One day after Truland Group, the big Reston, Va.,-based electrical contractor, ceased operations on July 21, units of the company filed for protection from creditors in federal bankruptcy court in Alexandria, Va.

The company ranks 21st on ENR's list of The Top 600 Contractors, with 2012 revenue of $486 million, and is listed as the 10th largest electrical contractor in the U.S.

Exactly how many unfinished projects, stranded employees and surety bond claims the company leaves is unclear. Truland officials could not be reached for comment.

Truland is seeking protection under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code, which usually involves liquidation of assets rather than a plan to discharge debts by reaching settlements with creditors and eventually resuming normal operations.

In 2010, Truland acquired Walker Seal Electric Co., Fairfax, Va. At that time, the company, in a statement, described Truland and Walker Seal as "key players in Washington, D.C.'s aviation and mass transit market for decades," including work at Washington's Dulles and National Airports.

Clark Construction employed Truland on several Washington, D.C.-area building projects.

"At this time, however, Clark Construction has not received official confirmation from Truland that the company is no longer doing business," Brian A. Abt, Clark's chief executive, said in a statement released to the Washington Post. "We will be working with the appropriate sureties" to keep the projects on schedule, he said.

The same day that Truland units filed for bankruptcy protection, electrical workers' union Local 26, a local trust fund and a national trust fund filed petitions in bankruptcy court listing amounts that the company owes them.

Local 26 claimed it was owed about $232,000, and the Electrical Welfare Trust Fund and the National Electrical Benefit Fund of the National Electrical Contractors Association claimed they were owed another $305,000.