FORMER Griffin contractors, Carna Group has gone into voluntary administration.
In an announcement to shareholders the company said it had appointed appointed Ian Francis and Michael Ryan of FTI Consulting as Voluntary Administrators of the Company under Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act.
The appointment comes as Carna continues to deal with the impact of the Griffin Coal Mine contract.
Carna terminated arrangements with the owner of the Griffin Coal Mine, Lanco Infratech, December last year following non receipt of contracted payments.
The company has subsequently lodged a civil claim against Lanco Infratech seeking payment for work performed and additional damages.
Carna is a family owned business which was established in 1992, when the managing director, Harry Carna, started contracting work with a single 623B Scraper.
It has now been involved in more than 250 projects across WA, expanding from sub-divisions into plant hire, mining operations and civil construction works.
The business currently has over 150 pieces of equipment and there are currently 119 employees of Carna.
The company said in a statement that it would seek the support of all stakeholders, including Creditors and Employees, to continue to trade under the control of the Voluntary Administrators.
Carna managing director Harry Carna said the appointment of Voluntary Administrators to assist in dealing with the Griffin Coal impact was a difficult but necessary decision.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but given the impact of the Griffin Coal Mine contract and subsequent disputes, the reality is this was a decision we had to take to protect the future of the business,” he said.
FTI Consulting senior managing director Ian Francis said that detailed discussions will be held with all stakeholders in the coming weeks ahead.
“Carna is a business with a substantial successful operational history that has been impacted significantly by a single contract,” he said.
“In the period ahead we will seek to preserve as much of this value as possible.”