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sd80macs
Hobo
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 01:07:16
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Saw this on a few forums today!
"Guys,
I have one last tool path to run today which is for the GP38-2 exhaust hatch.
I've made a lot of progress the past two weeks but I am unable to put out any OEM work in time to "save us" or generate model train sales to meet our cash burn.
Anything I gain a hint of progress get squashed with another road block.
There are a number of areas we have come so close to getting the job done, but the bottom line is the business does not generate enough cash to support itself.
So I will post the image as my last message.
Tuesday I will seek creditor protection for myself and the business.
If we pull through, we have a lot of cool things coming but at this point, it's not in my hands anymore. I tried very hard with one last fight.
Thank you for everything, unfortunately we didn't make it.
I have no clue of what will happen next.
Christopher Howard, Railflyer Model Prototypes Inc. "
Mark G |
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cv_acr
Hobo
Canada
19 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 16:20:33
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Well, not completely gone yet, he could pull through yet, or he might not. Have to wait and see.
Chris van der Heide http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca |
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sd80macs
Hobo
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 18:14:22
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I hope he pulls through but this line doesn't sound to promising.
"Thank you for everything, unfortunately we didn't make it."
Mark G |
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sd80macs
Hobo
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 23:23:35
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Newest info I saw was this.
Guys, I want to keep this short, but I will update our status and projects at this point in time so everybody fully understands where we are at and how things are going. I was venting the other night on our personal forum in regards to seeking creditor protection. Yes the past few months have been very slow for sales and we have in fact asked lenders for lenience on payments. The truth is we just increased our equipment capital by over $200,000 at a time when we just lost a bunch of injection mould tools in China and the economy in general is sliding backwards again. So right now I am completely overwhelmed trying to get out machining related contracts to generate another revenue source. We do have a large number of OEM clients and contracts; the issue is we have to be shipping usable materials to these people to get paid. The good news in all of this is (A) we're now able to do all of our machining and injection mould tooling in house, and ( the additional revenue stream will enable us to reinvest in our equipment and capability to do more of the work required for our product in house. Already, I have seen huge benefits to being able to manage an entire project from start to finish with no third parties or overseas manufacturing. The bottom line is we're hurting but we're not going under, in the contrary, Railflyer is on track to be a very powerful player in the model railroad industry in the next few months.
http://i1192.photobu...05/IMAG0101.jpg Tooling – most of the tooling we started in 2010 and 2011 is unusable except for items related to the traction motors and the moulds for the Blomberg and HTC side-frames. We are going to start machining new inserts for our mould base to replace these lost items in October/ November. We have also started the process of getting our own injection mould machine. This will be in place around January. By then, we will likely have all machining done on a good majority of our first kit releases. The goal at this point is to have everything done for the initial kits around May 2013 which is very possible and could be sooner as a number of key areas for other aspects of the project are near completion. We are upgrading the injection mould machine to do MIM (metal injection moulding) so items like the stanchions will be done in house. Exhaust Hatch Sample – Railflyer [url= Electrical – sound files for seven locomotive types are completed. We are about two weeks work to completion on the PCB revisions and firmware for the initial motor control units (MCU's). I actually have to stop using this term; we are now using the ARM7 processor for all variations. We're a bit behind on payments to our contractor due to the CNC integration difficulties however this project is a priority to be released. With the electrical system completed, we have firmware and hardware for any and all of our future locomotive kits in place. There is enough memory and features to keep this system ahead of anything on the market for years to come. Layout Control – This is still another priority. We are going with a battery/wireless solution that replaces track based control signals. Essentially your locomotive is now your DCC command station, the tablet is the interface. While the goal of our system is wireless, you can still use any of our electrical products on existing DCC systems. The tablets are done; we held back the shipment until things pick up. New Products – A number of new products are in production including the plows and exhaust hatches. We're also going to do a number of wheel variations for our traction motors and do new heat sinks for the motors as this will speed up assembly time. DP 6240 CAM – Railflyer [url= DP 6241 CAM – Railflyer [url= Restock & Shipments– A few items are very back ordered, they are going to start being reordered over the next few months to catch up. Mostly, we need speakers and some photo-etch items like DP 6556, DP 6610, and DP 6612. As sales pick up, we'll direct the money into these items. DP 6556 GE Deck Ditch Lights will ship this week from our supplier in sufficient quantities to take a chunk of the back log out. I am also going to work on soldering more LED's to get caught up ASAP. Some items like frame weights will also be machined and shipped to fill this void. Thank you for the patience. I know our online critics loved the news of us going under but it's not true. We really did just amp up the game, however at the same time, I have been completely overwhelmed by this process and hence, everything has fallen to pieces the past few months. The good news is that in the past two weeks I have really learned some good lessons on machining and we're starting to see the type of products that I've wanted now for years. All the best, Christopher Howard, Railflyer Model Prototypes Inc. www.railflyermodel.com
Mark G |
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