Fleetwood Evolution E3 - Yellow (DW let me get a Yellow one since she wanted an E3 with a slide out )
Hummer H2 - Black (DW vetoed the Yellow one, but I got two Yellow Hummer Folding Mountain bikes )
pateng wrote: What does this mean for parts for our existing folding trailers?
Sounds like business as usual, (at least for now)!
"Working with the talented team at FTCA, Inc. as well as the dedicated network of dealers across the country, we see many exciting opportunities, said Aldus Chapin, President of Fleetwood Folding Trailers. Under new ownership, we see an opportunity to strengthen our position as a world class leader in the folding trailer market.”
Murry N. Gunty, Managing Partner of Blackstreet Capital said, “We are thrilled to complete the purchase of Fleetwood Folding Trailers and excited about the future of the company.”
Investment groups only purchase companies if they see a way to make money. They typically do this by splitting them up, cutting costs either through shutting down some operations or reducing employee numbers, or selling the company to another buyer they have already targeted. In the case of Fleetwood Folding Trailers, I don't see much to split up further unless the buildings and property are worth a lot of money on their own, so I imagine they will keep the business unit together. I do see a reduction in costs through employee attrition or layoffs and a reduction in management layers. Perhaps the parent company of FFT couldn't (or wouldn't) continue to make the investments necessary to keep FFT moving forward profitably, whether through a change in plant operation, new equipment, etc. I expect Blackstreet to make the changes they deem necessary to make the company profitable and then sell it to another company or perhaps spin it off through an IPO.
The good news is they want to suceed. The bad news is that cutting costs can be cutting quality. It remains to be seen whether the path they choose keeps the quality up.
Well I wonder if Fleetwood is licensing their Fleetwood name/logo for use by the new owners?
I still go back to the IIRC $12 million judgment FFT owes to the owner of the "Coleman" name. I wonder if the new owners might not have a back door agreement with them about trading the judgment for a new license using the Coleman name?
We'll have to wait and see for the next episode of "As the trailer turns"....LOL
I can see the decal now, "Coleman by Fleetwood by Blackstreet."
Financial buyers frequently do well buying companies with good brands that have suffered from under investment. They can provide the funds to make the big capital investments needed to upgrade production facilities and reduce the amount of labor used in production. Whether this will actually work in the trailer business is outside of my knowledge. Another option to save money is to move some production to Mexico, something the FLE may have been reluctant to do for reasons connected to its larger business.
Who knows in a few years after Blackstreet has straightened out FFT and FLE has turned around its mess, FLE may want the trailer business back.
Not only were Coleman parts still available after Fleetwood bought them, they are STILL available! Nothing happened to the parts except that, as far as I know, a couple of odd whiffletrees that were only used in production in some models for about 4 years in the early 1990s are no longer available (I just got lucky enough to buy one of those and had to have the part specially made!!!) You never know though, might not be a bad idea since this is not the same kind of deal as when Fleetwood, an RV manufacturer, bought out Coleman. If I wasn't in the process of replacing the whiffletree right now on my 1993 Roanoke, I would probably buy the parts just to be on the safe side.
We were seriously considering a new Westlake in a couple of years, but I think we will probably go with our second choice, Starcraft, if we buy new. I know for sure, if we buy used again, we will go with Starcraft.
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