acem Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Parts supplier first brands is going through a nasty bankruptcy. This obviously effects us as we are buying parts for our stuff. Several of my go to brands including Autolite, Raybestons, etc. Several in upper management have been indicted on federal fraud charges. Plants are closing. Difficult times. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/first-brands-executives-charged-multibillion-dollar-fraud https://www.chron.com/news/article/first-brand-layoffs-21322608.php https://mexicobusiness.news/automotive/news/first-brands-bankruptcy-hits-auto-plants-northern-mexico 4 Quote
Ihfan4life Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Fraud charges? Who ever heard of stealing money from a business and then getting caught…? Glad nobody does that with taxpayers money 💰 9 Quote
TroyDairy Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Oh man they control a ton of market. Michelin even. Bulldog. They kinda touch every type of industry 2 1 Quote
IHandJDman Posted January 31 Posted January 31 1 hour ago, TroyDairy said: Oh man they control a ton of market. Michelin even. Bulldog. They kinda touch every type of industry Thats not Michelin tires. It's Michelin wiper blades. 1 Quote
Sledgehammer Posted January 31 Posted January 31 One of those plants, Luber Finer is in my home town. There were a few people put on leave for a couple weeks but almost all employees are still working. No big management from the "group" is housed here. Just worker bees. Quote
mmi Posted February 1 Posted February 1 Just bet there was a carrot and gremlin ( R Epps etal) in their ear/s. as it fits the davos mandate of new every two and in the shop for 3 yrs. Hook or big CROOK ,control a wide swath then start wack a mole. Am zcam us off ,has destroyed so many "main streets"/MFG, time to hang ,UPS out to dry and gut the staff. 1 Quote
acem Posted February 1 Author Posted February 1 Some plants may still be open but many have already closed or are in the process of closing. Auto lite, Cardone and Brake Parts Inc. Are closing down. Creditors are smelling blood... https://www.chron.com/news/article/first-brand-layoffs-21322608.php https://carbuzz.com/first-brands-killing-off-auto-parts/ 1 Quote
brahamfireman Posted February 1 Posted February 1 5 hours ago, Ihfan4life said: Fraud charges? Who ever heard of stealing money from a business and then getting caught…? Well they do own Fram..... more like stealing from the customers. Quote
Sledgehammer Posted February 1 Posted February 1 1 hour ago, brahamfireman said: Well they do own Fram..... more like stealing from the customers. Fram brought a lot of their filters here when the companies merged years ago. The Fram people were not smart about any of the products or manufacturing. The local business has been here since it was founded locally in the 60's and was sold eventually into the larger conglomerate. The locals despised Fram and the junk they produced. I worked in the lab there for a short time several years ago and we tested everything to failure be it pressure, seals, or filled with graded dirt until it gave up. We blew them apart, cut them up, cooked them in scalding oils, etc.... The Fram people didn't test things properly. The original founders son was the president and would test the filter on his own personal vehicle. Leave the same oil filter on for 30K miles to see what happened. He was a good guy and respectful of employees. 3 Quote
TroyDairy Posted February 1 Posted February 1 14 hours ago, IHandJDman said: Thats not Michelin tires. It's Michelin wiper blades. Oh... never even heard of them! Was it just naming rights or used to be part of michelin tire ? Quote
New Englander Posted February 1 Posted February 1 5 hours ago, TroyDairy said: Oh... never even heard of them! Was it just naming rights or used to be prt of mich tire ? Since I'm a fan of Michelin tires I figured they'd be excellent but it doesn't seem so. Bosch or Rainex work better for me, the Michelin squeaked. I don't know if they are or were part of the tire company or a licensed name. 1 Quote
MTB98 Posted February 1 Posted February 1 38 minutes ago, New Englander said: I don't know if they are or were part of the tire company or a licensed name. They’re just using the Michelin name. Here’s the package label from one, I think Sam’s Club or Costco will usually have them at reasonable prices. They’ve been OK in my experience. 1 1 Quote
TroyDairy Posted February 1 Posted February 1 42 minutes ago, New Englander said: Since I'm a fan of Michelin tires I figured they'd be excellent but it doesn't seem so. Bosch or Rainex work better for me, the Michelin squeaked. I don't know if they are or were part of the tire company or a licensed name. Bosch are somehow significantly better than any other brand. With 50" a rain a year we do some use 1 Quote
TroyDairy Posted February 1 Posted February 1 2 minutes ago, MTB98 said: They’re just using the Michelin name. Here’s the package label from one, I think Sam’s Club or Costco will usually have them at reasonable prices. They’ve been OK in my experience. Ok thanks Autolite has been a long time good co. Why does it seem like so often?Some group is formed with some $. They buy 5 6 7 8 18 22 good old established American co which are successful. The they run all into the ground. I sometimes wonder if there is some money laundering it happens so often. 1 1 Quote
Matt Kirsch Posted February 1 Posted February 1 24 minutes ago, TroyDairy said: Why does it seem like so often?Some group is formed with some $. They buy 5 6 7 8 18 22 good old established American co which are successful. The they run all into the ground. I sometimes wonder if there is some money laundering it happens so often. It's not money laundering per se, it's more akin to plundering or pillaging. They're not putting anything into the businesses, just taking. All perfectly legal because this is America and you can run your business however you want, even if it means running it into the ground just so you can pocket every last dollar, then walk away scot-free. There's no thought given to the long term or the survival of the business, because... who cares? You've got hundreds of millions of dollars tucked away in offshore accounts, you can retire to your own private island tomorrow. 2 2 Quote
MTB98 Posted February 1 Posted February 1 17 minutes ago, TroyDairy said: Why does it seem like so often?Some group is formed with some $ They want to make money and oftentimes the sum of the parts are worth more than the whole company. A good example of that, other than being a successful company, is Sears. The company became nearly worthless BUT the real estate and individual brands like Diehard, Craftsman and Kenmore were worth a fortune. 3 Quote
brahamfireman Posted February 1 Posted February 1 3 minutes ago, Matt Kirsch said: It's not money laundering per se, it's more akin to plundering or pillaging. They're not putting anything into the businesses, just taking. All perfectly legal because this is America and you can run your business however you want, even if it means running it into the ground just so you can pocket every last dollar, then walk away scot-free. There's no thought given to the long term or the survival of the business, because... who cares? You've got hundreds of millions of dollars tucked away in offshore accounts, you can retire to your own private island tomorrow. That's kind of the end goal for most. A much, much better tax policy would hopefully solve that. Reward those that take risk and help support America vs taxing them to oblivion. But that's a conversation for a different day. Quote
Rawleigh99 Posted February 1 Posted February 1 Looks like they had the windshield wiper and tow hitch monopoly. Lots of big respected companies going down. 1 Quote
5088 Posted February 1 Posted February 1 Was a big Brake Parts facility about 10 miles from me. It was empty last time I drove past....which was probably last month. Used to employ alot of people. 1 Quote
New Englander Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Occasionally there are white knights out there who acquire companies and actually improve upon the products. Tempest branded aircraft products being one. Tempest bought the old Autolite brand aviation spark plugs from Unison, moved production to North Carolina, improved the product, and sell for less than the only remaining competitor, Champion. They did the same for oil filters, dry vacuum pumps, carburetors, and more. A true win and success story instead of the rip-off fraud story. Aviation isn't cheap so it's refreshing to have a company trying to keep manufacturing onshore and somewhat affordable. 1 Quote
iowaboy1965 Posted February 3 Posted February 3 23 hours ago, New Englander said: Occasionally there are white knights out there who acquire companies and actually improve upon the products. Tempest branded aircraft products being one. Tempest bought the old Autolite brand aviation spark plugs from Unison, moved production to North Carolina, improved the product, and sell for less than the only remaining competitor, Champion. They did the same for oil filters, dry vacuum pumps, carburetors, and more. A true win and success story instead of the rip-off fraud story. Aviation isn't cheap so it's refreshing to have a company trying to keep manufacturing onshore and somewhat affordable. Nice to see a succes story, but it would seem to be the exception rather than the rule these days. Quote
Diesel Doctor Posted February 3 Posted February 3 On 2/1/2026 at 6:23 AM, New Englander said: Since I'm a fan of Michelin tires I figured they'd be excellent but it doesn't seem so. Bosch or Rainex work better for me, the Michelin squeaked. I don't know if they are or were part of the tire company or a licensed name. I put on PIAA silicone wiper blades over 10 years ago and they still wipe great. Pickup does set in the garage most of the time. Quote
Diesel Doctor Posted February 3 Posted February 3 On 1/31/2026 at 1:23 PM, acem said: Parts supplier first brands is going through a nasty bankruptcy. This obviously effects us as we are buying parts for our stuff. Several of my go to brands including Autolite, Raybestons, etc. Several in upper management have been indicted on federal fraud charges. Plants are closing. Difficult times. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/first-brands-executives-charged-multibillion-dollar-fraud https://www.chron.com/news/article/first-brand-layoffs-21322608.php https://mexicobusiness.news/automotive/news/first-brands-bankruptcy-hits-auto-plants-northern-mexico These companies have a responsibility to keep America moving and are letting their country down. Because of the greed of a few and the stupidity of others, the employees and consumers lives will be disrupted. People who steal to this degree should be publicly hung and the stupid should not be in a position of power, ever! 2 Quote
MTB98 Posted February 3 Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Diesel Doctor said: These companies have a responsibility to keep America moving and are letting their country down. If you look at the links you quoted you will see that they are also closing plants in Mexico with a a couple thousand employees losing their jobs there too. They’re not in business to be responsible to US workers. Quote
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