On Dec. 14, it was announced that Tercon had issued a notice of receivership. This has the potential to have a serious effect on many companies in Golden who were waiting to receive payments from the company.
The company had been working on the highway construction east of Golden in the Kicking Horse Canyon area.
On the “Notice and Statement of the Receiver” a number of local companies were named in a long unsecured credit list.
Kicking Horse Ford in Golden is one of the many businesses on that list.
“It is a 100 per cent loss of revenue. We do not know if there is any opportunity to recoup it. In this economy every dollar counts. That is a huge blow for any business. To recoup that lost money is going to take months,” said Dan Maisonneuve, the dealer principal at Kicking Horse Ford.
Maisonneuve explained that they had done engine work on one of the trucks being used in the area. They contacted Tercon after 30 days because they had not paid the bill and did not get any response until a letter came to the business which explained that Tercon had filed for bankruptcy.
Maisonneuve also said he felt terrible for the other businesses in the Golden area who will be affected by this.
“It is a small town and pretty much all of the business owners know each other. It really hits home,” he said. “With the economy in the state that it is, this is certainly bad timing for everyone. We look at these construction projects as a glimmer of hope and some opportunity to keep the town going. When someone as large as this company comes in and deals this blow with as many customers as they have, it is tough.”
Doug Birnie is the owner of Home Hardware in Golden, which is listed as being owed more than $12,000 on the receivership list.
“It has certainly impacted our winter season. It all comes off the bottom line,” he said. “We probably might have to get rid of, or lay off a couple of employees to keep things moving in the right direction.”
Birnie said he was surprised to hear that Tercon had run into this type of issue.
“With Tercon it was totally off guard. With all of those guys doing road construction or bridge building, it is a long pay period so you may not know anything until it happens,” he said.
Both men said their companies had done what they were supposed to in checking out Tercon’s past, and saw no problem with giving them credit.
Maisonneuve said Kicking Horse Ford did their due diligence by checking into references for Tercon but in the end they were “still burned,” by the company.
Birnie said, “We did our credit checks and everything was fantastic.”
Maisonneuve said he has not had to deal with a situation at this level before.
“You would expect our government to do their due diligence in hiring a contractor which is in good shape. There have been many great contractors who have come into Golden and were wonderful for the town,”
Staff from The Golden Star attempted to contact a representative from Tercon with no contact being established.
