Texas hazmat trucking company files Chapter 11

Gainco had vacuum trucks loaded with hazardous waste en route for disposal when it filed bankruptcy

Small-business truckers, logistics companies owed thousands after Texas hazmat hauler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday. Photo: Shutterstock

Small-business truckers and logistics companies are owed thousands after a Texas trucking company specializing in oilfield waste disposal and chemical clean-up services filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.

Gainco Inc., headquartered in Portland, Texas, filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on Friday.

In its filing, Gainco lists its assets as between $500,000 and $1 million and its liabilities as between $1 million and $10 million. 

The hazmat trucking company, which also has offices in Harlingen and San Antonio, states that it has up to 99 creditors. The company maintains that funds will be available for unsecured creditors once it pays administrative fees.

In its petition, Gainco states that it has “vacuum trucks with hazardous and nonhazardous waste en route to disposal” that need immediate attention.

Among the hazmat carrier’s top 20 unsecured creditors — which are last in line for payment in Chapter 11 cases — include: Payroll Funding Company LLC of Las Vegas, owed more than $223,000; Super Products of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, owed more than $154,000; and National Tank & Equipment of Houston, owed more than $114,000.

Other unsecured creditors are Bufkin Truck Service of Longview, Texas, AJ’s Logistics Services of Alice, Texas; and East Bound and Down Trucking of Orange Grove, Texas. The amounts the small-business trucking firms are owed isn’t listed in Gainco’s petition.

Theresa Nix, president of Gainco, did not return FreightWaves’ messages seeking comment. 

According to the company’s bankruptcy filing, Gainco received $385,600 in funds from the First Community Bank in Portland through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Forgivable loans through the PPP, administered by the Small Business Administration, started out with $350 billion in the CARES Act signed by former President Donald Trump in late March 2020 and were reupped in April 2020 with an additional $320 billion. The third round of funding, $284 billion in PPP loans through the SBA, opened up to lenders in January.

Gainco is also seeking to continue using cash collateral — money that is subject to a secured creditor’s liens — to continue operating. A hearing on the emergency motion is set for Tuesday. 

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Click for more articles by FreightWaves’ Clarissa Hawes.

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Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 18 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to chawes@firecrown.com or @cage_writer on X, formerly Twitter.