Vermont Castings, Dutchwest update...

[webbie]

the below is from the company: CFM to their customers....looks like something will happen real soon.......
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"The Court-approved sale process (“Sale Process”) contemplates the approval of a sale agreement (often referred to as a “stalking horse” bid), followed by an auction to permit an opportunity for higher or better bids to be made.

A “stalking horse” bid has been submitted and accepted by the Board of Directors of CFM Corp. and its stakeholders, all in accordance with the Sale Process. Monessen Hearth Products has formally executed an agreement to purchase substantially all of the business and assets of CFM, including Vermont Castings, DutchWest and Majestic branded products. Court approval of this “stalking horse” bid will be sought on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, in Canada and the U.S. The auction is then scheduled to take place on Friday, June 27, 2008.

Once the auction is completed, we will know the definitive purchaser of CFM’s business and assets, including the terms and conditions of the definitive purchase agreement. We will continue to keep our customers informed of developments, and appreciate your patience as we near the conclusion of the Sale Process."
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[Hogwildz]

And the spiral continues downward.

 

[webbie]

Are you talking about GM or VC?
GM stock hit a 53 year low today! Now that is historic! I guess the Escalades aren't moving too well.......or "turning people on" as per the pretty lady in the commercial.

VC is probably on the uptick, because hopefully after friday we will at least know when we can expect stoves again...but their sales have to be hurting big time at this point!

 

[BrotherBart]

...but their sales have to be hurting big time at this point!

99.9999% of stove buyers/shoppers don't have any idea anything is going on. I got a chuckle the other day when I saw somebody online talking about their VC stove and saying VC had been been building high quality wood stoves for over a hundred years. :roll:

 

[Todd]

Who the heck is Monessen? All I can find is gas stuff, no wood stoves.

 

[Pine Knot]

Those of us who own VC products, I'm a Dutchwest owner, have an intrest in what happen to the compamy, for replacement parts and general intrest. So Craig you and other with knowledge of the industry have an audiance for any insight you can provide to the events occuring during the companys sale. Let hope VC conteniues to be a player in the Hearth Industry.

 

[BrotherBart]

The Monessen offer does not include buying the Huntington or Orillia plate steel stove plants and equipment or picking up the union employees in Huntington. Pretty much means bye bye to the Century Hearth and Dutchwest steel stove lines unless a separate buyer appears on the radar screen.

 

[Hogwildz]

GM is getting exactly what they deserve. Karma making a visit maybe?
Was just reading how a guy invented a system in the 70's where cars could get 70 mile or more per gallon.
GM bought his idea and squashed it.
I have no sympathy for money hungry people or corps that screw others to get it.

 

[enamel101]

Lets just hope that Vermont Castings survives and a lot of manufacturing jobs remain in Vermont. Maybe it's a trend of jobs staying here and not going over seas. Seems like all your hear about is plant closings and job loses. If it isn't the auto industry or airlines it's the small manufactures that provide stable jobs for 1000's of people. We need to reverse the trend. It looks like it's going to be back to the basics in the USA and we're going into the survivial mode.

 

[fossil]

...99.9999% of stove buyers/shoppers don't have any idea anything is going on.

Had I, as a consumer, never become involved with this forum, I'd have had little clue about the VC saga. It's not the kind of thing that gets up onto the radar screen of the nightly news on PBS. I haven't been involved with the industry, and know next to nothing about VC's history. BTW, Craig, thanks for creating and maintaining a place that's both an invaluable resource and a fun place to spend some time while learning a lot from the "old timers". Rick

 

[RedRanger]

Reminds me of a delivery I made to one of the schools years ago and when talking with the principal he reminded me that "just because they are teachers, doesn`t make them inteligent". Yep, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan bought most of this company, and it goes to show that old principal wasn`t too far off the mark.

 

[sullystull]

Craig-
As a new Dutchwest owner, I wanted to thank you for keeping us in the loop.

 

[BrotherBart]

For any other bankruptcy law junkies, like myself, here is the limited objection filed by the U.S. creditor's committee to one of the terms of the stalking horse bidder notice.

U.S. court appointed committee objects to a term in the Canadian court monitor's notice because of a condition related to the liabilities of the Mexican CFM holdings. Something to be resolved before a sale/auction.

(broken link removed)

 

[webbie]

Mexican could be vent-free as that is where most Temco production was, and CFM bought temco???

Temco had scads of liability.......millions of sets sold, tens of thousands returned, some sooted up houses, etc.

A factory rep once told me there was a virtual WALL of returned vent-free logs sets at the Temco factory (when it was in TN).

Who knows?? But today is the day.......maybe. I'm told the bidding may be between Monesson and a coalition of the Execs that failed (to turn it around recently)......or something like that. We'll see.

 

[webbie]

Had I, as a consumer, never become involved with this forum, I'd have had little clue about the VC saga. It's not the kind of thing that gets up onto the radar screen of the nightly news on PBS. I haven't been involved with the industry, and know next to nothing about VC's history. BTW, Craig, thanks for creating and maintaining a place that's both an invaluable resource and a fun place to spend some time while learning a lot from the "old timers". Rick

Books could be written about VC - and I think some will......

For those who want some background, try:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Vermont_Casting_History/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/A_Dealer_Perspective_on_Vermont_Castings_History/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/W._Mitchell/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Stephen_Morris/

And some of the Podcasts with Stephen Morris:
https://www.hearth.com/podcast/podcast.xml
(2nd from the bottom of that page)

Make certain you read the INC mag article referenced in the first link above.....

 

[webbie]

Early word this afternoon is that Monesson has acquired VC.
All signs point to this being the case.......stay tuned.

 

[Metal]

I have heard that it is official as well. Per the earlier question about who Monessen is, they are owned by a holding company called The Riverside Company. Their lines consist of Monessen, Lexington Forge, and Martin and they do manufacture woodburners as well as gas-fired appliances.

 

[webbie]

(broken link removed to http://www.riversidecompany.com/about.php)

Leveraged Buyout company, holding group, etc.

Own lots of "little" companies:
(broken link removed to http://www.riversidecompany.com/portfolio.php)

 

[webbie]

I have heard that it is official as well. Per the earlier question about who Monessen is, they are owned by a holding company called The Riverside Company. Their lines consist of Monessen, Lexington Forge, and Martin and they do manufacture woodburners as well as gas-fired appliances.

Do ya think an old stove hippie could get a high paying consulting job there?

 

[Metal]

"Leveraged Buyout company, holding group, etc.

Own lots of "little" companies:"

Has deep pockets which is what CFM needs to turn around. I can see how this deal could work out well for all involved.

 

[enamel101]

Now the spiral up starts.

 

[MCPO]

GM is getting exactly what they deserve. Karma making a visit maybe?
Was just reading how a guy invented a system in the 70's where cars could get 70 mile or more per gallon.
GM bought his idea and squashed it.
I have no sympathy for money hungry people or corps that screw others to get it.

Hogwash!
I heard that same silly story in the 50`s when my 51 Chevy was getting 21MPG and gas was $.19 a gallon.
Regardless, If this myth was actually true and General Motors bought and squashed it , would this same scenario hold true for all the other auto manufacturers , both domestic and foreign?
The plain simple fact remains that gas mileage is in most part related to the weight of the vehicle. Similar to BTU `s you can extract only just so much energy from a gallon of gas and it may well be near it`s limit at this point in time.
John

 

[webbie]

Well, in the case of VC, I do expect that if folks really knew what went on in the CEO's board room, they WOULD be shocked. No doubt that CFM milked it for every cent it was worth, and like the "Giving Tree", sooner or later VC had nothing left to give.

The way I see it, there is almost no Goodwill left now. What exists is a relatively modern foundry, a great enameling facility and a large assembly plant. There are stove designs and patterns, but whether they are the right ones for the future remains to be seen.

There were so many failures of management in the years past that it will take just as many successes to rise up from the ashes. Because of past failures, people will be looking even closer than before. What are the long term plans? Probably building it up and then selling it again to another group. That is the reality these days in business.

That said, there is a market for stoves - a good one now - and if they build good ones, stand behind them and pick the proper distribution channels they could prosper. It's really not that hard. The last owners really did hit a Perfect Storm in the current recession/depression. I'm not sure there was anything they could have done which would have brought their heads above water.

 

[fossil]

First they need a new name...maybe "Phoenix Phireworks", or something along those lines. :smirk: Rick

 

[BrotherBart]

Newspaper article about the Huntington plant.

(broken link removed to http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2008/07/03/greater_fort_wayne/news/doc486cec661ea39521905098.txt)