a company's unpaid loans as possible.

The closure marks a sign of the times, according to Jim Ottjes, state president of the Indiana Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors.

"What's happened to a lot of companies is the whole downturn in the new housing market shut them down. Secondly, the cost of doing business has escalated dramatically," Ottjes said.

John T. Young, who filed incorporation papers for Young Plumbing Inc. in 1996 according to the Secretary of State's Office, could not be reached for comment.

Plumbing contractors who work in the service and repair sector may be better positioned to weather the current economic climate since their work does not depend upon new construction, he said.

But that doesn't mean all service companies are without challenges. As the credit market tightens, less liquid companies may find themselves in a situation similar to the one Young faces.

All companies are faced with rising fuel and material costs that eat away at the bottom line and that could mean trouble in the coming months for some companies that are not as fiscally sound.

Costs continue to climb for materials and the increases are more frequent. He said the price of a water heater has gone up three times in the past nine months, each time rising 10 percent to 15 percent, he said.

Daniel Mackey, a service technician with A-1 Plumbing in East Chicago, said the downturn in the new construction market has not hurt the company's business since it focuses on service and repairs.

"We've actually been pretty busy," Mackey said of the recent weeks. The flooding kept workers busy installing sump pumps almost as fast as they could.

So far the company has been able to manage the rising fuel and materials costs and he is confident about the future.

"We are pretty stable," he said.