Mike
Well-Known Member
On the heels of an $8.3 million lawsuit, one of Louisville’s most prominent African-American businessmen plans to close his trucking business.
In a media advisory sent out Monday, Charlie Johnson, chairman and CEO of C.W. Johnson Xpress LLC, said he planned to hold a press conference tomorrow morning to discuss the closing of his business.
On Aug. 12, the Branch Banking and Trust Co. sued Johnson, his company and other potential creditors of the company for $8.3 million that it says Johnson and/or the company owes on unpaid loans.
According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, the bank wants a restraining order issued against the company, preventing it from getting rid of the tractors/trailers that it owns and instead gathering them together at its terminal facilities on Cane Run Road.
The company used its approximately 170 tractors/trailers to secure its debts, the bank says.
The bank began issuing its $8.3 million in loans to the company in February 2007, according to the lawsuit. It has not paid any principal or interest since February of this year, the bank says.
Johnson made several personal guarantees to repay the loans, according to the lawsuit.
Indianapolis-based Celadon Group Inc. is in negotiations to take over some of Johnson’s accounts, Celadon CEO Steve Russell told Business First.
C.W. Johnson Xpress, based at 1615 Maple St., employs 116 drivers and 20 administrators and hauls goods for companies such as Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. and South Carolina-based Sonoco Products Co.
At one time, the company had 550 employees.
Russell said he also is talking to Johnson about hiring some of Johnson’s employees.
“It’s a real shame,” Russell said. “I’ve gotten to know him over the past year and he’s a real nice guy. A lot of small trucking company owners are just in a bad position these days.”
Johnson is the sole owner of the 3-year-old company. He previously was president and CEO of Active Transportation Co., which hauled trucks for the Ford Motor Co. from its Kentucky Truck Plant.
More: Johnson plans to close trucking business - Business First of Louisville:
In a media advisory sent out Monday, Charlie Johnson, chairman and CEO of C.W. Johnson Xpress LLC, said he planned to hold a press conference tomorrow morning to discuss the closing of his business.
On Aug. 12, the Branch Banking and Trust Co. sued Johnson, his company and other potential creditors of the company for $8.3 million that it says Johnson and/or the company owes on unpaid loans.
According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, the bank wants a restraining order issued against the company, preventing it from getting rid of the tractors/trailers that it owns and instead gathering them together at its terminal facilities on Cane Run Road.
The company used its approximately 170 tractors/trailers to secure its debts, the bank says.
The bank began issuing its $8.3 million in loans to the company in February 2007, according to the lawsuit. It has not paid any principal or interest since February of this year, the bank says.
Johnson made several personal guarantees to repay the loans, according to the lawsuit.
Indianapolis-based Celadon Group Inc. is in negotiations to take over some of Johnson’s accounts, Celadon CEO Steve Russell told Business First.
C.W. Johnson Xpress, based at 1615 Maple St., employs 116 drivers and 20 administrators and hauls goods for companies such as Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. and South Carolina-based Sonoco Products Co.
At one time, the company had 550 employees.
Russell said he also is talking to Johnson about hiring some of Johnson’s employees.
“It’s a real shame,” Russell said. “I’ve gotten to know him over the past year and he’s a real nice guy. A lot of small trucking company owners are just in a bad position these days.”
Johnson is the sole owner of the 3-year-old company. He previously was president and CEO of Active Transportation Co., which hauled trucks for the Ford Motor Co. from its Kentucky Truck Plant.
More: Johnson plans to close trucking business - Business First of Louisville:
