big changes for allycraft

[kizza1]

heard a wisper from a reliable source that ally craft was bought out by telwater and they wont be producing any allycrafts any time soon.:o

it will be interesting to see what eventuates from it all.

[swift]

Surely Telwater haven't bought out yet another Boat builder. There are only a couple of Boat builders left that build a full range (from that I mean sizes from 3m to 6m +) of pressed Tinnies and Ally Craft is one of them. I hope it isn't true as our choices are slowly being swallowed up by the Telwater giant.

[Jabiru658]

Hmmm only recently bought an Ally Craft too, I guess it's a good thing I'm not intending to sell it soon!

Telewater are a getting bit borg like

"resistance is futile... you will be assimilated!"

[hooknpull]

hey guys i was at the factory last week and it didnt look like it was getting sold out anytime soon. They were still making allycraft boats and my cousin just bought one yesty. They did a great job building a floor for my 3.9!

[swift]

This is on the the web site /www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/06/29/233411_gold-coast-news.html (http://www.goldcoast.com.au)



Ally Craft sale set to cost jobs

Thomas Chamberlin | June 29th, 2010



ABOUT 30 staff are set to lose their jobs after boating manufacturer Telwater bought out Gold Coast company Ally Craft.
The sale of the company, owned by Murray and Iris Cox for the past 22 years, has shocked employees who work out of the Arundel warehouses, but Mrs Cox said Telwater had assured they would interview employees for new positions.
Their factories have not been sold but the company name and equipment was part of the sale.
Mrs Cox said she and her husband wanted to retire.
"Murray and I want to have a change," she said.
"Of course it is a hard decision but being that Telwater have taken it on we believe it is a good option for the Ally Craft brand."
In 2006, an Arundel warehouse in Ivan Street owned by Ally Craft was sold for $1.1 million plus GST and Ally Craft was relocated to Gibbs Street.
The property was bought by BB Freight Services in a deal handled by Pat Cavanagh of Colliers International.
Telwater could not be contacted for comment yesterday.




Looks like it is true after all :'(

[Huey]

Hi, it is true and I got word of this yesterday and from what I know the guys who worked at Allycraft will be offered jobs at Telwater if they met the standard. As for the Allycraft brand that is up in the air and from what I have been told Telwater are not going to make Allycraft boats at this stage so might disappear and not sure about warranty or new stock.

Cheers,

Huey.

[Jarrah Jack]

Hi, it is true and I got word of this yesterday and from what I know the guys who worked at Allycraft will be offered jobs at Telwater if they met the standard. As for the Allycraft brand that is up in the air and from what I have been told Telwater are not going to make Allycraft boats at this stage so might disappear and not sure about warranty or new stock.

Cheers,

Huey.

From what happened to my mates Hornet two words stand out to me in that post Huey,standard and warrenty. Both interesting concepts for Telwater.

[Huey]

Hi, I can not comment on your mates Hornet because I have not seen the boat but there are always two sides to every story and IF Telwater made such bad boats I do not think they would be in a position to do what they have done in this post with the way the marine industry is at present with sales way down compared to years past. I can only comment what we see here and have seen over the last 48 years of operation and Telwater stand behind their product and often the dealer can make a huge difference and I guess we are just lucky that we have had, over many many years, no big problems with Stacers and if and when we do get an issue the issue gets fixed by us and Telwater pay us fairly.

I guess it is the tall poppy syndrome and if you do not like or your mate does not like Telwater built boats than you are free to buy what ever you like and i wish you well and many years of boating pleasure. I just have sold most brands (even the brand talked about in this post) over the years and I have been to pretty much all the factories and seen what goes on and the Telwater set-up is very impressive.


Cheers,

Huey.

[hooknpull]

wow. You would never had thought it, I just hope all the guys in the factory keep there jobs. Its hard to think whats going through their heads at the moment.

[Jarrah Jack]

G'day Huey

I've explained on the forum the problem my mate had with his Hornet so I won't go into it again. Also in another post I've recommended a Stacer SC cause another mate has one and he's happy with it. So there you go.

Just feel for the workers and owners of any Allycraft that may have a warrenty issue and hope that covering warrenty was part of the deal. The same for workers entitlements which I guess would be OK as selling up is a lot different than belly up.

Cheers

[Huey]

Hi, back on the topic and yes I would think what the employees are owed is to be looked after by the previous owners of Allycraft. As for warranty to Allycraft owners again that will be the responsibilty of the old owners not the new ones so I wish any Allycraft owners well. As for the employees if they want to and met the requirements they will be able to get jobs at Telwater and I would think from what I have seen of the two factories working at the Telwater factory would be much nicer.

Cheers,

Huey.

[PinHead]

Huey..are you certain that any warranty problems with be handled by the previous owners? Don't think it fair to send people up the wrong path if these are not real facts.

[Rowdy_2002]

Huey - When a company is bought out the new owners take on all of the liabilities. Any employee entitlements become the responsibility of the new owners.

They would have factored this in as a part of their due diligence before signing the deal. The employees can expect to get whatever they are owed if their job becomes redundant or they if decide to resign then their entitlements will be paid out as per legislation.

This is a bit different to when a company goes belly up and the employees must wait for the creditors to make good any thing owing.

[Kondo 1]

Hi, back on the topic and yes I would think what the employees are owed is to be looked after by the previous owners of Allycraft. As for warranty to Allycraft owners again that will be the responsibilty of the old owners not the new ones so I wish any Allycraft owners well. As for the employees if they want to and met the requirements they will be able to get jobs at Telwater and I would think from what I have seen of the two factories working at the Telwater factory would be much nicer.

Cheers,

Huey.

Hi Huey,

How can warranty be handled by the old owners?? From what I have read the business was sold to Telwater, not merely the assets. As the business appears to have been sold to Telwater as an operating business that company would hold those liabilities (irrespective of who the owners may well be).

As ownbership over the business has been transferred surely all employees would at this point be employed by that business, again irrespecitve of who owns it, and then if the new owners decide to cease trading of that business the owners would be the ones responsible for ongoing warranty and employee entitlements. Unless of course the company went under prior to the sale and all that was merely purchased was the assets - however there has certainly been no suggestion of that anywhere I have seen.

[Huey]

Hi, I am not an expert in the legalities of this but Telwater are not going to be making Allycraft boats from what I have been told. They have bought the equipment and trademark and as far as I know a new company that did not make a product does not have to warrant it. If you are worried and I would be if I owned an in warranty Allycraft, I would call the current owners and find out where and how my warranty (if needed) will be paid. I know for a fact the companies that we have been involved with over the years that have SOLD to another company, the new company does not want to know about warranty even though they are still making the same boats under the same name-we have had to cover the warranty ourselves. This case is different though as I said and I guess we will know more in a few months.

The owners I am sure got a fair price and they would be entitled to pay out any income owed to the workers or creditors and i do hope for Allycraft owners sakes they have a slush fund for any warranty work on boats that they have made in the last few years.

Cheers,

Huey.

[boatie_72]

It is my understanding from a letter i have seen from a dealer, that telwater has only bought the Ally Craft equipment and trademarks. Not the complete company.

So i read into that, warranty on exisiting boats will have nothing to do with Telwater.

[PinHead]

Huey..if Allycraft was a company then the directors as such would have nothing to do with warranties..warranties are supplied by the company..not the directors.
Now if it is a sole trader or partnership then that may be a different story.
Plus..none of us know the contract details of the sale.

My point is: don't tell people who carries their warranty without knowing the facts..can get a lot of strife from things like that.

[Kondo 1]

Hi Huey,

Im not worried as I do not own an Ally craft, I am not looking to purchase one nor do I have an axe to grind with Telwater however I find it difficult to fathom (if indeed the information I have read is correct and telwater purchased an operating business) that the new ownership would be able to wash its hands of liabilities included in that business, eg warranty work and staff wages etc. If however merely the assets were purchased and the company ceased to trade prior to the sale then yes I could see how that would be the case (however I have no idea of the legalities and responsibilities of the former owners in this position).

As far as I am aware aside from personal claims against former directors etc that if a business is sold the new owners are responsible for the liabilities included in that business, whether they be debts, entitlements warranty or whatever.

However I suspect nobody in power gives a toss and will not force anyone in the boating industry to do something they dont want to do. For right or wrong.

[Steeler]

Perhaps rather than speculate someone with an ally still under warranty could contact Tel and get it from the horses mouth.

[Huey]

Hi Pinhead, as for speaking without facts, as I said from what I have been told, Telwater has not bought Allycraft so that they can make Allycraft boats, they bought equipmnet like a few presses and the trade marks so as I also said warranty will not be honored by the new company because they did not make the boats and are not planing on making Allycraft boats. That is the facts from one side of this story and if i was an allycraft dealer or owner I would be on the phone straight away finding out the other side of the story and IF they are going to warrant the boats, just like I have spoken to Telwater and found out the full story and tried to answer some questions on here. If you do not believe me that is fine with me and as I have said warranty will not be a Telwater issue and yes Kondo I agree with you-you can try and get a new company to warrant defects like we have tried but trust me you will lose and yes it is wrong that it is like this BUT you are missing the point Allycraft as a company does not exist anymore and the employees I hope will be paid out by the old owners and i feel sorry for the dealers around the country that have stock-I have been in that situation a number of times through out the years and it is not good.

I will bow out of this conversation now and I do hope it works out well for the ex Allycraft dealers and current owners IF they need warranty work done, which when push comes to shove the dealer that sold them that boat will have to warrant it and then unfortunately they will need to chase the money-again like we have had to do in the past.

Cheers,

Huey..

[Spaniard_King]

Guys, I will find out from a dealers point of veiw what the warrnty status is.

I also read the statment to dealers regarding purchace of Equiptment and trademarks.

[wags on the water]

From my past experiences, Telwater don't honour their warranties either....

[White Pointer]

Hi Huey,

How can warranty be handled by the old owners?? From what I have read the business was sold to Telwater, not merely the assets. As the business appears to have been sold to Telwater as an operating business that company would hold those liabilities (irrespective of who the owners may well be).

As ownbership over the business has been transferred surely all employees would at this point be employed by that business, again irrespecitve of who owns it, and then if the new owners decide to cease trading of that business the owners would be the ones responsible for ongoing warranty and employee entitlements. Unless of course the company went under prior to the sale and all that was merely purchased was the assets - however there has certainly been no suggestion of that anywhere I have seen.

G'day,

It depends on the terms of the deal.

Let's assume that Telwater did a due diligence on what they were buying and took over assets and liabilities - but not employees, apparently.

That means the previous owners pay out liabilities to the employees under a structured retrenchment scheme. Employees have to reapply for their jobs with Telwater. That's a fresh start without continuity of employment. That's not good.

It's usual for a buyer to take over the employee liabilities and discount the purchase price accordingly. If they make employee assessments and elect who to keep and who to retrench they make the structured retrenchment payments.

Same goes for warranty. The Company would have a list of the boats still under warranty and rate of warranty provision by hull type. This would be sold to Telwater as a future liability. If this wasn't done the original company should set up a trust to administer warranty claims until they all expire.

Employees and owners might like to ask some direct questions along these lines.

It all comes down to the details of the deal.

Regards,

White Pointer

[Jarrah Jack]

Well said White Pointer. It makes you wonder why those most important issues of warranty and workers entitlements weren't covered in the initial news release.

The ACCC is the only body that I know of that can actually force these issues through. If the workforce was unionised then they sould have someone looking out for their rights.

Its a bit cute to say that" we have only brought some equipment and a trade mark" or some such. As long as capitalism has been around there has always been big companies cobbling up competitors to achieve dominance of the market place.

I hope that the dealers get together and take this issue up with the ACCC for the good of the whole industry and the buying public.

[Scott Ashe]

Hi,

I phoned Allycraft's Head office this morning as I wanted to see if my 425 "Reelmate" that I purchased in June 2009 was still covered by it's 2 year warranty. I was pleased to hear that should I make any warranty claim, I would be covered by the original owners.

Cheers
Scott

[Huey]

Hi, finally some sense and this is exactly what I did yesterday after speaking to Telwater and getting what i have posted. I rang Allycraft and said I was interesteing in buying a new boat at a dealers and with this situation unfolding who will be paying warranty and from what I was told Allycraft will so I guess as i said earlier they have some slush fund in place for the Allycraft built boats that are still in warranty and whether you like it or not buying equipment and trademarks and not the company "as such" means Telwater will not be liable for warranty on boats not made by them and they have no plans to continue to make such brand.

As mentioned we have been in this situation before and i also hope Allycraft look after their dealers and have some thing in place to help move the current stock.

Sorry guys I said I would not post anymore and I think we can conclude from this that Allycraft are looking after their boat owners which they should and I do hope the outcome is as good for the employees and dealers.

Cheers,

Huey.

[Steeler]

Facts rather speculation,refreshing.

[White Pointer]

Hi, finally some sense and this is exactly what I did yesterday after speaking to Telwater and getting what i have posted. I rang Allycraft and said I was interesteing in buying a new boat at a dealers and with this situation unfolding who will be paying warranty and from what I was told Allycraft will so I guess as i said earlier they have some slush fund in place for the Allycraft built boats that are still in warranty and whether you like it or not buying equipment and trademarks and not the company "as such" means Telwater will not be liable for warranty on boats not made by them and they have no plans to continue to make such brand.

As mentioned we have been in this situation before and i also hope Allycraft look after their dealers and have some thing in place to help move the current stock.

Sorry guys I said I would not post anymore and I think we can conclude from this that Allycraft are looking after their boat owners which they should and I do hope the outcome is as good for the employees and dealers.

Cheers,

Huey.

G'day,

I think it would be really easy for the former owners and Telwater to make a joint press release describing exactly how employees and current and future owners will be dealt with and by whom.

They must know - they agreed the terms.

Then we can all sleep better.

Regards,

White Pointer

[the gecko]

Of course telwater would structure the deal so that they didnt have to take on old warranties.

A warranty is only as strong as the assetts backing the company , in this case the old company, Allycraft.

Im sure the directors of Allycraft are honest enough to stand by such warranties, and no slur is intended........but you have to be able to find them. Will Allycraft still be in the phone book? Will Allycraft still have any funds left in 6 mths or will it be wound up?

Again, no slur on Allycraft, I own one, and I love em. Just comments on warranties in general.

cheers
Andrew

[Jabiru658]

I also wonder about the dealers... what will a dealer who 'used' to sell Ally Craft say if I rock up in 12 months with my by then 18 month old Ally Craft and a warranty problem.

I might get away with it if I went to the local guy where I bought the BMT package from but I'm getting close to retirement and I was intending to shift location down along the coast.

I can't see a dealer I don't know, who didn't sell me the boat, who doesn't sell the brand any more being very welcoming to warranty claims.

Realistically I've now got a 6 months old boat without an effective hull warranty...

[tin can marlin]

It is my understanding from a letter i have seen from a dealer, that telwater has only bought the Ally Craft equipment and trademarks. Not the complete company.

So i read into that, warranty on exisiting boats will have nothing to do with Telwater.
How do you know so much about these issues are you a punter or are you involved in the industry. ??????????????

[boatie_72]

involved in the industry, what bout ur self, you always seem to know whats going on tcm

[tin can marlin]

involved in the industry, what bout ur self, you always seem to know whats going on tcm
Nice bit of spin there boatie your name is not Anna is it anwser a question with another one. I will answer yours by saying no but i do know people in the game such as Wayne from stones etc. Cheers Mark