Friday, October 23, 2009

 

COUNTRY COACH TRYING TO STAY IN BUSINESS

BY TIM CHRISTIE
The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Friday, Oct 23, 2009

News Updates: Story
A judge decided Thursday to give Country Coach a little more time to re organize its business plan after concluding that the company has “at least a reasonable chance” to emerge from bankruptcy as a going concern.

“If this debtor can be saved, it’s in everybody’s interest,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Albert Radcliffe said near the end of a daylong hearing.

Country Coach, a privately held maker of luxury motor homes, closed its Junction City factory in November, putting about 500 employees out of work. The company filed for bankruptcy in March to re­organize its finances while getting breathing room from creditors.

The company resumed production in April, bringing back about 120 employees, with plans to turn out one coach per week. But the company has not met sales or production goals, and has been losing money at a rate of about $1 million a month, according to court testimony and documents. The plant shut down briefly in July, and the assembly line has been shut down since the week of Sept. 11, Chief Financial Officer Mark Andersen testified.

Radcliffe rejected arguments from Rebecca Kamitsuka, attorney for U.S. Trustee Robert Miller, that the case should be dismissed. Doing so would allow creditors to move to liquidate the company’s assets “at fire sale prices,” Radcliffe said.

“I fail to see who benefits from the dismissal of the case,” he said. “Its loss would be devastating to Junction City.”

Radcliffe set another hearing for next month and said he hopes to schedule a hearing to confirm the company’s reorganization plan by late January or early February. Wells Fargo, the company’s main creditor, has agreed to extend financing through Feb. 15, said David Kurzweil, an attorney for the bank.

Kamitsuka had argued that the case should be dismissed because Country Coach had missed court-imposed deadlines for filing a reorganization plan and other documents, and because the company has lost $7.6 million since it resumed production in April and has just $1,000 left on its line of credit. The company has no reasonable chance to recover, and its assets will continue to diminish in value, she said.

“Everybody wants jobs, but this company is going further and further in the hole,” Kamitsuka said. “This case has cratered.”

Under questioning from David Lavant, one of the company’s bankruptcy attorneys, CFO Andersen said he was not alarmed by the $7.6 million in losses because that number “is a measure of accounting activity.” What the company needs to do to survive is create cash flow by selling coaches, even at deeply discounted prices, he said. The company is trying to sell coaches for more than their liquidation value, he said.

At the start of the hearing, Radcliffe heard a series of statements from Junction City civic leaders, Country Coach employees and vendors on how important the company is to the community.

“This is an important business in Junction City,” said Rick Kissock, executive director of the Junction City-Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce. “We need jobs. We don’t need empty buildings.”

Country Coach, which has been in Junction City since its founding in the 1970s, is “an integral part of the community” and a contributor to local causes and organizations, Junction City Administrator David Clyne said. The company accounts for 10 percent of the city’s property tax base, which helps the city pay for services such as police and parks.

Dave Swenson of API Inc., a Eugene auto paint maker, said Country Coach helped his company grow to 25 employees and $14 million in annual revenue. Since Country Coach fell on hard times, API is down to $4 million in revenue and 12 employees, he said.

Eugene lawyer Douglas Schultz, representing a committee of unsecured creditors, also urged Radcliffe to allow Country Coach to continue its reorganization efforts. Unsecured creditors include suppliers, dealers and other parties who are owed money but will get paid only after the secured creditors get paid.

Schultz said the company has struggled and not sold as many coaches as it intended. But he pointed to “one glaring fact”: Nearly all of Country Coach’s assets are encumbered by Wells Fargo Bank and investor Bryant Riley. If the case were dismissed, Wells Fargo would foreclose to get back what it is owed, and Riley would get the rest, he said.

“The unsecured creditors would end up holding an empty bag,” he said.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

 

FEMA IS AUCTIONING OFF THE KATRINA TRAILERS

October 20, 2009 by RV Business

The federal government is holding its fourth auction in as many weeks on a large group of travel trailers left in the Pine Belt area in Mississipi following Hurricane Katrina, according to the Hattiesburg American.
The United States General Services Administration has put a single lot of 488 trailers at the Purvis, Miss., staging area up for bid. The auction ends at 5 p.m. Friday.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials had estimated that heading into the fall, about 30,000 trailers used as temporary housing in the aftermath of Katrina in 2005 remained at five, Pine Belt staging areas: two in Lumberton and one in Purvis in Lamar County; Carnes in Forrest County; and Columbia in Marion County.
Weekly auctions started in late September to reduce the inventory, and were scheduled to rotate through all five locations. Over the past three weeks, GSA had sold 1,461 trailers from the staging areas in Lumberton and Carnes.

Monday, October 19, 2009

 

RECALL: 2010 KEYSTONE FUSION TRAILERS: FEDERAL WEIGHT ID TAGS

Vehicle Make / Model: Model Year(s):
KEYSTONE / FUZION 2010
Manufacturer: KEYSTONE RV COMPANY Mfr's Report Date: OCT 13, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V403000 NHTSA Action Number: N/A
Component: EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
Potential Number of Units Affected: 304
Summary:
CERTAIN TRAVEL AND FIFTH WHEEL TRAILERS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF PART 567, ¿CERTIFICATION," THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION TAG AND TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION LABEL IS INCORRECT.
Consequence:
OVERLOADING THE TIRES CAN LEAD TO TIRE FAILURE INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:
KEYSTONE WILL MAIL THE CORRECTED TAG TO CONSUMERS OR THE CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE OPTION FOR DEALERS TO INSTALL THE LABEL FOR THEM FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 22, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT KEYSTONE 1-866-425-4369.
Notes:
KEYSTONE RECALL NO. 09-126. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

 

PARLIAMENT COACH CORP. BUYS BLUE BIRD WANDERLODGE ASSETS

October 19, 2009 by RV Business

High-end bus converter Parliament Coach Corp., Clearwater, Fla., has purchased the intellectual property of bankrupt Coachworks Holdings Inc., manufacturer of the Blue Bird Wanderlodge motorhome.
The purchase includes technical data pertaining to all coaches produced by Blue Bird Wanderlodge dating from the 1960s to the present.
The purchase was completed through Hudson & Marshall Auctioneers in the final bankruptcy auction of Coachworks Holdings Inc., Fort Valley, Ga.
The items included all parts information, wiring schematics, diagrams, blueprints and supplier, vendor and service records.
Coachworks, which shut down production last spring, was not affiliated with school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corp.
”The importance of retaining this vital information for Blue Bird owners is critical,” said Parliament President Steve Mitchell. ”There are approximately 3,500 Blue Bird Coaches operating through the United States and Canada. I wanted to provide an obvious needed service to these owners and make sure they did not end up as orphans.”
Family-owned Parliament Coach is a manufacturer of high-line coach conversions, specializing in sales, marketing, painting and other services. As a franchised dealer, Mitchell and other family members have been representing Blue Bird since 1978.

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