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Troybilt files Chapter 11 -- closing in 60 days


Kent

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Just went to wheelhorse.com and discovered it was Toro, not troybuilt - sorry. Still a shame about MTD getting the chance to ruin a good tiller.
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Does (did) Troy-built own Wheelhorse? Don't pay much attention to those machines but I thought that they, or someone, bought Wheelhorse maybe 5 years ago. If so, and MTD gets both wheelhorse and the troybuilt tillers it will really be sad, or maybe it will encourage MTD to improve the quality of their machines. Most of the dept. and big box stores sell those MTD pieces of blank with varying names on them.
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Not Wheelhorse, but Troybilt had bought Bolens... so Bolens is also mixed up in this somewhere....
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Hopefullly Simplicty will be smart enough not to buy some gymn equip co. and lose 140 mil. Guess I best make redoin my 31 year ole Troy a top priority. Figure that one is my oldest sons inheritance as he spend many many hours in a back pack the first 2 years of his life while I was custom tillin. Man would be Mad is I went tillin without him. I thoought Toro already owned Troy and Gardenway....MPH
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Things in this country are not as bright and rosey as the poloticians and TV news would have one believe, and have not been for some time. We are in a major economic downturn that has been downplayed by the above, but its starting to show. How many months now have we all seen on the news , several thousand jobs lost here and there nearly every week. Its a process that snowballs. People without jobs don't spend money, manufacturesr cant sell products, so they lay off people, who in turn quit spending money, thus causing more manufacturers to lay off....and so the process builds. I think it would be prudent for all to get rid of the credit cards, bank loans, etc and get all your debt paid off if at all possible and build some cash. Because if we are headed where it looks like, times are going to get tight , Real Tight. And those with no debt and cash, even a little, are going to be able to buy everything they want and need cheap. Those on the credit wagon are going to likely lose it all.. Just my 2 cents..........., maybe it could be worth 2 bucks tomorrow??????????
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This all just reeks of bad management. Troybilt has always been equated with quality (as far as tillers go.) I used to work for Supra, that was bought out by Diamond, that was bought out by S3, that morphed into SonicBlue, and now out of 80+ support techs that I worked with, there are only 15 or so (this is all in the computer industry.) Some times I think these exec types can take their Harvard MBA's and whatnot and...well...stick....never mind. Bah. If I win the lottery, I'm building my own custom tractor, complete with custom castings :-) I have to say, it'd be modeled after the 720 though :-) [A href='http://www.wheatfarm.com']http://www.wheatfarm.com[/a]
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Another small lawn and garden company that focused on quality bites the dust.... Here's hoping Simplicity can endure! Saw this on another board, and thought I'd pass it on...[A href='http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyKey=62959&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=7/31/2001']http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyKey=62959&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=7/31/2001[/a]
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Kent,That's a bummer. I own a Troy Built machine and I know they were great to deal with for parts and manuals. It sounds like they might have just spread themselves too thin trying to by everyone out. It will be interesting to see what the future brings for their equipment. Thanks for the head up. Al
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With the ''world economy'' that the politicians are striving for,soon there will be NOTHING of any substance being manufactured here.Why should it be when elsewhere mainly Asia the cost is pennies of what it costs to build here,,
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Alot of it also has to do with the "work Ethics" , or lack thereof, that the American workers seem to have these days. Sure the foriegn workers make less by our standards but by some of their standards they might be doing well. The problem is not so much the pay rate as it is the amount of work put out for the pay. Seems like in the US the more workers are paid the less they do and it has been this way for some time. A local Manufacturer hired two temporary workers outside the union shop to fill in. They were out working the other shop people and were told to slow down by the other workers so as not to make them look bad. It was not long before the union shop was gone and the company is now doing the same amount of work with half the workers, same pay. Perhaps a sign of things to come.
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I heard Toro bought Lawn-Boy, I hope it is not the end of them also. MTD already owns Troy-Bilt and have for several years. Two? years ago they totally re-did the whole tiller lineup. This was when I first suspected it. Then I saw Troy-Bilt riding mowers at Lowe's that are obviously the same ugly things as an MTD with their 2in. deep decks. At a family reunion one of my relatives who used to deal in power equip. confirmed that MTD did buy Troy-Bilt. He also said, "It is hard to make a good product and compete when companies like MTD are selling all this cheap junk." Let's see, you can go buy a Simplicity for $5,000 that will last at least 20-25 years. Or you can go to Wal-mart and pay $1,500 for an MTD that will last 2 or 3. Add that up and that's $12,000 to $15,000 you will pay for MTDs went you shoulda bought the Simplicity in the 1st place and save $7,000 to $10,000 over the years. Jordan
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Ah, but must folks buy what they can afford and don't know, or appreciate, the difference between box store junk and quality machinery. Or, if they know the difference they aren't willing to make the investment. They would rather have other things (new cars, bigger house, new clothes, etc.). Part of the problem is the public's personal value system. The other part is Marketing. Successful products are not the best. They are the ones with the best Marketing programs. Look at all the good products that have failed due to poor marketing, poor sales and distribution systems, and/or poor management. Some mighty fine automobile companies went out of business because GM, Ford, and Chrysler beat them in the marketing department. And, not to start a quarrel or upset anyone, but look at the sucessful products sold by the vaunted "German Engineering". My 2 cents worth, Roy
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I have to agree with Roy. It's amazing the reaction you get from people when you tell them you spent $$$ on a garden tractor. A very common response is "Yeah, but I can get an MTD for a third of the price, and it works just as well". Obviously, those people wouldn't know a good thing if it slapped them in the face. Also, I certainly do hope that Simplicity has their act together, and will be around for a long time to come. There's something to be said about a company that is as specialized in a field as they are. Keep it simple everyone. GordU
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John Deere (ouch - even hurts to SAY it!) has achieved longevity due to decent quality and good marketing. Simplicity would do well to note that and stay true to their own quality history. A friend of mine bought a Troy-Bilt push mower and the handle snapped off after two seasons. What kind of quality is that?? My active 90-year-old neighbor's daughters bought him a Troy-Bilt tiller for his birthday. He can't keep it running and gas leaks from every point on the carb. I think things have changed at T-B from the old days, from all appearances. Tom
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