Anyone else gat one of these emails?
Anyone else get one of these emails?
Last Thursday January 16, I ceased operations of Keisler Engineering Inc by filing it into a Chapter 7 Liquidation Bankruptcy. This was a sad day for our customers, vendors, employees and families, many of which had been with us for 5-10 years. And this brought to a close a 22 year long run of the company I started in my garage in 1991 that grew to become the innovator and leader of the 5-speed overdrive transmission market for muscle cars and Corvette.
Why Close Keisler Engineering Now?
The decision to close Keisler Engineering Inc in Chapter 7 Liquidation is covered in some detail on our Facebook page here. Another reason why I decided to place the company into a Chapter 7 liquidation type bankruptcy was to cleanse the assets of the liabilities that were preventing the company from thriving financially as well as providing the highest level of customer service our customers deserved. The liabilities and overhead of KE coupled with my own personal financial liabilities that lingered from the $4 Million acquisition of GM's Muncie Transmission equipment purchase in 2006 made it impossible for me to bring in financing and working capital needed to get KE operating in the "sweet spot" where orders ship 100% complete and with quick delivery. It was time to hit the START OVER button - both for the company and myself to get out of the financial entanglements. As of January 16 2014, that process of start over has begun.
The closing of the company and the many vendors and customers affected rests completely on my shoulders as the President & CEO. There is no good time when it comes to closing a company, but it was my fiduciary duty to take the action needed to prevent further loss to the customers and vendors. From Dec 6 to approximately Jan 15, more than 122 transmission orders were shipped out the door, plus a whole lot of parts orders. We finished out the 2013 year with over 1,000 transmissions shipped. Had we completed all orders on the books at the time of closure the number would have been closer to 1,300 transmissions. About half of the unfilled units were SS700 which I came to the conclusion would be impossible to fill swiftly.
What Happens to Keisler Engineering in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
The court assigned Mr. John Newton of Mayer & Newton as the appointed Trustee to Keisler Engineering's case. Mr. Newton has determined it is in the best interest of the creditors that Keisler Engineering be sold as either:
1) Complete & Fully Intact Operation Asset, OR
2) grouped assets that comprise the whole operation
This means the Buyer(s) could purchase the Assets including the Trademarked name, website, customer list, designs and inventory ... everything - clean and free of any Liabilities or entanglements, and put them back to work at the same facility or a facility of the Buyer's election. There is more than $400,000 of Inventory assets. And there are important pieces of machinery such as the Spin Test Machine.
Mr. Newton further states that he would like to select a Buyer in the coming 4-6 weeks, and get the sale approved by the Court in swift fashion.
There is a small amount of component parts product ready to ship, like special order driveshafts, that Mr. Newton would like to get shipped to customers in the coming 1-2 weeks.
Who can be a Buyer of the Keisler Engineering Operation?
YOU can be a Buyer. There are NO restrictions. If you are a Creditor to KE in the Ch7 Schedule F, you can be a Buyer. But your Creditor claim amount does not serve to "credit bid" meaning new money would need to be provided.
The operation can be started in the existing facility immediately, or preferably relocated to a smaller facility nearby with lower overhead, or even moved out of state. Most of the Keisler Engineering employees are available to be hired as of January 23. I am also available to support the start-up and long term go-forward.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE A NEW COMPANY FORM TO CONTINUE THE PRODUCT LINE OF KEISLER ENGINEERING AND HELP CUSTOMERS GET THEIR ORDERS FILLED, then skip down to the next section now.
While we wait to see the outcome of the KE Operation Asset Sale, some of you may be seeking to purchase a Keisler transmission kit. In Dec 2013, I sold the Keisler PerfectFit TKO 5-speed and T56 6-speed kit lines to Craig Liberty at Liberty Gear, please contact:
Liberty's High Performance Products, Inc.
6390 Pelham Road
Taylor, Michigan 48180
Phone (313) 278-4040
Fax (313) 381-2411
www.libertysgears.com
Tremec ELITE Distributor
I will update everyone just as soon as possible with more developments.
ALL INQUIRIES ABOUT KEISLER PRODUCT OR TECHNICAL SUPPORT SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO ME. EMAIL REPLIES WILL BE SLOW AT THIS TIME. THE PHONES ARE NOT BEING MANNED AT THIS TIME. THE WEB REQUEST FOR QUOTE PAGE IS CURRENTLY NON-OPERATIONAL SINCE DEC 17 2013 AND WILL NOT BE FIXED AT THIS TIME. I am the only one manning the company at this time (with no compensation) until Trustee John Newton can implement more help. You may reach Mr. Newton at the following:
John Newton, Trustee for KE Inc Case 14-30100
Mayer and Newton
1111 N Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919
(865) 588-5111 ** do not call; email him only **
[email protected]
Again, I am sorry to bring this news and that I could not do a better job to maintain the KE Inc in operation. But, as you read my lengthy posts on Facebook, you will understand that closure of the company to move forward was in the best interest of everyone.
Happy Motoring,
Shafi Keisler <mailto:
[email protected]> , Pres/CEO
[email protected]
