Two top executives have departed indieDwell Colorado as the company's Pueblo production factory remains shut down and the local workforce for the sustainable housing builder remains sidelined.

Ron Francis, CEO for indieDwell Colorado and Human Resources Director Mikki Gates both have left the company, according to Pete Gombert, co-founder and former executive chairman of indieDwell. Gombert, who serves on indieDwell's board of directors said, "both are wonderful and we will miss them."

The Chieftain obtained a letter Francis wrote May 2 to indieDwell's Pueblo teammates announcing his departure.

"It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to say goodbye," Francis wrote in the letter. "After three years of serving as the CEO of this wonderful company, it is time for me to move on to new challenges."

Francis expressed gratitude to the staff for their "hard work, dedication and commitment to indieDwell" and said he is "incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together."

"We have faced many challenges along the way, but never forgot our mission and our compassion for each other. We have made a positive impact on the lives of our customers and the communities we serve," Francis wrote.

More on indieDwell: 55 Pueblo workers sidelined as affordable home builder deals with cash flow issues

On April 4, indieDwell shut down its Pueblo production facility due to cashflow issues, leaving 55 employees without work. That move came in the wake of Jan. 6 layoffs that impacted 45 workers, Gates told the Chieftain in April.

Gombert reiterated that the closure is temporary.

"We have been struggling to collect receivables from our largest customer in California where we are owed multiple millions of dollars," he told the Chieftain. "This has put significant financial pressure on the entity and as a result we have had to temporarily close the facility."

"We are actively working to collect those funds and are actively working with our largest supporters to reopen the factory as soon as possible," Gombert said.

Pueblo’s indieDwell production facility opened July 6, 2020, to build tiny homes and affordable housing units touted as sustainable, energy efficient, healthy and durable. The homes have been built inside a 100,000 square-foot facility at 205 N. Elizabeth St., formerly the AG Warehouse.

One indieDwell home has been set up in Pueblo. Several other affordable housing units were under construction in Salida.

While the company made its start building homes with shipping containers, it has since offered metal-framed buildings so customers are no longer limited to the 8-foot-wide shipping container size and can purchase homes with widths of 12, 14 and 16 feet.

Through an incentive agreement with the city of Pueblo and Pueblo’s Economic Development Corp., the company, which is based in Boise, Idaho, committed to bringing 170 jobs to Pueblo when it reaches full capacity.

In 2019, Pueblo City Council approved providing more than $1.5 million in half-cent sales tax economic-development funds to the company, with the money provided by the city used to purchase equipment and provide pre-employment training at Pueblo Community College, among other uses.

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.

More on indieDwell: 'Lifting the neighborhood': Pueblo's first container home hits the market

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Two top executives leave indieDwell as Pueblo factory remains closed