Ten-Tec y Amplificadors Alpha se fusionan

Muy buenas corporaciones...

Hola,

Pues ahora viene RKR Designs y compra a las otras dos;

http://www.rkrdesignsllc.com/

Escribió:

(Source: TEN-TEC Press Release)

(April 2, 2015) RKR Designs, LLC of Longmont Colorado has announced that they have acquired the assets of Alpha Amplifier and TEN-TEC brands from RF Concepts. RKR plans to expand the product line, while continuing to service their customers that have enjoyed their products over the years.

The principals of RKR Designs are Richard Gall, Ken Long and Rich Danielson (Gall and Danielson of QSC Systems, Longmont, Colorado have been a successful contract manufacturer, for over 20 years). Ken Long, N0QO has over 20 years in the electronics and amateur radio industry. Long will be President and CEO of the new company. QSC has been building Alpha amplifiers for over 5 years. They have also been building boards for TEN-TEC since their purchase by RF Concepts last year. Mr. Long said “QSC has always been a fantastic contract manufacturer, and has the expertise and knowledge that will allow us to bring down costs, while increasing quality and reducing manufacturing times.”

When asked for comment, Michael Seedman, AA6DY said “I can’t think of a more capable group of people to take over the 45 year Alpha Amplifier/TEN-TEC legacy. Ken Long has been involved with the industry for years, and has a great feeling for products and operations. He has the manufacturing and engineering resources available to deliver quality products that our customers demand”. Mr. Seedman went on to say “Alpha and TEN-TEC have always had a warm spot in my heart, and I am thrilled that RKR Designs will be able to continue the operations of the business. I wish them the best”.

Ken, Richard and Rich have been working very close over the past several years and feel that this new relationship will benefit the company and customers moving forward. This closer relationship to the contract manufacturer will allow a more consistent process and delivery of quality products along with significant cost benefits.

RKR Designs LLC is privately held, and terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

73, Máximo - EA1DDO

Hola,

Al parecer Ten-Tec vuelve a tener un nuevo dueño.
Las cosas no estaban bien, el negocio al parecer no estaba claro, y alguien ha decidido tirar por su cuenta, para salvar y relanzar la marca.
Tienen previsto producir modelos existentes y sacar alguno nuevo. Andan hablando del Orion III.

Escribió:

To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: [TenTec] Status
From: John Henry
Reply-to: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2015 06:12:00 -0500
List-post: mailto:tentec@contesting.com>

I wanted to bring people up to date on what is happening right now.

I had a discussion with the new owner last night, and I wanted to relay
some information.

He is now officially the new owner of TEN-TEC.

He is planning the rigs and amplifiers and other accessory products to
engineer and to manufacture for the coming year to cover the purchase and
expenses for the year, working on the details of the various plans for
service, sales, and marketing, etc.

Don't underestimate the amount of time and planning and effort that this
business strategy planning maintaining overhead etc stuff takes.

Learning lessons from the past to help the future of the company be more
viable.

What will you see? and when?

Planning on having the OMNI-VII back in production in 1st quarter 2016,
hoping to ship in 2nd quarter 2016.

Dayton, He will be there, going to try to get the same TEN-TEC booth/booths
as possible. Showcasing the existing products, and possibly something new
based on the existing products, time will tell.

He did say that he will either bring back the Orion II or have an Orion
III. Time frame is tbd. could be as early as end of 2016 or Dayton 2017????

There might be improvements/changes to certain rigs, e.g. maybe there will
be an OMNI-VII+ maybe an OMNI-VIII in a year???

The Eagle will go back into production some time after the 1st OMNI-VII run.

Prices will return to the original pre liquidation sale prices when the new
website is up so that each will be at a point that will make enough profit
to make the company viable. Other features will get added where possible.

TEN-TEC was actually shipping a $200 bill with every one of a specific
model that it sold this last year.

There were so many ways that TEN-TEC has been hemorrhaging over the last
couple of years, and even back a bit further, that changes will have to be
made. Some the public won't like, but then the alternative is that TEN-TEC
would close forever.

Also remember, it was made public that the two owners of RKR were looking
for a new owner, and how many stood up to say "I'll buy it/fund it/save
it". This gentleman did and will do what he has to do to keep the brands
alive.

There are plans to bring back some VERY good products, items that have been
big sellers for TEN-TEC just a few years ago, and were profitable and have
been requested for quite some time.

Also, there are still commercial orders coming in that will be there for
maybe another year or two using the same RX331/RX340 platforms that will
help him maintain a cash flow that will help realize amateur market
production runs. There might be a need in the future to try to raise some
more capital if certain plans come to fruition with commercial and fema
customers, if those work out, may need to raise some cash to buy the parts,
so there might be a gofundme funding campaign set up, where amateur
customers can help donate to purchase the parts, and then part of or all of
or x times the amount of the donation is taken off of their next order of a
TEN-TEC product > a certain dollar amount. No, don't look for exchanging
your $100 donation to cover 1/2 of a Rebel, that won't happen, Talking a
major product, e.g. an OMNI-VII, or a high powered amp..... To do this
first class, we need a 200K capital infusion for a new factory building and
some new equipment to replace what was liquidated if anyone cares to step
up and accelerate our success. 400K would give us the facility, equipment
and capitol to put everything back in production to a stocking basis and
allow us to complete the Orion III. If 400 people will give us 1K each, we
will commit to the Orion III of your dreams in 18-24 months and give you 2K
off the target price of 5K as well as engrave your name and call on a
plaque on the new building that says you helped build it and save TEN TEC.

Where do I fit in?

No, I'm not the owner, but I am going to do whatever I can in the evenings
to ensure that TEN-TEC is a success. I want to see it be a success, and
maintain what can be maintained of the people, and improve it's
image/products/etc back to where they were years ago. The owner is quite
insistent that I remain intimately involved with TEN-TEC even if it is on a
part time basis. It is my choice of how much or little I spend on TEN-TEC
and the door is assuredly left open for me to come and go as I please. He
wants me to be the VP of Engineering, but, well, time will tell how all of
this plays out.

I am also working on digital modes for HRD, so, my evenings are quite
interesting.

In the future, who knows?

Where do you fit in?

Be patient, this is a total reboot of a company, ripping away the excess
that bleeds it dry (e.g. high rent, using an MRP system that costs $$$$
monthly when something is already in place to take care of it, changing to
a cost effective internet/phone system, so many "luxuries" will be removed
and put in their place the necessities to get business going profitably),
and building the business and products with the key employees to make it
strong again. You build the employees, the employees build the company. But
it will take time.

The products are there, the technology is also there for the future (some
things that were in the works that no one in the public knows about) that
the new owner has a plan to finish soon.

Actually, TEN-TEC does need to take the time it will take to make it a
success. Otherwise if he runs headlong into this as was done in the past,
he will fail. If people buy rigs and amps and tuners and other accessories
elsewhere in the meantime, well, that is their decision. The market
continually has new and continued customers. existing customers
periodically look for something new, enough of a continual market that
should sustain itself for years.

The new products coming out that are planned include continuances of good
known technology, and of course some are a step ahead of what is in the
market today, and you will see those in 1-2-3 years.

I will not divulge nor answer speculation on anything further than what I
have stated above as to what products, when, etc. I can also tell you is
that the owner has emphatically stated to me that this the last time Ten
Tech will change hands for the next 15-20 years or so as he is my age and
plans for us both to operate it until we are in our 70s or physically
unable to continue, so Ten Tech could not be in the hands of anyone more
SERIOUSLY long term goal oriented. He has wanted Ten Tech for a long time
for the excellent DSP AGC technology built in to our transceivers so I
think it is safe to say that there will be future generations of the Omni,
and Orion style units as finances permit. But again in order for this to
happen it is critical that YOU support TEN TEC by purchasing existing TEN
TEC products. Look for the Omni 7+ next year.

So, whereas he still wants to remain anonymous until his formal
announcement in the first quarter, I myself am convinced that this will
work, enough so to help him wherever I can, and so are the key core
employees at TEN-TEC. If anything, our message at this time is please be
patient with the negativity. There are other things happening behind the
scenes which can not yet be publically discussed before they are finished.

If this sounds like cheerleading, well, then so be it, I care about
TEN-TEC, the people, the legacy, and will do what I can to make it a
success, and, if this fails, well, we will give it a valiant effort.

Please understand that I have other commitments from now until Monday next
week that I may not be able to respond/answer questions until then. But do
realize, that I have disclosed about as much as I can for now.

This statement came from a draft I created, and the new owner gave me
inputs on, which items he felt like disclosing now, etc. So, there may be
some he/I/our's mixed up, but I hope the message from him is clear. TEN-TEC
is something he is passionate about, and is committed to making it a
success. Yes, there are trials and tribulations, but, he is convinced he
can do it, and I will do whatever I can to assist, and so will various core
TEN-TEC individuals.

73, KI4JPL

John Henry
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com

73, Máximo - EA1DDO

Vaya culebron... Que se hagan un "polideluxe" para sacar un poco de pasta...

El culebrón sigue, ahora fue vendida a Dishtronix.

En la web de Ten Tec pusieron la lista de precios del servicio técnico.

Empezamos bien.....

Una pena que esta empresa termine como parece que va a terminar.

Hola,

Pues si, la verdad es que dan muchas vueltas.

A ver como sale...

Gracias

73, Máximo - EA1DDO

Este dilema me hace acordar a la desaparición de Collins , Drake etc, la historia se repite infelizmente... amateur products It doesn´t work in a money´s world.
Cuando una compañía de radio que produce equipos de radio con costos elevados de producción, por que no llega a todo el mundo y mayormente mira para su propio ombligo (USA) esta condenada a la desaparición ... causas desde mi punto de vista de consumidor global cuando tu compras algo la primera impresión es lo que vale apariencia del equipo lo que se llama impacto visual ejemplos TS 990, IC 7851, TF 9000 DX , ORION II, cual comprarías tu sin saber mucho de tecnología, la respuesta es clara sin entrar en discusiones cualquiera de las tres marcas japonesas, honestamente no hay color, a esto le agrego presentación en web, brochures, ferias etc, tampoco hay color, y puedo seguir enumerando mucho mas de mercadotecnia, definitivamente Ten Tec está en el siglo pasado, y no ha movido ficha, lo peor que ALFA Amplifier sigue el mismo camino, al estar asociada en el mismo paquete.
Hay que mirar compañías europeas que hacen las cosas bien ACOM, OM, Expert, que están en constante evolución ofreciendo productos dentro de su línea pero con mejoras, consiguen distribuidores hasta en América del Sur, jamás una compañía americana se preocupó en ofrecer sus productos a un distribuidor en América del sur, y eso es a coste cero pues como el mercado es marginal y ellos lo saben trabajan sobre pedido sin alterar sus líneas de producción, y ni hablar en USA los productos Japoneses y Europeos le robaron literalmente el mercado, causas de ello tecnologías viejas, mala presentación del producto costes elevados para el usuario final... puedo seguir enumerando, sólo se salvan por ahora Elekraft y Flex radio, pues han evolucionado mirando la tecnología vigente aunque les falta ese toque de distinción eurojapones que deben mirar con mucha atención si quieren permanecer con vida, para finalizar comparad industria automotriz americana, europea y Japonesa es que tampoco hay color están muertos, 73 y disculpen por el tocho, es una opinión muy superficial.

Sí, el problema de TenTec es que se quedó anclada en el pasado. No caben dudas.
Ya ni sede de fabricación les ha quedado.
Vi unas fotos de la fábrica antes que se fueran y parecía un taller de los años 70s.
Una aclaración, solo TenTec es lo que compró Dishtronix, lo demás no me consta.

FlexRadio y Elecraft funcionan porque entendieron bastante bien el mercado actual, y una cosa fundamental, tienen unos márgenes increíbles para los tiempos actuales y esto, quieras o no, hace la diferencia.

Hola,

Escribió:

Hay que mirar compañías europeas que hacen las cosas bien ACOM, OM, Expert, que están en constante evolución ofreciendo productos dentro de su línea pero con mejoras,

Pero va más allá, mira las antenas, Hy-Gain, M2, etc están fuera, ahora son Optibeam, InnovAntennas y similares, hasta EAntennas ya está allí !!. Solo Force12 se salva al haber sido comprada por InnovAntennas.
Rotores lo mismo, si miras el catálogo de Hy-Gain de hace 30 años y el de ahora es el mismo.
MicroHAM, Prosistel, filtros 4O3A, etc. Muchas marcas europeas están comiendo el mercado excepto equipos de radio, aunque algunos SDR tienen su espacio, por ejemplo Perseus se vendieron como churros cuando lo del CW Skimmer.

No tienes más que mirar las marcas que distribuyen Array Solutions o DX Engineering.

73, Máximo - EA1DDO