Estes said his company had been struggling financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was forced to temporarily shut down, costing him about $3.2 million. He said 85% of the company's revenue came from the floats it builds for the Rose Parade.

He said the financial hit also happened when he suffered a motorcycle accident that resulted in a fractured skull, seven broken ribs and multiple surgeries. He said he was hospitalized for nine weeks.

Estes said he started to fall into debt by falling behind on rent and utilities at the warehouse that he leased from the Tournament of Roses Assn., which has two warehouses in Irwindale and another in Azusa.

Things improved slightly when the Rose Parade returned in 2022. But by then, Estes said, he had lost nearly half his workforce to retirement, moves to other states, and other jobs.

Estes said the number of floats the company was building dropped by half, from about a dozen. Then inflation hit. Soon, a plywood sheet that once would have cost $16 increased to $66, he said. The cost of everything — from flowers to labor — rose.

Estes said he always made sure his workers were paid first. He said he was making progress on paying down the debt from unpaid rent and utilities when he received a letter from the association that his firm was no longer in good standing and could not build floats for the Rose Parade.

Estes said his company had been working on floats for three clients, including one for the city of Torrance and another for One Legacy, a Southern California nonprofit that helps recover kidneys, livers and other organs from deceased donors for transplants.

Eads said for the past eight years, Fiesta Parade Floats was among three companies authorized to build floats for the Rose Parade. At one point in the association's history there were up to 10 builders, Eads said, but that was when floats were a lot smaller.

Eads is confident that the last two float builders will be able to take on the added workload and doesn't expect the loss of a float builder to have an effect on future parades.

Jin Chun, spokesman for the city of Torrance, said it was unfortunate that Fiesta Parade Floats was closing. He said the association was connecting the city and others with other float builders.

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