Gunwerks Sued By Creditors

[joshb]

Wow! Looking at those prices explains a lot. I wouldn’t even think about buying one. I’d call Borden if I had that much cash lying around !

 

[rardoin]

......... I’d call Borden if I had that much cash lying around !

....and buy two rifles!

 

[Albany Mountain]

They ran out of customers with low IQ and big wallets.

 

[JimT]

They ran out of customers with low IQ and big wallets.

That’s a good sign!!!

 

[CharlieNC]

I began watching the owner, Aaron Davidson, on Best if the West hunting show years ago. Heard there was a disagreement and he split to found Gunwerks. He appeared to be an excellent well rounded engineer with skills ranging from ballistics to design and manufacturing. Several years ago they started their own TV show, and being the prime sponsor had to be expensive. Not to mention the world wide family hunts. Around the time of the expansion he transitioned from the conservative, engineer appearance to more of a hippie look. Maybe a shift in attitude?

 

[wkdickinson]

So, this is what happened with TL TECHNOLOGIES. The bank allowed the company to grow, taking loans, then pulled the rug. My belief is that this is a form of gun control. WF is very anti gun.

Very simple - If you borrow money from a bank, they expect you to pay it back. Seriously, you think a bank would loan a company $2M expecting them to fail, so they could force them in bankruptcy and only recover pennies on the dollar, all because they are anti-gun???

From personal experience and a lifetime in the business world - companies fail for only one reason - bad/incompetent management. Management has only one job, to make the company successful.

 

[bobinpa]

Seems like a simple case of too big too fast. If you ever call and talk to them, you quickly realize that you are talking to a salesman and not a rifle builder....selling the sizzle instead of a steak only lasts so long. Regardless, it looks like a sad state of affairs for them. Hopefully they can regroup and come back more in line with how they started. We don't need to lose anyone in this business.

 

[xswanted]

Looks like my G7 Rangefinder just became a collectible!

I worked for a company that did business with Gunwerks a number of years ago.

The relationship lasted only a couple years and was terminated due to a "rocky" relationship. (Polite way to put it)

The business venture was later picked up again for a bit of time but once again was terminated.

From my understanding they didn't have the best business practices.

They make (made) good stuff, but business wise were not the best.

Maybe we can buy the actions they have in stock cheap!

 

[Richard Coody]

Watching something you have worked so hard to build.vaporize before your eyes will give you a sick feeling in your stomach and make you lay awake.all night staring at the ceiling. So many people get hurt in a situation like this.

It is happening to small businesses all around this country now.

Most.small businesses start with a dream and a person with skills to do whatever it is. Most don't have a business or accounting background. They just want to do their thing. Why most fail.

 

[carlsbad]

Well this is awful for gunwerks but its also hard to believe they have that much debt to start with

Yes, I can't imagine a business plan that supports $20k/month interest payments in this niche. I also see other gunsmiths with a tremendous amount of cnc machinery I don't know how they pay for. --Jerry

 

[beemanjohn]

The part that caught my eye was the last part. It looks like Gunwerks is selling off stock and equipment and hiding the money in another bank. If you borrow money for your business, the bank owns the collateral you put up for the loan. Selling it off and hiding the money is stealing! That sort of thing can land you in jail.

 

[Nightraider]

Very simple - If you borrow money from a bank, they expect you to pay it back. Seriously, you think a bank would loan a company $2M expecting them to fail, so they could force them in bankruptcy and only recover pennies on the dollar, all because they are anti-gun???

From personal experience and a lifetime in the business world - companies fail for only one reason - bad/incompetent management. Management has only one job, to make the company successful.

Yes, yes I do.

 

[muleman69]

Very simple - If you borrow money from a bank, they expect you to pay it back. Seriously, you think a bank would loan a company $2M expecting them to fail, so they could force them in bankruptcy and only recover pennies on the dollar, all because they are anti-gun???

From personal experience and a lifetime in the business world - companies fail for only one reason - bad/incompetent management. Management has only one job, to make the company successful.

In a nut shell

 

[Ramblerman]

That is the sad part. Generally these small business do very well because of the craftsmanship of the owner.
But being a craftsmen and being a business man are two very different things and generally at odds with each other.
We have all seen small businesses that have great craftsmen building or doing amazing work, but are poor business men. We tolerate the inconveniences because of the product or service. But imagine if they tried to expand with their current business skills.
This is why it is not uncommon for businesses when making that jump from craftsmen shop to production manufacturer will bring in business management experts.

Yessir... a certain reamer grinder comes to mind that could use some more business acumen...growth beyond the system that can support it. Forster is ISO certified, FFS. Rant over, sorry.

 

[Daddymac]

So, this is what happened with TL TECHNOLOGIES. The bank allowed the company to grow, taking loans, then pulled the rug. My belief is that this is a form of gun control. WF is very anti gun.

The bank wants their money, they have no use for equipment or buildings they have to auction off to recover what they can, to them cash is the king. As for the gun control part, I just don't believe any bank would take that kind of loss to just shut you down, if that were the case, I think you would want a bigger target than Gunwerks to get the most bang for the buck.

Bottom line, you gotta pay the bills.

 

[riflewoman]

Evidently, their business model was flawed. With hunter numbers dwindling, the market for uber-high priced rifles just isn't there anymore.

There IS a market for high end custom rifles but it’s tough way to make anything but a living. The labor is intensive and is an art form, really.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

All you need is a tv show, finance some fancy equipment, and get a cool website and you can double the price for a gun. Some people seem to think if it costs that much more its gotta be better

 

[BoydAllen]

A long time ago, I told a farmer who was a friend, to always remember that the bank would loan more than he should borrow. Back in the day, some farmers borrowed money on paid for land, to buy more land at inflated prices, based on projections that turned out not to be accurate. Quite a few lost it all.

 

[Ranger188]

I know they have to promote their products, but never figured out why they
had to go on such expensive trips all the time to promote their rifles.
And they usually cut away from the animal after they shot it with one round
and at extremely longer range than what was needed. I'm sure most of the time
the animal wasn't dead and didn't want it flopping around on camera.
It was a small market that doesn't replenish it's self often enough.

 

[dgeesaman]

Being stupid with money remains one of the most common afflictions among us humans and our society. And some of the brightest and most talented people are not immune.

There is a lot to be said for slow steady growth in any business --- and our personal lives for that matter. jd

Starting and growing businesses involve risk.
Professionals understand the nature and magnitude of risk. Amateurs say "there is always risk", press ahead, put it in the back of their minds, and that deliberate ignorance leads them to fail most spectacularly.

Every day there is another success story of a highly risky venture that succeeds. You don't hear much about businesses that grow at a stable rate or businesses that take the huge risks and fail. This happens to be one of the failures.