Briggs and Stratton files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today

[buickanddeere]

Bankruptcy is just legalized stealing. When you can't pay creditors, everything should be sold to,pay as much as possible and there is no bailout money.

The over paid executives that ran the company into the ground should be stripped of all assets .

 

[dragoneggs]

Lots of copiers out there. Not condoning the Chinese but everyone tries to emulate success. I would venture to guess that many American companies are born this way long before the Chinese came trying to steal protected technology.

I do a bunch of business in China. A while back, I went to my boss, an accomplished inventor and private business owner done good, complaining and worried about this. He told me that copying (knockoffs) are a sincere form of flattery. "The trick is to continue to create and stay ahead and you will be". I guess a more positive way of looking at things.

 

[kenmbz]

Sears sues Eddie Lampert, Steven Mnuchin, others, for alleged '''thefts'''
Look up where the Sears CEO is now and what his now company bought-seems like a setup to have sears fail and by back the lucrative parts.
Don't know if this will ever be proved though.

 

[ruffdog]

Some will build up a company with hard work and other's will strip it of anything valuable. Building it up takes much longer. If the strippers out number the builders, what happens when all the manufacturers in the country have been stripped? Another one is Hostess and how that was stripped and left for dead. People on both sides took the success for granted and it failed. Thankfully there are people willing to build it up again.

 

[WranglerX]

Let me see... B&S 6.5 HP goes for $300-$350.... 6.5 HP HONDA goes for $300-$350... 6.5 HP Predator from Harbor Freight goes for $120.... Will Honda be next....

Basically its payback for us trying to bring up world economy and better standard of living for poor countries... Or chasing cheapest labor markets...

Dale

 

[RandyT]

DL I don't think any small engine company is safe while dealing with the consumer market. The box store market is being saturated with import products from companies with US addresses.

 

[Ford850]

B&S, Honda, etc, are losing business to the knock off's through private labeling too. We're seeing more equipment with their "own" engine brand offered now. I steer clear of that every time.

 

[cdaigle430]

Thats what the Predator does to its prey B&S failed to adapt, its more than China, battery operated mowers, robotic mowers etc...

 

[Hay Dude]

Unfair labor markets is the problem, IMO.
When other countries have industries protected and nationalized by their government, it’s not possible to compete with them because they playing field isnt level. B&S mismanagement could be a bigger or smaller issue that contributed. Its like 2 football teams playing each other on a sloped field, but one team always gets the downhill direction to play, and the other has to play uphill
Failure to adapt can lead to demise, but that would involve leveling the playing field or moving all production to China just to get close to a level playing field.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Wow

1/3 of the adults In the neighborhood I grew up in worked at Briggs, many of their kids....a bunch more at harley just down the road

Big place