Judge orders liquidation of RV company

EUGENE, Ore. – A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered the liquidation of a Lane County maker of recreational vehicles.

At a hearing Wednesday, Judge Albert Radcliffe ordered Country Coach’s Chapter 11 reorganization converted into a Chapter 7 liquidation.

Country Coach shut down a year ago. It later resumed limited production but stopped building in September.

The RV business was hit hard by the recession. Two years ago, the company had 1,600 employees.

CEO Jay Howard said that as late as this week he was seeking an investor to keep the company going. Radcliffe said it was up to creditor Wells Fargo to decide whether the attempts should continue.

Attorney Wilson Muhlheim said Wells Fargo was not interested in further attempts by Country Coach’s management to find an investor, the Eugene Register-Guard reported. The bank made $8.2 million in loans to Country Coach.