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Tucson RV dealer declares bankruptcy
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TUCSON - A longtime Tucson-based auto dealership company has filed for bankruptcy protection but plans to stay in business.
Beaudry RV Co. was caught up in the international credit crisis before it could finish paying off a $13.3 million debt, company officials told the Arizona Daily Star.
The company runs two recreational vehicle sales centers, one in Tucson and one in Chandler. It also has a new car dealership in Benson, a used car lot in Tucson, an RV collision repair shop in Tucson and four real estate holding companies. The company is asking a court to allow it to remain open and keep paying its hundreds of employees.
Beaudry is one of Tucson's oldest dealerships, dating from 1940, but sold most of its new car operations in 2005.
The company took on $42 million in real-estate debt in 2006 but had paid off all but $13.3 million before the credit crunch hit, Beaudry Chief Executive Thomas P. Sylvester said.
"We filed Chapter 11 to stay in business, not go out of business," Sylvester told the Tucson Citizen. "We came close to replacement financing. The banking crisis contributed quite a bit."
Tuesday's filing in federal court was necessary to protect operations from the demands of lenders holding the secured debt on real estate and buildings that house Beaudry's operations, Sylvester said. The banking crisis resulted in an impasse with these lenders, he said.
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