How to know when its time to move on

[EmGo]

The #1 example that comes to my mind is Sorel boots. (Kaufman? Canada)
I haven't bought any Sorels since.
But the list is long.

And Bendix controls went to Taiwan ...

But I have to ask you guys - why do you get upset ? Obviously the original owners didn't want the company anymore (thinking of that asshole who sold Devlieg then had a heart attack, why didn't he have it three months sooner ? and more recently Rexnord and Falk, those worthless bastards better be frying in hell when I get there) and the banks and executives and press and schools and parents and city governments and state governments and federal governments and even the working people themselves don't want factories, you can tell because society makes it as difficult as possible to have one ... well, if the collective You doesn't want these old names and treats them like dirt and someone is willing to buy them up and make the stuff, why do you get upset ?

It's like swimming upriver, and nobody but a very few of us gives a shit. And half those few are running Jap stuff with Fanucs now, and acting all patriotic in their spare time

 

[Ox]

And Bendix controls went to Taiwan ...

But I have to ask you guys - why do you get upset ? Obviously the original owners didn't want the company anymore (thinking of that asshole who sold Devlieg then had a heart attack, why didn't he have it three months sooner ? and more recently Rexnord and Falk, those worthless bastards better be frying in hell when I get there) and the banks and executives and press and schools and parents and city governments and state governments and federal governments and even the working people themselves don't want factories, you can tell because society makes it as difficult as possible to have one ... well, if the collective You doesn't want these old names and treats them like dirt and someone is willing to buy them up and make the stuff, why do you get upset ?

It's like swimming upriver, and nobody but a very few of us gives a shit. And half those few are running Jap stuff with Fanucs now, and acting all patriotic in their spare time

IDK your examples, but the ones that I know WANTED the company, and wanted it to stay here and employ Yanks (Canucks in my example) and fought the good fight to the end.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[EmGo]

IDK your examples, but the ones that I know WANTED the company, and wanted it to stay here and employ Yanks (Canucks in my example) and fought the good fight to the end.

So why couldn't they ? Gleason bought the company back from being public, which is why they still exist. But Devlieg, third generation sold it to the corporate raiders, went to the bahamas on the money and had a heart attack. Fellows, Bullard, Jone & Lamson, who stepped in to help them when the 1978 recession with 25% inflation came along ? And which patriots bought American Tool, K&T, Cincinnati, when you could get an Okuma! wow so great! Five of us ?

If people really wanted factories, the US would have them. Face it, Ox .... most people want to be chiefs, not Indians. They don't want to get dirty. "Eeeeeuw, factory job ! I'd rather die !" They want to be web designers or baristas, not "boring nc button-pushers making the same thing all day in a noisy smelly dirty factory".

I wish it was different too. But put a wish in one hand and a turd in the other ...

 

[Milland]

I wish it was different too. But put a wish in one hand and a turd in the other ...

I learned long ago that quality toilet paper was the answer to the second half of that statement.

So I got my wish with both hands!

 

[ShaunM]

Yes ^^^ I was in WallyWorld and the fishing reels say
"Shakespeare since 1897" and the on the back is some verbiage about it being owned by Walmart.

Example item:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shakespeare-Durango-Spinning-Fishing-Reel/10298897

I think they bought the gutted companies name, trademarks, and branding, and simply contracted with Chinese suppliers.

Shakespeare is owned by Pure Fishing who is owned by a private equity firm. The majority of Shakespeare's products are made in China though.

 

[DDoug]

Shakespeare is owned by Pure Fishing who is owned by a private equity firm. The majority of Shakespeare's products are made in China though.

There we go, the story behind the box.

 

[Mechanola]

seller in some cases is a bank that is trying to git back whatever they can from a lost account.

Kern, Aarau, was the largest optical plant here ever. A family member, Peter Kern, has sold shares to Schmidheiny, the owner of Wild and Leica, clandestinely with a bonus for himself. One of the meanest manoeuvres. The works were closed a few years later.

In 2012 Reize was sold to the extent of 65 percent by the family directly to BBGR, a daugther enterprise of the French Essilor. https://www.reize.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Reize_Story_6653__Anzeige_2_Seiten.pdf

In the case of Suter one can argue that he was too stubborn to accept progress in lens design. Anastigmats simply killed his business. Each and every glass he made was up to the best possible at the time but obsolete.

What we have is some activity on artificial sapphire, see RADO wristwatches and the like.

Back to topic.

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

So why couldn't they ? Gleason bought the company back from being public, which is why they still exist. But Devlieg, third generation sold it to the corporate raiders, went to the bahamas on the money and had a heart attack. Fellows, Bullard, Jone & Lamson, who stepped in to help them when the 1978 recession with 25% inflation came along ? And which patriots bought American Tool, K&T, Cincinnati, when you could get an Okuma! wow so great! Five of us ?

If people really wanted factories, the US would have them. Face it, Ox .... most people want to be chiefs, not Indians. They don't want to get dirty. "Eeeeeuw, factory job ! I'd rather die !" They want to be web designers or baristas, not "boring nc button-pushers making the same thing all day in a noisy smelly dirty factory".

I wish it was different too. But put a wish in one hand and a turd in the other ...

The American Machine Tool industry had no one to blame but themselves. Many of the old, storied names wanted to cash out, and they did. Those families had assets, real estate and wealth all over, so if a big name went down, they didn't care. Some of those companies went under due to mismangement - Cincinnati and Pratt and Whitney come to mind.

When the asian builders started showing up, they were lazy, fat, content, and not willing to fight. They didn't take the Okuma's, Mori's, and Mazaks seriously. It literally was their death.

I remember seeing a J & L cnc lathe with this goofy little turret, on an otherwise large machine. The rest of it didn't look well thought out. P & W with their QC troubles. Cincinnati playing real estate mogul, until the market went under water. It goes on and on. Tragedy, but no one to blame but themselves.

You can be a true, blue, patriot, but there comes a time where you just, can't take the risk on six figure capital equipment. My dad had four Pratt and Whitney Potter and Johnston Series PJ 400 and PJ 200 lathes. When he bought them they were literally one of the fastest cycling machines available. Only after install did he find out that P&W had only one service guy on the east coast, and large companies got priority over him. He became so adept and fixing them and debugging them, he would just stock the spare parts himself. He got turret removal, new bearings, and re-install down to 45 minutes total.

They eventually got replaced with Okuma and Mori.

 

[Emma99]

I worked for dad for just about 30 years. As much as I loved him, it was clear he was never going to keep his promises and was willing to let the business suffer and die, just so he could have his way.

I know that exact situation...

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

I know that exact situation...

It was exceedingly sad. I took care of him, up to the day he passed. His last coherent conversation with me was "Dougie, I'm sorry I wrecked it for you." My reply was "forget it, dad, all good." He passed a week later.

 

[john.k]

My old man was the same ......but he didnt get the opportunity to hang around..RIP......maybe Id like to be the same ,but there is no one interested ...so I just scrap everything and sell the land .....So all I can say is "Ill never be poor ,like we were as kids ...unless the economy collapses like Lebanon."

 

[tim9lives]

Money was never the issue with me. It got down to too many thieves in the shop steeling my tools which finally pissed me off. I actually liked my last job. I can’t stand thieves.

The real good private businesses which are run by men and woman who realize that they would have never have been successful without their employees…. Set up some sort of trust or profit sharing in order to take care of their employees. I’ve seen it done fairly often. Hell, Carnegie gave his fortune away.

My dad’s partner’s brother, was one of the most successful real estate developers in New Orleans. He and his wife had no children.
He set up a non profit and his employees administer it. A big share of the donations go to the local PBS station… but, the best part is his employees have jobs the rest of their lives.

Another super successful grocer in the suburbs had a dilemma in which his son was a junkie. So the old man set up a trust and appointed the Sheriff as the administrator. FWIW, the old man was right because the son OD’d a few years after the dad died. The business is still flourishing and the grandchildren just recently took control. I sure hope they don’t sell out to a National concern. But it wouldn’t surprise me because there’s just not enough integrity in business anymore. The colleges teach everyone that you have to be a SOB to major in business.

Anyway…. That’s just my opinion and we all know about opinions.

That real estate developer….Just a real prince of a fellow in my opinion. And he lived a good life. He loved horse racing and traveled all over to go to the big races. That was his passion.

But those guys who sell out and buy a yacht are exactly what’s wrong with America. The Baby Boomer generation has been ruined . I guess by TV , who knows why. In any case the country is falling apart….Taxes for capital gains are super low. And yet everyone likes to waive the flag whenever they get the chance. You can’t have a military without taxes.

 

[M. Roberts]

Guys,
Its good to hear that I am not the only disgruntled employee in the world. I guess what it boils down to is either "put up or shut up"....I have never been one to say "...thank you sir, may I have another." Yet, buy the same token, I hate to be "forced out" by some a@# hole, and give him the bragging right to say I made Mark quit. Make sense? And there are some days where either I have some meaningless project to occupy my mind and hands, that make my employment halfway bearable..then there are the days where you are running the 200th part, and there isn't much more to do than to "press the green button". I see it all to frequently anymore...the younger generation (at 50, and been in the business 33 years, I feel that I have earned the right to say that) sitting around or hiding in a corner with their phones in their faces....AND NOTHING GETS DONE! I don't get it. All is good...two more years, and if all goes as planned, I will be in the woods of Maine...

 

[Ox]

Hmmm ...

I was just saying that "Thank you Sir may I have another" a few days ago after dealing with customers and their lack of communication yet again....

Same exact lack of communication that made me skip a sledding trip last winter.

Don't be thinkin' that this is all on employees....


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[john.k]

Good example is the makers of my old crane .....First generation went from a failed farmer to a maker of cranes up to 150 tons.....second generation took over ,was better educated ,engineering degrees etc,took the company to the top ,.....so we have five well off children running the business,and fifteen grandchildren educated at the best schools ,live the good life at university .....and what do you think happens when the third generation gets controll......run dirty noisy engineering business?.......No they cash out the real estate and sell the remains for what they can get......and continue their lives of ease and dabble in favourite pursuits .......sounds similar to three offspring I know!

 

[Trueturning]

I learned long ago that quality toilet paper was the answer to the second half of that statement.

So I got my wish with both hands!

EG you just contributed to the delinquency of a minor.

 

[The Dude]

Sounds like you're working for what I consider to be a "private social service" (i.e. family-owned/run business). Sometimes they run well, but often not very well for non-family/friends.

My #1 advice is this: If you can't accept that it all pays the same, no matter what is going on, then it's time to move on.

Good luck!
The Dude

 

[M. Roberts]

So...I had my yearly review on Thursday...what a joke. Nothing but compliments of quality and quantity of work; thinking "outside of the box" solutions...but, I got dinged for not accepting a company tee shirt, for having a few words with another employee (which I don't remember), and was never spoken to about), and a email sent to a guy in our facilities department regarding a power supply issue; again, I dont remember the details. I am beside myself...I guess that they have to have something negative to say...but a tee shirt?

 

[JS]

I would be done at that point...

 

[Rocketdc]

So...I had my yearly review on Thursday...what a joke. Nothing but compliments of quality and quantity of work; thinking "outside of the box" solutions...but, I got dinged for not accepting a company tee shirt, for having a few words with another employee (which I don't remember), and was never spoken to about), and a email sent to a guy in our facilities department regarding a power supply issue; again, I dont remember the details. I am beside myself...I guess that they have to have something negative to say...but a tee shirt?

As a small child I was taught under no circumstances do you EVER turn down a company T-shirt.