Edelbrock Leaves So Cal...

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

Edelbrock Leaves So Cal...

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Its all about economics.. Personally Cali has been going down hill for a long time, and now companies and people are fleeing that place at an alarming rate. I think the move will be better for the business bottom line plus less regulations etc. I agree Ryan, if they shut it down for modern junk Id be sad too. But Their aftermarket hotrod stuff is a huge chunk of their business so would make no sense to close that down. But then again I look at Walker Radiator shutting down permanently and that sucked big ones.

 

I really hope with the move Comp cams & Edelbrock will remain focused on their past and don't turn into another Hoffman group and let quality go down the drain. HRP

 

I am ambivalent about this

 

In some ways this doesn't surprise me and I'm certainly glad they're relocating within the US instead of outsourcing overseas.

Wish they'd have come to Texas instead though!

 

The bigger a business gets, the more personality and customer service is lost. I am 75 and retired, but more than once in my career, when a small company I worked for was bought out by a bigger one, many people got screwed, and the products' quality declined. When the bean counters start running the show, employees and customers become only numbers on paper. Stubbs nailed it when he said it's all about economics. Reality yes, but still sad.

 

I will just say watch shark tank and it says it all . I will say that by being in the manufacturing industry all my life overhead has gone crazy. It’s not only labor but insurance,materials,environmental issues and taxes. It’s sad to see Edelbrock get gobbled up in industry consolidates bulls#!t. Gentlemen we all know that means overseas production. I have a number of Pals that had faced similar challenges and its sink or swim.

 

Not this again...
some real info:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/39112...rtly-because-spacex-hires-too-many-machinists

 

While I hate to see an icon leave the roots that were part of it's mystique, I think Bruce Willis had the perfect answer for Kalifornia.........Yippee ky yay *%#&

 

There is a book out there that is OT but a very interesting read none the less. It is called Car Guys vs Bean Counters by Bob Lutz. Bob Lutz was a high up exec at Ford, Chrysler, and GM and has some great stories on how the Bean Counters screwed up the big three car makers in the US. I don't agree with all his viewpoints but if only 20% of what is in the book is real you can see how the automotive companies gave away everything to the imports because of cost savings starting in the 70's. Profit rules!

 

Lol POOF with the change in manufacturing automation ,CNC efficiency and robotics poof

 

Sad thing is as people flee California they are relocating into adjacent states then turning around and voting for the same type of government that drove them out of California in the first place.

I hope more companies relocate and keep their doors open instead of giving in to high taxes and closing shop.

 

It sucks. Hopefully their foundry and machine operations stay in house. I just bought a new flathead intake and 2 pairs of flathead heads from them. While I'm still waiting for one pair of heads, the stuff I have recieved is beautiful. I sanded up the intake and installed it. It's nice stuff.

 

It's always about economics. No one is in business just to make something good. But, some are in business to do well and to make something good and to provide good products and services,too. Often this is the original owner whose name is above the door. It's possible for the "and Sons" ("and Daughters") to take a business higher, but that doesn't happen often.

 

Facts be damned, the California haters will be all over this thread with their BS. And the foundries are staying in CA by the way.

 

In case someone is living under a rock and only uses their computer for accessing the world best and only traditional hot rod web site message board,,, there’s a mass exodus from California going on. Businesses and residents.

 

Let's stay positive here for this one. Time will tell!

 

Purely economics and consolidation. The Edelbrock family has been a minor share holder for some time now and the sale of the buildings just about paid for everything. The foundries will stay in Cal, because the cost of cleanup is more then they are worth. Bad business decisions was the downfall--- Vic took the company public, but then tried to buy it back and took a loan out for 50mil. Bad economic times, resulted in the loan being sold at a discount several times to get it off the books. A german investment group bought the loan @.50 on the dollar and had their people on the BOD and were in the sense running the company as major stock holders. It had nothing to do with the business climate in Calif. everything is being moved under one 250,000 sq ft building

 

I just hope they are able to stay above water. I think they have a good product for the money.

 

the family became minor share holders when Vic took out a 50mil loan and lost control of the company

 

while still offering normal Edelbrock parts, the major interest is in their supercharger division

 

It would seem that they're joining forces with Comp, their sister company under Industrial Opportunity Partners. I personally see no issue with this as the sharing of resources in` both intellectual property and manufacturing is a rising tide that lifts all ships. I'd rather have the company flourish under a corporate umbrella than stay independent and struggle.

That being said, while I wouldn't call myself a "California hater" I don't think it's a coincidence that IOP chose to consolidate resources in a State like Mississippi rather than in So-Cal. We have been seeing the same things in my home state of NJ for years; the extraordinarily high price of real estate coupled with crippling taxes have led to an exodus of people and companies from the State for other more economically-friendly States. If I were looking at 2 different intake manifolds that were essentially the same, and one was significantly less expensive than the other, I would buy the less expensive one, and I doubt I would be vilified for that decision. IOP has made that same decision here.

 

Let's face it guys.... In 30 years the ICE will be all but extinct. Both GM and Ford have publicly announced that they're going all electric in the near future, it won't be long before all the majors follow suit. The handwriting is on the wall, it's just a matter of time...

I'm old enough that I doubt I'll live long enough to see this arrive, but our kids will.

 

I find some irony that Edelbrock is merging with Comp Cams, given the friendship the Vic Edelbrock and Ed Iskenderian.

 

@Roothawg yeah they were always my first choice in my hotrod if I was going aftermarket goodies and first choice in OT cars (mustangs and broncos ). Great products great history and hope they continue another 50 years...

 

It's purely economics. The average electric kilowatt hour is about $ 00.17 in California and $00.09 in Mississippi. The national average is about $00.10. Also, taxes are some of the highest in the nation. Both my son's left California because every time they turned around the State was imposing another restriction or tax. Couple that with all the other BS that is going on in Cal, I see a mass exodus.

 

A fair point, but Comp casts a far larger shadow than Isky does. Not to mention that IOP acquired Edelbrock, not the other way around, and also owns TCI, FAST, RHS, Zex, and Powerhouse.

 

Having spent the first part of my life in Arkansas before moving to California due joining the Marine Corps, I am still here having spent more than half of my adult life working here in a somewhat rural area compared to the big cities of LA, SD, or SF. I don't do politics. Taxes will suck regardless of where you're at, either sales or personal property. At the end of the day even the gov't needs money to operate, be it city, town, state or federal. This fact is even more painfully true of companies, all have to make profit or they'll simply cease to exists.