McLean Plans to Liquidate Its Operations

McLean Trucking Co., which has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, will liquidate its operations after completing previously agreed freight work, lawyers for the nation’s fifth-largest trucking company say.

McLean filed for bankruptcy protection Friday.

Charlotte Bankruptcy Judge Marvin R. Wooten has authorized the firm to spend $7.8 million in the next two weeks to close its operations.

In its petition, McLean listed assets of more than $233 million and liabilities of more than $174 million. McLean owes its employees for the work they did in the past two weeks, which company officials estimated at $15 million to $20 million.

McLean attorneys said they were confident that there would be enough money to pay the workers what they were owed.

McLean officials said they were not contemplating the sale of all of the company’s assets but might sell its customer list.

May Resume Work

Attorneys say there is a remote chance that McLean will be able to resume work after selling part of its operations.

The company’s budget calls for a cutback from 10,000 employees to about 1,550 in a two-week period.

Attorneys for McLean and its creditors will meet again in bankruptcy court Jan. 23 in Asheville, N.C., to determine how many workers will remain after the two weeks have expired.

McLean’s lawyers said Saturday that, if the company completed its current deliveries, secured its trucks and terminals and obtained the cooperation of all interested parties, it could generate $100 million to $115 million. This would be enough to pay McLean’s secured debt and back payroll, plus a portion of its unsecured debt, the lawyers said.

McLean lawyers outlined their plans Saturday for “winding down” the company’s operations. The plans, which were approved by Wooten, call for McLean to hire other trucking companies to deliver the freight that McLean received last Thursday.

McLean also will hire other trucking companies to complete the delivery of freight that was in transit when McLean filed for bankruptcy.

Many Shipment Waiting

John Koonsman, a former vice president for McLean, estimated that there are 18,000 shipments waiting to be delivered and 54,000 shipments already in transit. An additional 18,000 shipments have arrived at their destinations but are waiting to be unloaded by McLean employees, Koonsman said.