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| Breaking News: DesignLine filed Chapter 11 BANKRUPTCY; NJ Transit i$ largest creditor (282204) | |||
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Breaking News: DesignLine filed Chapter 11 BANKRUPTCY; NJ Transit i$ largest creditor |
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Posted by Gold_12th on Fri Aug 16 14:21:55 2013  Charlotte busmaker DesignLine Corp. — which has struggled with production delays and lawsuits since relocating its headquarters here from New Zealand in 2006 — filed Thursday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to court documents.The company halted work at its southwest Charlotte plant late last month. In a written statement at the time, it called the action temporary. In the bankruptcy filing, the company listed assets of $14.06 million and debts of $37.5 million. Its largest creditors listed in the filing include: •$3.64 million to New Jersey Transit for payments on buses not delivered. DesignLine’s board of directors approved the voluntary bankruptcy filing at a meeting Monday, according to the filing. The company is being represented by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough and Richards, Layton & Finger. GGG Partners was listed as the company’s financial adviser. GGG Partners Managing Partner Katie Goodman is named as chief restructuring officer in the petition. The company is best known in Charlotte as the former employer of then-mayor Anthony Foxx, who is now the U.S. secretary of transportation. Charlotte Douglas International Airport also runs several of DesignLine's hybrid electric buses as shuttle transportation to CLT parking lots. In 2011, one of those buses caught fire. The busmaker had started off 2013 with good news: Its compressed natural gas coach bus has passed all phases of the critical Altoona bus test. The Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center in Pennsylvania vets new-model vehicles for the Federal Transit Administration. Some transit agencies, including Charlotte’s, require the green light from Altoona before buying particular makes. In the past, the Charlotte Area Transit System has bought hybrids buses from Gillig in San Francisco instead of vehicles from the hometown producer because DesignLine was unable to pass muster on Altoona trials. In recent years, DesignLine wrestled with a string of canceled contracts and vendor lawsuits in the United States. Its operations in New Zealand, where the company was founded in 1985, faltered after unsecured creditors petitioned a court to liquidate the company. DesignLine replaced its CEO last year. Former New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority executive Joseph Smith replaced Brad Glosson, who had led a group of investors in purchasing DesignLine and relocating its headquarters to Charlotte. But problems continued to plague DesignLine. As recently as June, the busmaker made news when one of its buses “suffered an apparent brake malfunction and rolled down a steep hill,” according to ARLnow.com, an Arlington, Va., news site. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/08/16/charlotte-hybrid-busmaker-designline.html |
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