SCARBOROUGH — A reorganized Maietta Construction has emerged from bankruptcy protection, ending a financial reboot that began last July.

In a statement released last week, the company said its creditors voted in favor of the firm’s reorganization plan, which was approved May 18 by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Portland.

The company’s attorney, Robert Keach, said that in reorganization Maietta was able to shave seven figures of debt from its balance sheet. When it filed last year, Maietta Construction reported assets of more than $8 million and liabilities of about $7.5 million.

“The company was deleveraged significantly, and that deleveraging will continue,” as the company continues to pay down debt and sell assets, Keach said.

One way Maietta reduced debt was through the sale of excess machinery, he said.

“The company had far more equipment than it needed,” Keach said, adding that several Maietta-owned properties are on the market and that their sales will continue to be used to pay down the company’s debt.

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Before the July 2010 bankruptcy filing, there were several affiliated companies operating under the Maietta name, Keach said. The reorganized Maietta is a result of the merger Maietta Construction and Maietta Enterprises, which was itself the product of a merger of five other companies.

Those companies were Maietta Foundations, GLM Associates, M7 Properties LLC, Pleasant Hill Auto Sales and Maietta Enterprises.

Keach said these firms all had “overlapping management” and that members of the Maietta family owned stock in each.

In the statement, the company said all existing jobs are preserved under the reorganization plan, although Keach said some jobs were lost when the company first filed for Chapter 11 protection last year. The company is hiring again, he said, and the net job loss will likely end up at zero.

President Vincent Maietta praised his company’s lenders, suppliers and employees for helping the company emerge from bankruptcy protection.

“The confirmation of our plan and our emergence from Chapter 11 today will enable us to restore the company to its prior position as one of the top excavation and construction contractors in the state,” Maietta said.

Maietta Construction cited increasing fuel prices and decreasing demand for its services when it sought protection. Maietta Enterprises followed suit this February.

Maietta Construction has taken part many large construction projects in southern Maine, including the Target shopping complex in South Portland and a runway at Portland International Jetport.

Mario Moretto can be reached at 781-3661, ext. 106 or mmoretto@theforecaster.net. Follow Mario on Twitter: @riocarmine.


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