View Full Version : Rohn Industries
ROHN Industries (OTCBB: ROHN) announced September 16 that the Company and five of its direct and indirect subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana (the "Bankruptcy Court").
Press Release (http://www.woodworksinteractive.com/cgi-bin/rohn/press/press.cgi?id=26)
That is really a shame. They made some great towers that even to this day, remain standing. I still have there HDBX stored in my shed from my move out of state. The tower I have now, a Glen Martin tower can't hold a candle to the Rohn for durability, etc. It was an anchor.
I hate to see articles/press releases like that. Kinda like when Collins and Eimac got out of the hobby.
A sad day for all.
KG6JTB
09-23-2003, 06:47 PM
I can see that the stock has dropped from $.14 a share in July to $.05 today.
We'll see much more of this in the future.
Dave
KG6JTB
Yes it is a shame, but they are still operating pending the reorganisation. Lets hope they come out of it unscathed.
Lots of Rohn in the yard and plan on keeping it that way for a long time to come.....
Tim
WD8X
KC7YRN
09-23-2003, 10:09 PM
I hope so too, and it's not impossible. My contacts in the telecom industry tell me that carriers and other system operators are starting to peek out of their bunkers and consider spending money. If they start buying towers again, Rohn's commercial business could come back.
W9JCM
09-24-2003, 12:40 AM
That is to bad but, companies miss managed are mostly to blame when it comes to that. YAYA you are saying its the economy but wait, everyone can tighten there belts and operations. Now I am waiting for one of the Big 3 to file. At the cost of some of these new rigs and the crummy customer service you get its a wonder how Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood stay running.
Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) is not Chapter 7 (liquidation). #Many companies emerge fronm bankruptcy. #Kmart and Worldcom are currently in chapter 11, along with plenty of other telecom and tech companies.
wa0ttn
09-24-2003, 01:57 AM
What a shame, but also what a coincidence that I just managed to get the Rohn 25 tower that I had inherited from WA7SVG up in the air on Labor Day, 2003 - #WA7SVC Tower Relocation (http://www.netdave.com/wa0ttn/TowerProject.htm)
I wanted to add another 10 foot section and had a heck of a time running one down. All the usual suppliers were out of stock and had heard nothing from Rohn on when they would be getting new stock. I was lucky and found a local supplier who had an orphan section, which was just what I needed.
So sad to hear this news. I've wanted a tower, modiest though it is, since I was a kid. And this project took about 9 months to complete. I may be one of the last installations in the history books for a Rohn tower.
I wish the company good luck in the future, but wish I could have been a customer for a lot longer. I can only say that I'm a proud owner of several Vibroplex keys and those folks seem to be going on strong! So there's hope for the legacy companies.
73, Dave, WAØTTN
HMMMMM, $0.05 per share? Just might be worth the risk
if it picks up in the future. I'm sure that if enough hams
all of a sudden gobbled up a large mega-block of outstanding shares, en mas, would insure their continued
operation.
Just a thought...........73's
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k3ng @ Sep. 23 2003,18:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) is not Chapter 7 (liquidation). #Many companies emerge fronm bankruptcy. #Kmart and Worldcom are currently in chapter 11, along with plenty of other telecom and tech companies.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yes, true, to some degree. But there are no more Kmarts in my state. I am sure that affects their bottom line, not to mention customers that liked their stores/products over Megalow Mart.
I have found that when many of the "smaller" companies file for chapter 11, they usually are only delaying the inevitable.
One would think that with the advent of cell phones and
towers going up like weeds around the country, this could
never happen to a company like Rohn.
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (w8gr @ Sep. 24 2003,07:21)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">One would think that with the advent of cell phones and
towers going up like weeds around the country, this could
never happen to a company like Rohn.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Not that surprising at all, when you consider that we have a very bad case of NIMBY in this country when it comes to towers of any kind.
N0TTW
09-24-2003, 03:57 PM
For those who don't know..... NIMBY means... Not In My BackYard.....
Just FYI... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Chris N0TTW
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (W9JCM @ Sep. 23 2003,17:40)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Now I am waiting for one of the Big 3 to file. At the cost of some of these new rigs and the crummy customer service you get its a wonder how Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood stay running.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Why are some people under the delusion that the "Big 3" live or die by their Amateur sales?
All of the "Big 3" (with the possible exception of Yaesu) could stop making Ham gear tomorrow and it wouldn't make much of a dent in their financial situation.
KI4BOO
09-24-2003, 05:44 PM
Ive also noticed that the majority of cell phone towers, and many newer microwave towers, are using concrete/galvanized steel freestanding towers these days.
They are still growing up like trees around here, one on every block. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif
kc9ani
09-24-2003, 08:21 PM
Not sure if the info is correct or not but on another web site, the rumor is that cell phone tower business is what caused there problems. Some quality control issues with welds, fallen towers, the ensuing lawsuits and voila: Chapter 11. Not sure of validity but there it is.
ai4xl
09-24-2003, 09:15 PM
Speaking as someone who works for a former small distributor of Rohn products, I have a little bit of insight into what may have happened with Rohn. When Unarco (the same company that also makes the metal shopping carts that Wal-mart used) acquired Rohn, the new executives considered their commercial communications towers their "bread and butter". While they would still sell to our small electronics company, they decided that they wouldn't even ship us an order of less than $10,000 of their stock to one location at one time. That is a WHOLE LOT of stock for a small local electronics distributor to have to put away on a shelf (or a warehouse - that much stock would almost require it's OWN warehouse). Anyway, after our orders for their products slowed to virtually nothing, they relented and decided to allow us to reduce that to "only" $5,000 of stock, but that is still a WHOLE LOT of stock to store. From what I heard from Wal-Mart, they didn't like the price they were being charged for their Unarco shopping carts either, and have switched to a competitor's product. As they say, you reap what you sow.
David
ah6gi
09-24-2003, 09:18 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (wc5rr @ Sep. 24 2003,04:46)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k3ng @ Sep. 23 2003,18:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) is not Chapter 7 (liquidation). #Many companies emerge fronm bankruptcy. #Kmart and Worldcom are currently in chapter 11, along with plenty of other telecom and tech companies.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yes, true, to some degree. #But there are no more Kmarts in my state. #I am sure that affects their bottom line, not to mention customers that liked their stores/products over Megalow Mart.
I have found that when many of the "smaller" companies file for chapter 11, they usually are only delaying the inevitable.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Caution to those thinking of investing. Kmart and very likely Worldcom investors will own nothing of the company. While the brand name and product line continues, every cent that investors put into the companies has been lost.
kg6amw
09-25-2003, 03:45 AM
Yep, seen it at least a 1000 times. #Too much debt and shrinking market share. Gets them everytime. Make your expense cuts early, collect those A/Rs and avoid debt.
KG6AMW
kc2ivl
09-25-2003, 12:05 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n3jja @ Sep. 23 2003,16:05)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">All of the "Big 3" (with the possible exception of Yaesu) could stop making Ham gear tomorrow and it wouldn't make much of a dent in their financial situation.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Even Yaesu could quit making ham gear ans still stay in business. Yaesu is only the ham brand name of the Vetrex - Horizon/Standard
-------------------Supply and Demand---------------------
The big 3, Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu have the supply. #Now they will look for the demand of their equipment. The demand will be up to the ham radio operators.
The less testing and upgrading of ham tickets will keep the big 3 going.
The tower business is competitive, not only with other companies, but with the used towers also being sold by ham operators at giveaway prices.
Very sad news for Rohn as they were a leader at one time. I wish them a successful adventure for the future.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # -------
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif5--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kc2ivl @ Sep. 25 2003,05http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif5)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n3jja @ Sep. 23 2003,16<!--emo&http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">All of the "Big 3" (with the possible exception of Yaesu) could stop making Ham gear tomorrow and it wouldn't make much of a dent in their financial situation.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Even Yaesu could quit making ham gear ans still stay in business. Yaesu is only the ham brand name of the Vetrex - Horizon/Standard[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Oh, I agree Yaesu would stay in business, but it would also be a major dent in the finances for them. Approximately 35% of their revenue comes from Amateur radio products.
Kenwood, with their audio/video products as well as their other divisions (marine, land mobile, etc), would not see a major impact in revenue. The last dollar figure I've heard was that Kenwood was a 20 billion dollar company.
Icom is the world's largest manufacturer of computer LCD screens. That combined with their other radio divisions (marine, avaiation, land mobile, etc.) makes the lost of Amateur products not that important. While I would imagine it would be noticed, it wouldn't put a major strain on them.
The ham radio industry in this country is probably about $60 million a year. The world market for ham products is probably around $150 million. That "pie" is divided up not only between the "Big 3", but all the other companies like Ten-Tec, MFJ, etc.
Even if Kenwood (for example) was the only supplier in the world, what makes anyone think a $20 billion company would notice the loss of a "mere" $150 million? That's less than 1% of their revenues.
It just makes me laugh to see some people think that these companies would rise and fall if not for the ham radio market. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Quote: #It just makes me laugh to see some people think that these companies would rise and fall if not for the ham radio market. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Unquote.
I fully agree with you, but am very positive the big 3 would not enjoy the loss of even this income.
Every penny earned is a penny saved. The employees will enjoy the benefits also along with the chip suppliers.
I am sure the big 3 would also enjoy a increase in their ham sales.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # "The big 3 are creative"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # --------------------
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
I thought seriously about buying some Rohn stock, but you have to do that after reorganization so your stock doesn't get written off in the loss. Rohn still has the potential to be the major power in towers in the future. They probably forgot more about towers than all the other players knew.
K6YNW
09-25-2003, 09:08 PM
Regarding W9CJM’s comment about poor service from ICOM, Kenwood ect.:
As far as ICOM goes, I have had great service from them. True, I repair my own gear, but ICOM still has about everything for my (old) IC-02AT and gets parts to me pronto. I have had little such luck with Kenwood.
n3wjl
09-26-2003, 12:13 PM
I'd like to help them out by buying a 65' tower, base, rotor plate etc but......
CC&R !!!!
Need I say more ?
DE
N3WJL
see ya on 10m 'cause that's the only dipole that'll fit in my attic.
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (wa4dou @ Sep. 25 2003,11:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">They probably forgot more about towers than all the other players knew.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Hmmm... maybe that's part of the problem? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
n8zux
09-28-2003, 10:17 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k3ng @ Sep. 23 2003,23:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) is not Chapter 7 (liquidation). #Many companies emerge fronm bankruptcy. #Kmart and Worldcom are currently in chapter 11, along with plenty of other telecom and tech companies.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yeah a few get out, unfortunate to WHITE Trucks they were merged to GM then to Volvo, today White is known purely as VOLVO HD trucks. Marmon filed, it happens and unfortunately these people wonder day to day about their jobs.
It's a wait and see about Rohn wish them all the best. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif
Sometimes companies forget from whence they came and look to other product lines which were never their niche.
Rohn made great towers and I hope they still will do so. They didn't spend much of diversifying (at least that I can tell) carrying an aluminum tower line, crank up line, etc.
As to the comments about Kenwood, ICOM and Yaesu, true, amateur radio isn't their "bread and butter", but it definitely is a cash cow to some degree, Kenwood less so.
I wish Rohn all the best and hope they come back stronger and more competitive!
k5adf
10-02-2003, 06:14 AM
It is indeed sad to hear about Rohn's problems. I have two Rohn 25G towers that have been up since 1977 without a problem. I live in San Antonio where ice load is unknown and a 35 mph wind is a big wind for us. I hope that Rohn stays around. They make (or made) a really good product for hams. 73s