Could this be the end of Roadtrek???

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

On the other hand....

No more hands...

The Hymer family is still left to determine who can they trust to lead the company forward? Is the 'cancer' limited to the management (suspended) or were there others on the factory floor complicit in the potential embezzlement scheme?

$100 million doillars!!! What would you do O' Wise One?

Finding someone new to lead the company into the next phase that they trust would not seem to be an insurmountable problem. They already brought in someone from outside who was a high ranking executive from another company to be head of sales who might still be clean at this point.

[booster]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Finding someone new to lead the company into the next phase that they trust would not seem to be an insurmountable problem. They already brought in someone from outside who was a high ranking executive from another company to be head of sales who might still be clean at this point.

Those types of people are pretty rare and highly prized, as it is a really tough job, even when possible. That said, companies are saved all the time, so it certainly isn't impossible.


Sometimes the incoming management group works out an agreement to be first in line to purchase the company once it is straightened out to a certain level, which makes the whole thing much more likely to succeed from both sides.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by booster

Those types of people are pretty rare and highly prized, as it is a really tough job, even when possible. That said, companies are saved all the time, so it certainly isn't impossible.


Sometimes the incoming management group works out an agreement to be first in line to purchase the company once it is straightened out to a certain level, which makes the whole thing much more likely to succeed from both sides.

When I was working in the auto industry in Michigan there were always a lot of very good higher level management people in the OEMs and Suppliers who realized that they were not going any higher and were looking for opportunities to become a top executive at a smaller company to fulfill their goal of reaching the top. Roadtrek is ripe for someone with experience in Automotive who understands modern manufacturing methods and consumer products and comes from a similar industry with the same type of issues they face. Lots of well rounded auto executives with manufacturing, sales, marketing, finance, experience who would be good candidates for leading Roadtrek.

[ClassB4Me]

Seems like so much of Roadtrek's future hinges on the situation of $100 million dollars.

Scenario #1
If everything is clear and the issue was poor documentation / recordkeeping, I could see Thor picking up Hymer NA and all will work as originally planned.

Scenario #2
If the $100 million is proved to be embezzled, what are the chances of recovery of the funds? Can assets be seized/recovered from the former employees, Thor pick up Hymer NA, and all will work as originally planned - just delayed?

Scenario #3
The worst fears are realized and the scoundrels refuse to cooperate. The situation drags out in the courts for years and the Hymer family is bogged down in litigation expenses. IMO the Hymer family will not be thinking about restoring Roadtrek but bringing this nightmare to an end.

If nothing official is announced next week, is that a good sign?

[gregmchugh]

We definetly need some new speculators here, no new speculations have appeared for awhile now...

[wincrasher]

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

Seems like so much of Roadtrek's future hinges on the situation of $100 million dollars.

Scenario #1
If everything is clear and the issue was poor documentation / recordkeeping, I could see Thor picking up Hymer NA and all will work as originally planned.

Scenario #2
If the $100 million is proved to be embezzled, what are the chances of recovery of the funds? Can assets be seized/recovered from the former employees, Thor pick up Hymer NA, and all will work as originally planned - just delayed?

Scenario #3
The worst fears are realized and the scoundrels refuse to cooperate. The situation drags out in the courts for years and the Hymer family is bogged down in litigation expenses. IMO the Hymer family will not be thinking about restoring Roadtrek but bringing this nightmare to an end.

If nothing official is announced next week, is that a good sign?

I don't see how the numbers work to give a reason to pour $100 million to make it work.

The company has $206 million in debt. Add in the $100 million missing. It's valued at $300-$350 million. It makes ~1500 units a year with a profit of ~$10k per unit. What rational business person would buy this?

[booster]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

I don't see how the numbers work to give a reason to pour $100 million to make it work.

The company has $206 million in debt. Add in the $100 million missing. It's valued at $300-$350 million. It makes ~1500 units a year with a profit of ~$10k per unit. What rational business person would buy this?

With those numbers, if the debt servicing wasn't taken out before the $10K profit, they would never be able to pay back the debt.

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by booster

With those numbers, if the debt servicing wasn't taken out before the $10K profit, they would never be able to pay back the debt.

Can you imagine what the Hymer family had to accept / do to repackage the purchase deal? I do wonder if any extra liabilities from EHG parent were 'dumped' into EHG NA to make the deal work for Thor.

[Squarepeg]

"Employees at Erwin Hymer Group North America say they have been fired effective immediately. They say they got their notices on Friday afternoon.

An employee at the location on Shirley Avenue who did not want to be named took a video of what they say was them being notified. In it, a man in a suit appears to tell the employees that the company was put into receivership."

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/employe...rica-1.4299298

I'd say parts are going to be mighty hard to come by. And about that warranty...

[ClassB4Me]

Where there is money to be made and morals take a backseat over ethics, mark my words someone is going to buy the Roadtrek name, slap it on a subpar Class B, and 'con the mugs' who have no clue.

Look how easy it is to take a nasty and dirty subpar Sunlight and keep mentioning Roadtrek to have people believe they are getting Roadtrek quality for less.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lhv5hlkKJc

I guess Jen was too busy to dust off the dirty bits.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by Squarepeg

"Employees at Erwin Hymer Group North America say they have been fired effective immediately. They say they got their notices on Friday afternoon.

An employee at the location on Shirley Avenue who did not want to be named took a video of what they say was them being notified. In it, a man in a suit appears to tell the employees that the company was put into receivership."

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/employe...rica-1.4299298

I'd say parts are going to be mighty hard to come by. And about that warranty...

Very sad day for the employees ..........

[Glamper]

you were right, Hymer family washed their hands of it, their nightmare has ended, now it begins for 900 employees.

[peppster66]

so sad, I feel for the hard working employees, we were able to do the factory tour last year, and every person we met were so nice , and friendly, and answered every question we had, truly saddening,,,,,

[wincrasher]

Sad to say, I was right, wasn’t I?

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Sad to say, I was right, wasn’t I?

Game, Set, Match????



You will be 100% right when you accurately predict the fate of Jim Hammill?

Prediction?

[AlexJ]

Originally Posted by peppster66

so sad, I feel for the hard working employees, we were able to do the factory tour last year, and every person we met were so nice , and friendly, and answered every question we had, truly saddening,,,,,

Sad indeed. Maybe Safari Condo wants to expand West?

[TerrierTude]

So sad. A former Roadtrek employee just got on one of the forums and posted this in response to the ostriches who are still hiding their heads in the sand and screaming, "Let's wait until all the facts come out".

"There is nothing to speculate about. I worked there and was let go today and let me tell you that everything you are hearing and reading is true and there is a lot more that the public doesn’t even know about. We were living this hell everyday. Greed, Power and Money was the only thing on their minds. They did the exact same thing to the previous company they worked for at Budds Canada. It went belly up and they walked out with millions, so don’t give me now all speculation ****."

This is just the saddest part. Yeah, I'm out repair money and warranty, but close to a thousand people and families are completely twisting in the wind: no job, no vacation pay as of yet, no word on whether their pensions are safe.

Jim Hammill and his cohorts should be strung up.

[FrayAdjacent]

Well, if the speculation really is true, then Hammill and the others need to be in prison.

Sucks for all those people losing their jobs, and it sucks for us, the consumers, that we may be left with products we can't get serviced.

I don't own a Class B yet, but the Aktiv and Carado models were on my list, though not at the top. Frankly if those aren't going to be made anymore, the list gets really short. basically Travato 59GL at the top, and 59KL at the bottom!

[mumkin]

I am on three of the RT/Hymer Facebook pages and I would say that we have had at least a dozen employees show up to confirm the news reports. None of them have reported much more than we have posted on here.

Seems most of what some criticized as "rumor" has turned into golden facts. I personally would have been thrilled to be proven wrong.

We have 6 weeks to see if a buyer shows up. And on the slim chance that one does (Thor?), will they honor the warranties? My expectation is no and I am assuming that it is gone.

Not such a big deal for me... my systems are pretty basic.

[wincrasher]

Only the folks with the Ecotrek should be worried. Everything else is manageable.

I hate that I was right, but I've seen enough bankruptcies to recognize the signs.

What I don't know is if justice will actually be served. It really depends on how pissed the Hymer family is, as they will need to press for it. I imagine they have 100 million reasons to pursue it.

What I don't get is all these fanboys who believed that the Hymer family would step up and pour a mountain of money into this thing to save all the jobs. They don't have any emotional attachment to the Roadtrek employees, and certainly are not going to do it at the expense of their own family's financial future. I believe they saw the balance sheet as I posted about a few days ago - the numbers don't work to attract a buyer and the profitability is not there. Especially if my prediction is correct and 2019 we go into recession.

It's all certainly sad - there are no winners at all. Just grades of losers depending on where you sit.