It gets better

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Clyde Hollinger" <cedel@supernet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: May 31, 2001 4:34 AM
Subject: Re: It gets worse


> Well....  I don't think that means they are totally washed up ... yet.
> They still have a stab at getting the company profitable again, don't
> they?  Or do you think that's not possible?
>
> Regards, Clyde
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No, of course it doesn't.
Yes, of course they do.
Yes, it's certainly possible. Dare I say probable?

I read the same press release and came to a different conclusion than that
arrived at by several on this list. Of course Baldwin is having a difficult
time right now. It would be hard for any company to survive the management
policies that have guided Baldwin over the past 25+ years unscathed. Filing
for Chapter 11 protection does not mean the company has rolled over to die.
It means they are claiming their right under U.S. law to a financial
breathing spell. It also means (if I read the press release correctly) the
company would like to reconsider, and perhaps renegotiate, certain "prior
management's demand[s] for the immediate payment under certain change of
control agreements." All in all, filing for Chapter 11 protection does not
seem such a bad move for the company under the circumstances.

Baldwin still has formidable assets, albeit somewhat less than it had five
years ago. But most of the quality control problems that have been so
publicly featured on Pianotech can probably be resolved at a very low cost.
The company could even begin the process of introducing exciting new models
to replace their most aging designs. As I have said before on this list and
in the Journal, it wouldn't cost all that much to begin replacing their
oldest vertical designs with state-of-the-art designs. Nor would it take all
that long.

In other words, if they can hold the financial end of things together and
give themselves a breathing spell, a strong new Baldwin can still emerge
from all of this. It will be a different Baldwin than it was five (or
twenty-five) years ago to be sure, but it can still be a formidable force in
the piano world.

Regards,

Del
Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Designer & Builder
Hoquiam, Washington  USA
E.mail:  pianobuilders@olynet.com