Bankruptcy filing for Chapter 11 has been undertaken by RBX Incorporated, which has its family roots in Missouri, rurally. The company has a financial distress since it’s been in operation ever since 1983. The company, based in Strafford, Missouri, is running around 265 trucks along with 255 drivers, using it to transport general freight, beverages, and paper products throughout the Midwest and Southeast.Â
Charlottesville-based filing was made with a petition to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri last Friday by the company, which exhibits James A. Keltner as the chief executive officer of the company. No reason around the petition is stated, but the petition gives indications that RBX is trying to reorganize the business instead of liquidating its assets.
Assets, liabilities, and creditor concerns
According to court documents, RBX has listed assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million. The company has stated that it has as many as 199 creditors, but it did not, however, disclose how much each is owed. It also says that funds will not be available for unsecured creditors because of administrative expenses. RBX had to additionally file schedules and financial statements of its assets and liabilities by December 27 under U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brian T. Fenimore; pending that, the company should comply with certain other financial controls, including debtor-in-possession accounts and post-petition reports. The other thing is that the U.S. trustee assigned to this case will now take a closer look at RBX, its premises and books, and its records.
Operational and safety performance scrutinized
Kept under public scrutiny is also the safety record of RBX. For the past 2 years, according to the reports from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the company’s trucks have undergone 148 inspections, out of which 37 trucks were taken out of service. This gives a 25% out-of-service rate, which is worse than the national average of around 22.3%.
However, when looking at the driver-related inspection data, RBX spins a more favorable picture for the company. This data states that over this same period, company drivers were inspected 360 times, with just seven being placed out of service. That translates to a 2 percent out-of-service rate. However, that is significantly lower than the national average of 6.7 percent and points to better-than-average compliance among the company’s workforce.
RBX trucks were involved in two fatal accidents, eight injury-related incidents, and 17 tow-aways in the past two years. Although these data present an alarming safety picture, it falls within the expected averages of trucking operations, which are inherently risky due to the nature of the business, as it involves long-haul transportation of freight.
Future steps and challenges ahead
RBX is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, which put its financial reorganizing and creditor-concern managing to do. Once filed, the reorganization plan must comply with the court and creditors for the survival of the company.
Aside from financial issues, RBX faces an out-of-service percentage of vehicles that is greater than the average. To comply and shrink operational risk, it needs to bring some effort to this area as well as improve its safety measures and financial management, which is critical in rebuilding trust with the stakeholders.
