Featured Folks Of Interest Fram & Autolite belly up?

First Brands Group, the makers of Fram filters and Autolite spark plugs has filed for bankruptcy. And those aren't all of the major brands affected; the list also includes Raybestos, Centric, Carter and Airtex to name the better-known brands. There is multiple lesser-known brands also. Details are still sketchy...

 

That’s not good
Dan

 

They've already been bailed out by investors

 

Fram, won’t bother me…..but Autolite, might!





Bones

 

I won't post any of them, but if you want to see the financial news reports, just search for "First Brands Group". It's not pretty. This is a bit of what is under that umbrella from one article.

In addition to owning Fram filters and Raybestos brakes, the group also owns brake brands Centric, Carlson, and International Brake Industries, towing equipment brands Bargman, Bulldog, Draw-Tite, Fulton, Reese, Tekonsha, Wesbar, and the towing division of Westfalia. It also owns windshield wiper brands Anco, and Trico, holds the licence for Michelin wiper blades, owns remanufactured parts giant Cardone, lift support brand Strong-Arm, and the LED division of Philips, along with Airtex, Autolite, Carter, Luberfiner, Hopkins, and Petroclear. If you own an older car with third-party parts on it, there’s a good chance at least one of them was manufactured by or for First Brands.

 

So sad to see what looks like a bloated investment group unable to find a buyer or a bailout yah that was sarcastic

 

Sometimes companies can come back from bankruptcy and it doesn't mean the end, but it looks like the company has a DOJ investigation against them for some very shady dealings, so that's extremely doubtful here.

I will say, every Carter fuel pump I've gotten in the last decade was garbage, and Raybestos has been reduced to bottom-of-the-shelf junk for a while, too. But I really like Centric master cylinders, and they were still making them for some of the really early cars (I was able to get a Centric master for my '54 Rambler) so that one I'd be sad to see go.

I'm not sad to see companies go away that were just slapping the name of once-great manufacturers onto poorly made shit that's junk out of the box most of the time. The issue is when they were the only source of things that are likely not going to get made by any other manufacturer. That's the worry here.

 

Cardone had become really bad too. Their rebuilds were getting hit and miss.

Put a rebuilt rack into an suv last summer, a 6 hour job, next morning woman comes back and it's pouring fluid out of 1 end of the rack. So got to do it again.

Got a power steering gear and the piddle valve was gone. So after that I tried to find any alternative to their parts.

Yep sadly 20 years ago those were all quality name parts you could count on, then like many performance names the quality went downhill and downhill fast...

...

 

changing world, ain't what it used to be

 

Which is why I posted this. They may emerge from bankruptcy, or the component parts may be sold off separately. The names do still have some value if attached to a decent product. I still need to buy a performance fuel pump for my FE build and Carter came recommended by several people. Looks like I may have to look elsewhere...

 

I thought this article did a decent job of explaining why we should give a crap.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/fir...s-trouble-for-everyone-who-owns-car-truck-suv

 

Frams reputation finally catching up with them?

 

I used to use Fram filters for everything, until the WWW and vehicle forums

Don’t ever recall using Autolite plugs.

 

Fram filters and Autolite spark plugs are made in China.

 

About 12 years ago I purchased a Fram filter for my Jeep. I drained the oil, took off the filter and tried to screw the new one on. The threads were wrong, and it would not go on. I had to go back to the store and get a new filter, and they sold me a Wix. I wrapped up the Fram and sent it back with a note. They sent me 6 new filters and a letter of apology. Unfortunately, there have always been problems with replacement parts, but never as bad as today.

 

Many of what you purchase from a known name are as well.
I’ll make this quick. AC Delco water pump parts are made from China or Mexico and “assembled “ in the US. It’s printed on the boxes that come through the warehouse I work at.

 

I recently bought 2 UJs. Same manufacturer, same parts shop. One box said made in USA one said made in China.

 

Sadly, we're in a headlong race to the bottom of the quality chain. Most of us on here, with some exceptions, are hobbyists, which is bad enough, but can you imagine the issues this presents to large, busy commercial shops. It's an ugly time in the world.

 

According to this morning's WSJ:

First Brands Group, the automotive supplier that collapsed into bankruptcy last month after the discovery of accounting irregularities, is facing a criminal investigation by the Justice Department, people familiar with the matter said.

Newly appointed independent directors at First Brands have said in court papers they discovered an unpaid balance of $2.3 billion and are looking into whether the company had been double-pledging its trade receivables to third-party investors. One of those trade finance firms on Wednesday sought the appointment of an examiner in bankruptcy court to trace how billions of dollars of assets had “simply vanished.”

The Justice Department is also examining the closely held company and the complex financial arrangements it used to accumulate billions of dollars of off-balance-sheet debt, the people familiar with the matter said.

 

Situation Normal All Fucked Up seems to be the business plan of just about every company.

 

Bought 2 of the used to be great for SBC Carter pumps. Junk.

 

....WOW!! $2.3 Billion missing! Some really great accounting and accountability going on here.

 

Justgarys post is the same that I have read. Creative accounting to cover bad decisions.

 

I have a feeling it's not bad decisions, more likely raiding internally.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/assetstripping.asp


EDIT: Hint, look at the CEO's past. Warning, lots of pop-ups and cookie boxes.
https://www.ft.com/content/66f9bf5c-b412-4650-ab92-5b7d0d6ea002

 

Personally I see no new story here, “business people”, and I use that term loosely buying an established, well run business and running it into the ground in the quest for more wealth is certainly nothing new. It was in the early ‘70’s when WR Grace bought up Mr. Gasket and eventually a bunch of other automotive/speed equipment manufacturers and ran them into the ground. The so-called corporate raiders have been buying up operations that had been started by individuals, or families, and running them into the ground in their quest for more wealth. The downside of that is often the employees take a hit, either through a pay cut or even loosing their job to a farm out overseas.
Look around, small brands are gone and generally that trend is not for the best interests of the consumer. And the rich get richer to the detriment of the working class.

I see that @RodStRace beat me off the line with his post which explains the situation much better than I have.

 

And the world goes on!

 

I don’t know about Autolite but I just bought a Fram filter USA made, however many parts from various Companies are made over seas.
Dan

 

Bought a couple of Carter fuel pumps last year and seem to work fine for me, maybe just lucky.

As far as buyouts, they seldom seem to continue the quality and service the original company offered. The goal of the organization switches to profit. It seems the only way they achieve the most profit is overseas manufacturing. The old axiom is true still - quality, price or speed - pick any two. So they pick price and speed.

The creative bookkeeping strategy has destroyed many businesses both large and small. A legacy of good business practices can be easily killed by someone who only cares about making a buck.

 

Still trading under bankruptcy protection. May have to be broken up but the brands will probably survive as they have value.

A lot of stuff coming out about dodgy financing, which could be a much bigger issue as collateral damage to lenders could be enormous.

 

It does make one wonder for sure.