Crane Cams Shuts Down

BBShark

Garage Monkey
Staff member
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
4,846
Location
Right here
Crane Cams shuts down, workers laid off

By JIM WITTERS
Senior Business Writer

DAYTONA BEACH — Crane Cams, a 56-year-old auto parts manufacturer, closed its doors this week and laid off its employees, a worker said today.

The news took Volusia County's top economic development officer by surprise. City, county and state officials were working with Crane Cams and officials from its New Jersey parent, Mikronite Technologies, to keep the company open and in the community.

"We were trying to help them through this transition," said Rick Michael, Volusia County economic development director. "They were considering a transfer of ownership. We were not expecting any closure."

An automated voice mail system at Crane's plant on Fentress Boulevard announced at midday today the company was closed and suggested calling back during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A call to Mikronite's New Jersey offices produced similar results. Six cars sat in the parking lot early this afternoon at the local plant, which employed 220 just three years ago.

Inside the lobby, a reception desk sat empty. A call from the lobby phone got an answer from Dennis Burgess, who declined to comment and said no one at the plant could provide information.

In the parking lot, 14-year employee Ronald Dorn was leaving the plant for what he believed was the last time

He said workers were told during the past week that layoffs were likely, but he didn't expect the plant to close.

Mikronite received approval in 2006 to receive tax rebates from the state and the county amid discussion about moving its New Jersey operations here. But the company ended its contract with the state in 2008 due to nonperformance, Michael said.

"Crane has gone through a series of small layoffs recently," he said.

Crane Cams and Crane Technologies Group were founded by Harvey J. Crane Jr. in 1953 as Crane Engineering Inc. in Hallandale. The company is well known in high-performance and racing circles for its line of camshafts and engine valve train components.

In 1979, Crane Cams became an employee-owned company. Some operations moved to Daytona Beach in 1981, with the remainder of the operation and employees relocating here in 1985.
 
I heard Crane had bought out Competition Cams long time ago, that there was a family relationship there in the companies....wonder how this affects Comp???

was Comp owned by the same holding company??
 
I'm afraid we are going to see alot of this. The demand for speed parts cannot be very high right now.
 
I'm kind of shocked, always used crane, never satisfied with the comp junk. Most recent was the comp cams 428FE shaft rocker system that turned out to be complete junk, got the crane and it's 1000x better and at a lower price.

I hope they get bought up so their products are continued.
 
I'm afraid we are going to see alot of this. The demand for speed parts cannot be very high right now.


on a similar note i was watching the barret jackson auction and the prices for nice cars seemed low compared to what it cost to build them......tough times must be affecting the purse strings
 
I'm afraid we are going to see alot of this. The demand for speed parts cannot be very high right now.


on a similar note i was watching the barret jackson auction and the prices for nice cars seemed low compared to what it cost to build them......tough times must be affecting the purse strings

NOT surprising as that is what the .gov wants, and SEMA will be weakened as this thing grows on, it could be the end of many hotrod companies, but the green weenies will love it.....

the more cars they push off the road, the closer they too get to the ass end of a mule.....
 
whoever bought out Harvey Crane when times were good either paid too much or borrowed too much or a combination of both....sad to see but I think we are going to see much more of this. And all that crapola coming from China doesn`t help.
 
Wow, Crane was an institution. Hate to see that.
 
Bad news, all my valvetrain and camshaft parts are Crane. Very good quality

Well, having witnessed/LIVED the demise of large American production/sales houses in electronics, to the open trade policies of the .gov, and seeing the inroads in just how the overseas operations managed to leverage a couple sales to advertise their way to greatness, and not pay taxes or wages to US the customers....and our .gov lets that shit happen is just astounding....WHY is the huge question, and now that the speculative shit has hit the fan, and the growth industries are revealed to be nothing but cheep tronics from China/et al.....

just specifically WHAT are we to do for JOBS??? Oh, I know, lets all get .GOV jobs, yeh, that's the ticket, we can regulate ourselves to prosperity...

we can 'clean up the environment , BULLSHIT, not a damn thing rong with the environment.... never WAS......evidence....we mostly all live twice as long as 100 years ago, and DON"T have to be behind the ass end of a mule....

THAT's why....

:shocking::shocking::pprrtt::beer:
 
That sucks:mad: Most of us "old timers" grew up with Crane Cams.

:stirpot:And then ":fishing:" Every week we are seeing the greatness of this nation being stripped away "fragment by fragment"! I was born "when the hay was brought to the barn by horse drawn wagons. I have seen in sixty seven years "greatness and now ? Yes its all wrapped with the green dollar """Worthless?""". Is there a new age coming or are we all victims of stupid? Such a shame to see the honor of Mom and Pop companies being pushed to closure. Shall it all crumble and the green Winnies :Electric Car: Computer: replaced everything. I guess we have to say """Crane """" RIP!
 
I don't believe "Green Wennies" have anything to do with this at all. It's the tightenening of the belt on "expendable income.":gurney:
 
I don't believe "Green Wennies" have anything to do with this at all. It's the tightenening of the belt on "expendable income.":gurney:

Yup, sure is, due to primarily green weenie policies, trying to 'force the technology' and other buzzwords for basically nothing.....

they show me a 300 mile radius electric car, with a fast swap battery pack for roadside exchange, and a 4 hour charge time, and it's a go.....until then, forget about it, for anything other than beer runs....

the costs of the green weenie movement to this country are just astounding....

roughly 20% more crude oil consumption per mile driven since the early 70's when lead was removed from gas and cat ass trophic converters were added.....

the strangulation of oil drilling, the killing off of Nuclear power, the total refusal of the Feds to do a simple drought relief program of pipelines to transport water nationwide into regions that need it....like from the flooding Mississippi river regions, to the parched Lake Lanier near Atlanta....

or the SW regions of Ca/Az/NM...even Nevada....

but NO they more concerned about the yellow tailed snail darter than keep us out from the ass end of a mule in the coming generations of over expanding population.....

the green weenie movement as killed off ALL plans to manufacture a damn thing in this country anymore.....it's all China/India.....even the help desks...

God help us we should actually light a cube farm, we maybe pump another ounce of carbon into some place....as if it sets there forever....

:gurney::hissyfit:
 
Top