SCHENECTADY — Mohawk Office Products survived a devastating fire four years ago that destroyed its State Street headquarters, but the business will not make it through the economic downturn.

The office furniture supplier plans to shut its doors permanently on Dec. 24, ending its 55-year presence in the city. However, Mohawk President Vincent Simoni said he plans to create a similar business elsewhere in the city.

The closure comes just three years after Mohawk spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating a 20,000-square-foot State Street building, which houses its corporate offices, showroom and warehouse. The building is next to the site of the January 2004 fire that nearly wiped out the business.

“It’s a difficult decision for us to come to terms with. … It’s just the current economic conditions,” Simoni said.

Simoni plans to sell Mohawk’s recently renovated building at 908 State St., though he will hold on to the former firehouse he owns across the street. Mohawk currently employs seven people, and Simoni said he will try to retain some of them at the smaller company he plans to create.

With a smaller work force and a facility lacking a showroom, Simoni believes Mohawk’s successor can stay afloat in the rough economy. He would not reveal the name or location of the new entity, though he said he will seek economic development aid from the city. He also expects to retain some of Mohawk’s customers.

Highlighting the challenges Simoni faces, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association recently reported that U.S. office furniture shipments this year will fall 1.8 percent to $11.2 billion. The Grand Rapids, Mich., trade group expects the industry to slump even worse next year, with shipments declining 11.6 percent to $9.9 billion.

Simoni’s father, John, started Mohawk around 1953. John Simoni is a Schenectady native who also served as a Charlton supervisor and chairman of the Schenectady County Industrial Development Agency. Vincent Simoni took over the business about a decade ago.

Mohawk almost met its demise when the 2004 fire destroyed its main building at 904 State St., along with a dozen apartments above it. The company lost its inventory, computers and billing records, but the Simonis decided to rebuild the business from scratch.

Mohawk temporarily set up shop in the Schenectady County Community Business Center on Albany Street before moving back to State Street. John Simoni poured $300,000 of his own money, plus $70,000 in state and federal grants, to rebuild the headquarters.