A subsidiary of one of Florida’s largest crane companies has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following lawsuits from creditors, suppliers and competitors accusing the firm of theft and other wrongdoing.
The firm, Gulfstream Crane LLC, filed on Dec. 8 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, claiming over $100 million in liabilities against $79 million in assets. Its parent company, Pompano Beach, Fla.-based General Crane USA—which owns six subsidiaries in total—aggressively expanded during the last few years, spending $35 million for 60 Linden Comansa tower cranes in 2006 and $30 million for 16 Liebherr Nenzing crawler cranes the following year. The crane-and-hoist company enjoyed a flurry of development during the real-estate boom, prompting an expansion into Atlanta in 2007.