Motor home maker Fleetwood Enterprises files for bankruptcy

Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., a maker of recreational vehicles and customised manufactured homes, which has been restructuring for about three years, has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will shutter its travel-trailer operations. International operations are not included in the bankruptcy filing.

The 59-year-old company, which has been coping with slowing sales, filed petitions for itself and some US operating subsidiaries in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Riverside.

As of 26 October 2008, Fleetwood's consolidated balance sheet showed assets of $558.3 million and liabilities of $518 million. As of 25 January, Fleetwood had cash of about $23 million, excluding cash remaining in non-filing entities.

Fleetwood, which also makes manufactured housing and military barracks, has been hurt by high fuel prices and the housing market decline. It is seeking a buyer for its motor home and manufactured housing units. It has already shed two non-core businesses and cut staff by more than 70 per cent.

"Although we made substantial progress in restructuring this division and improved the product offering, current market conditions proved too severe to continue the turnaround," said President and CEO Elden L Smith in a statement. "We will use the Chapter 11 process to more rapidly restructure our overhead, pursue potential buyers, and definitively resolve our debt issues.''

Smith said he expects the markets for RVs and manufactured housing to rebound once the financing environment and consumer confidence improves. The company is working with its largest national lender, Bank of America, to continue to provide RV dealer and consumer financing.