Upright's parent company filed for protection from creditors as part of a plan to join the two entities and emerge together from bankruptcy court early this year.

The parent company, W.R. Carpenter North America, also filed a joint plan of reorganization with UpRight, which filed for protection separately in June.

The two companies are based in Selma, Calif. The papers were filed in federal bankruptcy court in Fresno.

“The joint plan of reorganization … is the result of intense negotiations with the committee of unsecured creditors appointed in the UpRight case,” said Ian Menzies, president and CEO of UpRight. “This plan has the full support of the committee and the equity holders in the companies, and will result in very substantial distributions to our creditors.”

W.R. Carpenter is a holding company that counts UpRight as its only subsidiary. The aerial work platforms are distributed through a network of dealers and industrial equipment rental companies. “It's just a capital structuring issue,” said Graham Croot, W.R. Carpenter's CFO, of the filing.