The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Crane Cams out of business

Just saw that Crane closed it's doors. It looks like he New Jersey and Daytona plants are done for good. Too bad, one less outlet for HiPo goodies.

I didn't gather that from their website "breaking news" section:
http://cranecams.com/?show=mikroniteAcq
Is there something else going on?

i rememebr when they were down here in south florida, hallandale, on the north east side of hallandale and I-95.
been there a bunch of times in the late 70's when i was a teenager, buying cams and rockers for my 70 mustang and a buddies 70 chevelle.
lots of memories.
its sad...

leonard

Leonard,

What's sad? Grigg's link doesn't imply they are going out of business, just that they have been purchased by another company...a onshore company at that!

Stuart

The article says it will continue operations at the Daytona Beach.Looks like they are keeping crane personnel.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090225/CARNEWS/902259979

The "breaking news" on the Crane site is 3 years old.

Crane was bought out 2 years ago by Micronite. It appears that Micronite has closed their doors also.

YIKES.....my most humble apologies to Leonard. "Open mouth-insert Foot".


Stuart

well,it does appear they are shut down.It's sad to see so many business's shutting down.

no problem stuart. i do it all the time. LOL.
we as americans have got to buy american made products whenever we can. we are in big trouble for sure. its just sad that an american company that was built from the ground up, so long ago, is closing its doors.

leonard

here is a very detailed article on cranes history.

http://www.harveycrane.com/vol_1.htm

leonard

Crap,
I remember buying that Crane "Fireball" cam for my GTO.

here is an article from tuesday.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/breakingnews/crane022409.htm

leonard

That's true "breaking news" unlike the link I provided to the "broken news" from Crane.
Sorry for the confusion,

Grigg

I am a sentimental sorta guy...
I bought my first cam, for my 468 BBC, when I was 15- it was a custom grind and came from Cam Dynamics. Approximately 4 years later when I wanted another cam, I found that Cam Dynamics had been aquired by Crane. I talked to the fellows at Crane, and I must say- those guys were ALWAYS touchable, and thats a hard characteristic to find these days. Anyway, they sent me the grind I was wanting (another custom grind) and lo and behold, it came in a Cam Dynamics box (gettin' nostalgic here)... I surely hated hearing about this sad event.
I found this on the internet:

PRESS RELEASE:

LIQUIDATION OF CRANE CAMS, INC. ANNOUNCED

Complete High Performance Camshaft Manufacturer
All Machinery, $2+ Million in Inventory, 16 Trademarks & 3 Patents for Sale

LiquiTec Industries, Inc. has been engaged to liquidate the assets of




Crane Cams, Inc., one of the world's largest independent manufacturers of camshafts, valve train components and electrical ignition systems for the performance industry. Established in 1953, Crane Cams® is a brand name recognized for high quality, precision products that are race-proven to withstand the rigors of competition. Product applications include automotive, motorcycle, marine, aircraft and other specialty markets.

The sale includes all machinery; all raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods including over $2 million of high performance and racing application engine components including camshafts, rocker arms, lifters and other parts for most GM, Ford and Mopar engines; 16 patents and three patents.

LiquiTec is accepting bids now for inventory, trademarks and patents. An auction sale of all remaining inventory and machinery will take place on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at the company's former headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. The sale will also be broadcast over the internet via BidSpotter.com. For more information or to register to attend the sale, contact LiquiTec at (800) 852-9252.

This doesn't suprise me ,their service has been terrible the last several years.Has anyone ever heard of customer service ?

Great cams though. They always seemed to produce the best numbers.

I believe microdyne ran crane into the ground at the end and the economy closed the door . I did hear the workers and management have worked out a deal to buy crane up and open the doors yeh!

this economy is beatin the crap out of us pronto-not just crane cams.There is an ad on tv where the big us oil company compares your comute to work,looking for the worst commute to work in the US. The prize,a TOYOTA??????????Ebay today said they will close their office in Vancouver,BC.700 jobs lost there.Pontiac will be dissolved.There is no end to this madness at this point.Hang in there,bolters!

http://stylingperformance.search-au...le/detail/595894?contextCategoryId=43339

'Crane Cams could reopen under new management'

A business team led by Wisconsin-based S&S Cycles and former Crane Cams CEO Lance Harris scooped up the majority of Crane Cams’ intellectual property at the company’s liquidation auction last week. The team spent $1.2 million to acquire 16 trademarks, three patents and the company name. According to reports from the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the goal is to get Crane Cams back up and running, though presumably at a new location.

"The goal is to get the whole thing up and running again under the name Crane Cams. We paid that much for the intellectual property because the name is good and consumers know the name," said Anders Stubkjaer, S&S Cycles chief operating and financial officer.



Crane Cams closed its doors and laid off about 280 employees in mid-February about 56 years of business in Daytona Beach.

Despite a potential purchase by Fort Lauderdale-based Scorpion Performance, Crane Cams had hired LiquiTech Industries to auction off the assets to pay corporate debt.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that at the auction, Scorpion bid $1 million for all the assets, and an online bidder offered $1.1 million, before the team from S&S Cycle trumped them at $1.2 million.

The Harris/S&S Cycle team also spent $215,000 on bulk bids for all the camshafts, valve trains, motorcycle and electronic inventories.

The news release I read in one of the trade journals stated that operations had ceased and that Crane Cams was no more and that ALL assets were being liquidated. It said nothing about new owners but that comes as little surprise. The former Crane owners bailed at the right time it appears. It will become available again soon I'd bet in case they want back in on the cheap.

Look out for the part suppliers they will be next.The little man will feel the hit of the big 3 as well.You wanna buy a OE part in the next year ? You might as well forget it, wont be available then what ?