Two former executives from now-shuttered public relations firm The Catevo Group have opened a new firm of their own.

Forge Communications is a partnership between former Catevo president Ray Hornak and senior vice president for client service Roger Friedensen.

The Catevo Group closed down in November when its parent company, the Laudes Corp., made restructuring moves. Prior to that, the Catevo Group had a four-decade history in North Carolina, working with some of the state's biggest companies including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and BB&T.

Forge, which is based in Raleigh, has already signed five clients: BB&T, the N.C. Institute of Medicine, the N.C. Foundation for Advanced Health Programs, S.T. Wooten Corp. and Toffler Associates. Friedensen is the president and CEO, and Hornak is the company chairman.

A competitor is quickly snapping up laid-off marketing reps who lost their jobs Friday when Raleigh-based Catevo Group shut down.

Media Two Interactive, also in Raleigh, has already hired two former Catevo employees and would like to hire as many as 15, said Media Two CEO Michael Hubbard. Media Two has job offers to several more ex-Catevo workers, he said.

Catevo laid off 25 people when it shut down as part of a reorganization by its parent company, the Laudes Corp. The company's portfolio included Blue Cross, Novozymes and BB&T, among other top drawer clients.

A Raleigh public relations and marketing agency will shut down Friday and lay off its 25 employees.

The Catevo Group has represented a variety of local businesses, including Blue Cross, Novozymes and BB&T.

But the company's parent corporation, the Laudes Corp., recently decided to "restructure and consolidate its businesses both in the U.S. and abroad," Catevo wrote in a prepared statement.

Most businesses have cut back on spending during the recession, hurting many PR firms. The closure of Catevo follows news in August that Ray Hornak had been named as the company's president.

Catevo was formed in 2006 by the merger of Epley Associates, a PR agency, and Digiton Group, a marketing firm. At its peak, Catevo employed more than 50 people with offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Washington and London.

Ray Hornak, a mainstay of the Triangle's public relations circuit, has ascended to the pinnacle of the company where he has burnished corporate reputations for the past 26 years.

Hornak, 59, this month was named president of The Catevo Group, a company that provides PR, communications, marketing and other services. He takes the helm from Mitch Javidi, who left to pursue other opportunities.

"We've struggled over the last 12 to 18 months to make ends meet," Hornak said. "I'm lucky because I'm going to get to preside over a growth rather than a holding back."