American LaFrance files for bankruptcy protection

American LaFrance, the troubled Summerville-based fire truck manufacturer, sought to keep its bill collectors at bay by filing for bankruptcy protection Monday.

Calls to the company were not immediately returned.

In documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, American LaFrance said its assets and debts were between $100 million and $500 million. It did not elaborate.

The company filed under "Chapter 11" of the bankruptcy code, which typically is used by businesses that need to buy time to reorganize their finances and secure new capital. In many cases, Chapter 11 filers continue to operate.

American LaFrance will likely submit a reorganization plan that would have to be approved by the court. That plan would spell out how it will repay all or a portion of its debts. The company said in its filing that it expects some funds will be available to repay unsecured creditors.

The largest creditor listed in the filing is ACE USA and ACE Bond Services, which are owed a combined $26.3 million. Other large creditors include American LaFrance's owner, New York-based investment firm Patriarch Partners, and trucking giant Freightliner, which sold the business to Patriach about two years ago. Various employees are owed $1.4 million for accrued vacation.

About 100 of the estimated 500 workers at American LaFrance's Summerville plant were temporarily dismissed in mid-December. The company said at the time that it needed to update its inventory system after its relocation last year from North Charleston to a new $62 million manufacturing plant near Jedburg Road and U.S. Interstate 26. This month the company notified an undisclosed number of those workers that they would not be recalled until mid-March because American LaFrance did not have the money to order parts and resume full production.

For more details, see Tuesday's Post and Courier.