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Official FMIC Press Release


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I wanted to echo the sentiments of everyone here and say that we owe a great debt of gratitude to the "affected" employees. Thanks for all you have done and we will think of you and appreciate it every single time we pick up one of the fine instruments you created. Hopefully this site and its members can assist in some way as you head toward your next path in life.

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Kim,

You and your team are truly the best and a class act. PLEASE RE-THANK THEM ALL. The legacy you've all left in the guitar/music world is nothing short of remarkable. I remember our first conversation right after you started working there in 1996 - it really doesn't seem like that long ago, wow.

Although you ALL clearly deserved much better than this "slow bleed-out" nonsense, its clear FMIC collectively has lost whatever moral compass it once had along with their sensibilities - business and otherwise.

I'm drinking a glass as a toast for you all right now.

Thank you for everything you've done for me over the last 18 years. FMIC, KAMAN, Hamer and all of us are very blessed to have had you in Hamer's corner.

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And another company/Factory is destroyed by FMIC.

They just brought back the Guild Electrics, and now I guess they are going to go away again. What a load of crap. Fender has done nothing but mismanage the shit out of everything they have bought recently. They bought Tacoma to make acoustics, and that went to shit. Then they decided to use the new hartford hamer plant to make guild acoustics and electrics, and now that's nerfed.

What the hell FMIC?

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I'm trying to wrap my head around this crazy shit ~ this really is a whole new kick in the nuts from the FMIC mothership. I don't know why, but this bothers me almost as much as them ceasing production of Hamer and shelfing the brand.

I guess its the loss of the kick-ass people and that location that was the last anchor to the Hamer production we had. It looks like The HFC is all that's left of Hamer now.

Angry-Emoticon.gif

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And another company/Factory is destroyed by FMIC.

They just brought back the Guild Electrics, and now I guess they are going to go away again. What a load of crap. Fender has done nothing but mismanage the shit out of everything they have bought recently. They bought Tacoma to make acoustics, and that went to shit. Then they decided to use the new hartford hamer plant to make guild acoustics and electrics, and now that's nerfed.

What the hell FMIC?

I'm trying to wrap my head around this crazy shit ~ this really is a whole new kick in the nuts from the FMIC mothership. I don't know why, but this bothers me almost as much as them ceasing production of Hamer and shelfing the brand.

I guess its the loss of the kick-ass people and that location that was the last anchor to the Hamer production we had. It looks like The HFC is all that's left of Hamer now.

Angry-Emoticon.gif

Somehow, FMIC reminds me of 'Central Services' in Terry Gilliam's Brazil, SNAFUing everything it touches...or assimilates. Maybe it just needs a 'breath of fresh air':

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Can't say I really give two s*its about FMIC and their business decisions; having only worked 2 years out of the last 4 my concern is with the folks who just lost their jobs. It's an ugly road I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy (and I have a few nominees lol). I will note that Larry resigned before he was forced to preside over the dismantling; my understanding is that he was might have been one of those guys that "got it". At least he appreciated tele's, which earns him props in my book.

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I wonder what they are going to do with all the partially finished guitars and such. Hopefully they'll let people or staff purchase them so they can at least not have to chop them up or something.

I'm sorry but this just seems like a total and complete waste. They had a factory location that MADE MONEY, maybe not a lot, but it made money. You would think they could have found someone to purchase it and give FMIC some much needed CASH. It's a WORKING FACTORY with highly skilled guitar makers. Just doesn't make sense.

But, I guess I "dont understand modern finance", where I guess it was better for them to maybe shove a ton of debt into there and then close it or something.

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...They had a factory location that MADE MONEY, maybe not a lot, but it made money. ...

Do you know that for sure? Maybe it didn't, or maybe the Hamer and Ovation parts were not making money, the Guild barely scraping by, and Fender's premium acoustics (always a tough sell) were just getting off the ground. Just maybe, any way they sliced it, they were paying for too much manufacturing capacity for too little yield.

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This is annoying. I've just worked out another similar scenario. I have a local hotel that is mega posh, it's a massive statement place. Amazing location only 17 room, insane decor, michelin star food. It'll never make huge profits - the management know this, they've told me. but it's the flagship hotel for the group of three which has the 90 room hotel with golf course and function rooms 35 miles from that one, and a similar location in France.

There is nothing wrong with running something special and expensive and boutique. Even if it's not hugely profitable in its own right, if it helps draw more business from the other locations/brands, then it serves Its purpose.

Shame that even the huge FMIC scale didn't support it... When I would have thought the value of what Hamer represents, is vastly more important than the specific P and L of that element, and a drop in the ocean of the overall group.

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I don't think we should go without a bang: get noticed, make it public, contact public people, celebrities...fuck, anyone that can pass the message that this is not right AND that they give them the Hamer name...

Or, a rich bastard famous for nothing...i would settle even for John Meyer or Prince, so they buy the place and help...

can't go without a bang...

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FMIC sucks. They messed up Jackson and Charvel as well. I haven`t bought a new Jackson since. Sorry to hear about the loss of jobs. I hope they all get together and start their own company and make even better guitars!!

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If they sold it to someone else (who gave a shit) they could have become a threat to Fender which they wouldn't want.

Maybe if they were still making Daytonas, T-51s, Diablos, etc. Most of their stuff recently is squarely in the "gibson" realm of things. They had the perfect thing that could have really attacked Gibson's market share, but instead they started putting out import CHARVEL set necks (when the hell was charvel known for SET NECKS??).

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Sooo late to the party but here's my 2 cents.

First, I wish everyone who lost their jobs all the best. Its a sick, pit-of-the-stomach feeling when a corporation else deems your labour unprofitable. I hope everyone lands on their feet safely.

Second - if this closure was inevitable - I hope it is a result of FMIC's ineptness (or incompetence, take your pick) and not a symptom of a larger systemic problem of dwindling sales of musical instruments as a whole. I'm pretty ignorant to all this, but I don't see companies like Schecter or Ibanez, losing ground like Fender. But maybe in their cases, you can't lose the prestige you've never had. IDK.

When Guitar Center finally folds and Fender and Harley Davidson (sorry, I meant to say Gibson) are hung out to dry, it's my supreme hope that we see the rise of a few new builders with smaller corporate and larger building aspirations.

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First of all a big thank you to all who made those wonderful instruments (which will remain, BTW) and all the best to you in the future.

May you all do better (in all aspects) in the future than ever before!

The rest is just f***in' music business... :(

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