FarmTrac Troubles

[California]

This article is from FARM EQUIPMENT

The same Daily Southern article was also quoted back in post #206 in this thread. #206 had a couple more paragraphs about the employees.

Worst case, if Textron orders a liquidation auction to cash out the $12m in existing assets, it won't bring in the $15m they require, so there would be nothing left to pay other creditors, employees, warranty and rebate holders, etc.

I hope it's not that bad.

 

[HayDR]

The same Daily Southern article was also quoted back in post #206 in this thread. #206 had a couple more paragraphs about the employees.

Worst case, if Textron orders a liquidation auction to cash out the $12m in existing assets, it won't bring in the $15m they require, so there would be nothing left to pay other creditors, employees, warranty and rebate holders, etc.

I hope it's not that bad.

Textron will take care of Textron and everyone else will be out in the cold.
If Farmtrac owes you money, warranty or anything else unsecured you have more chance of winning the lottery than collecting.
I do not have a horse in this race but this whole situation is a travesty. $15 million is just the tip of the iceberg. Someone needs to hang for this. Textron is going after the dealers like they were the drivers of the bank robber's get away car. There are no public announcements from Farmtrac because they no longer exist. The court has put people in place to liquidate their fixed accents to satisfy Textron and other secured creditors. What company would want to purchase inventory in less than an ideal situation when that same company could purchase new unencumbered merchandise? Someone some where may purchase the name but not the going concern. The employees, dealers and the customers of Farmtrac got screwed in this situation because this situation likely could have been salvaged in 2006 and Farmtrac could have been saved but someone somewhere took the money and ran.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Yea, its pretty amazing that they only had 12mil in assets. I'm not sure how you could run a tractor distrubutorship with that amount of capital. I wonder if they knew this was comming and got all the cash out of the company that they could before going bankrupt.

 

[DavesTractor]

Yea, its pretty amazing that they only had 12mil in assets. I'm not sure how you could run a tractor distrubutorship with that amount of capital. I wonder if they knew this was comming and got all the cash out of the company that they could before going bankrupt.

That was just what I was thinking. There are dealerships, like your own I would guess, that have more assets.

 

[redlevel]

Yea, its pretty amazing that they only had 12mil in assets. I'm not sure how you could run a tractor distrubutorship with that amount of capital. I wonder if they knew this was comming and got all the cash out of the company that they could before going bankrupt.

That has happened before, hasn't it?

If my 535 will hold together for two more years without any major component failure, engine, transmission, or hydaulics, I will figure I have come out pretty good. It will probably go longer than that. As someone else said, I could have paid a lot more money for a used tractor, even one just about the same size as the 535, without any warranty, and with all the potential problems of a used machine.

I think I paid something like $10,800 for the tractor. I have 225 hours on it, and will be surprised if it doesn't run 1000 hours or more with minimal problems. I have bought many new tractors over the years, and I can't really remember having any warranty work done.

My main loss, I figure, will be the rebates from the "lower than zero" financing on the loader.

I was negotiating with my dealer for a trade up to a 545 just before Christmas. He was to call me right after Christmas to see if we could get a deal together before Jan. 1. I am glad he did not try to ram a deal through knowing something was amiss. I will continue to do business with him in the future. He has a yard full of Farmtracs now.

 

[SESS]

I hope the general public realizes that Farmtrac dealers were not part of this "problem" that Farmtrac announced in January. That last thing that we dealers wanted was for our tractor line to go belly up...or whatever it is doing right now! We dealers have been very patient awaiting a resolution to Farmtrac's problem...I hope news comes soon-good, bad or otherwise.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

That has happened before, hasn't it?

Google "Conrad Black" and look at his association with Massey Ferguson. MF was a strong company that had no need to sell out to AGCO when Black made his entry into the picture. Massey never went bankrupt, but Black and his "corporate raider" tactics sent Massey scurrying for help. AGCO bought Massey Ferguson for pennies on the dollar of their former worth.

The same sort of story plays out in modern business far too often. It's hard to say if FarmTrac was "raided" or simply grossly mismanaged. Either way, a fine product, a very fine dealer base, and a lot of loyal customers are taking a bath on this one.

 

[bluechip]

, a fine product, a very fine dealer base, and a lot of loyal customers are taking a bath on this one.

And we've been in it long enough now that our fingers and toes are all wrinkled... It may be time to pull the plug and let the water drain... Do you think if I bought some Ford decals and sold them as restored Ford's I could get more money?

 

[Highsmith]

Star-Telegram.com: | 03/05/2008 | Creditors going after motorcycle company
This link is about Textron going after another company. Seems like they have more than Farmtrac in their crosshairs.

 

[citytransplant]

Do you think if I bought some Ford decals and sold them as restored Ford's I could get more money?

I got some Ford decals that I collect. Will trade for Montana green paint and decals

(a little humor to take the sting out of all of this nonsense)