Albin corporate health

[powerboater56]

I read a post in another online boating forum that asked if Albin was OK. The post said there was word in the industry that Albin was "wobbly."

I don't mean to send along unfounded rumors, but the boat busines has been as bad or worse than real estate this year so I wondered if anyone in this forum had heard anything about Albin's status. Fred Peters has weathered a lot of ups and downs in his long career so I would hope he could keep Albin plugging along through this slow period.

[Mariner]

I've heard nothing either way. The boat building industry as a whole is certainly in trouble. Year after year of exponential price increases has taken it's toll on the market. Combine that with the rising cost of fuel (both as the primary component in fiberglass boat construction, and the increased cost of ownership), and you've got a real recipe for disaster. Throw in the credit and housing crisis (many boats are bought with home equity financing), and the pot boils over.

How is Albin situated? I don't really know. On one hand, their line of fuel efficient, medium sized boats seems to be situated very well. On the other hand, they don't appear to be a huge company with lots of assets to help weather a storm like this.

It's only a matter of time before Brunswick buys up everyone anyway, so we'll see what happens.

[Carl]

I should have warned you all before I bought my Albin. I bought a Penn Yan in '99 and they went out of buisness 2 years later. I bought an Albin this year so its only a matter of time!

Carl

[SwampsEdge]

Carl,

I'm that way with stocks. As soon as I buy them --- they go down.

I hope that they don't go out of business but, if they do, we all should have some very valuable boats since they wouldn't be making any more of them.

[Mariner]

Carl,

I'm that way with stocks. As soon as I buy them --- they go down.

I hope that they don't go out of business but, if they do, we all should have some very valuable boats since they wouldn't be making any more of them.

I only wish it worked that way.

[elad]

Personally, I have no idea of Albins' viability - I don't run in those circles.

What I do see is that Albin seems to be cheapening their newer boats. Take a look at a new Albin - upholserty looks amertish, seats are now fiberglass without cushions, more plastic everywhere. Perhaps this is affecting sales.

Albin is probably trying to keep their price points low to carve their niche on the low end of similar boats like Legacy, Mainship and Back Cove. I have no problem with this as long as they keep the quality in the hull and system.

Has anyone else noticed these changes?

[chiefrcd]

Heard from some after market installers that the older Albins were put together "tighter" than the new ones. I gathered from their conversation that the fit of the components seemed better and with less tolerance than the new models. I have NO personal experience with that. These guys were installing electronics in new Albins and in older ones as well.

[DBM]

I just took a test ride on a 2007. I like the hull, the single deisel even the handleing, (even though we had a porblem with the hydraulics). The fit and finish was rough. Pieces of starboard molding were out of place and loose, there was evidence of water leaking around the window frames. Some of the plastic trim was not centered as it should have been. I've got some real concerns that if they messed up these items that are easily caught, what gremlins might hide beneath.

DBM

[henry robertson]

a good boat and a bad service record can survive some trouble times but poor quality and poor service along with a poor attitude and no follow up is disaster for any business . the auto industry is learning this --hopefully-- there is hope that segment of the marine industry will do better.
albin made some good boats but their time may have come, and i for one feel they dug their own hole
henry

[Mariner]

Henry, feel free to expound your opinions about the quality of product or service, but please don't suggest that the company is in financial trouble unless you have some data to back it up.

Last I checked, Albin was not a publicly traded company and unless you have internal financial reports, or are privy to information not available to the rest of us, it's unlikely that you have such data.

As a general rule, I find it perfectly acceptable to post FACTS followed by a debate about the underlying root causes. For example, you could say, "my boat was missing the engine when it was delivered to me. I'm thinking that the manufacturer may be in some financial trouble or has serious quality control problems."
However, I don't think it's acceptable to simply post such unfounded suspicions as though they were facts. Example, "The manufacturer is in financial trouble and has serious quality control problems." Without explaining why you feel this way, your opinion can either be taken less or more seriously than it's merits warrant.

[henry robertson]

mariner----- i let you censor me the first time i posted a comment on albin, obviously my mistake --but i do not roll over twice!!! , but this time you need to reread my post, as you are out of order here--- that is if you are mature enough to read--no where in it did i say albin was in financial trouble---i was responding to someone else who said they heard such .i simply stated any company with poor service and reliability can't survive the modern world. i also said their time MAY have come--if so they dug their own hole. where the hell do you see i said they were in financial trouble? or are you just looking for trouble?
if they are going under don't look for a life ring from me. my experience has been covered before and they really need to get alot better if they expect to compete.
you seem to know it all, perhaps you could become a consultant to albin and show them the right path. jumping on me for something i did not say is just w r o n g !!!!! i

[jcollins]

I love a lively discussion. I'm going to get some popcorn and a beer!

[Mariner]

mariner----- i let you censor me the first time i posted a comment on albin, obviously my mistake --but i do not roll over twice!!! , but this time you need to reread my post, as you are out of order here--- that is if you are mature enough to read--no where in it did i say albin was in financial trouble---i was responding to someone else who said they heard such .i simply stated any company with poor service and reliability can't survive the modern world. i also said their time MAY have come--if so they dug their own hole. where the hell do you see i said they were in financial trouble? or are you just looking for trouble?
if they are going under don't look for a life ring from me. my experience has been covered before and they really need to get alot better if they expect to compete.
you seem to know it all, perhaps you could become a consultant to albin and show them the right path. jumping on me for something i did not say is just w r o n g !!!!! i

I was responding to "their time may have come". I guess I interpreted that to mean you thought they were going out of business.

Please don't get too upset. I just think that any criticism, particularly criticism of the company that produces the boats that we are all here to enjoy, should be measured and at least cite credible sources. We are independent of the Albin Marine, but as I said before, they could yank the rug out from under us at any time if they wanted, so I just want to keep it under control. But please do feel free to continue to share any constructive criticism you may have. I won't actually censor anyone unless they really cross the line.

[RicM]

This is a great forum for many reasons, and one of them is the good attitude. Let's try to not make or take ANY disagreement, whether over viewpoints, or what's posted or not posted as personal. Remember, it's just boating.

[henry robertson]

i couldn't agree with you more. i have said before albin made a good boat, they really need better customer relations.
to think they would "pull the rug from under us" would really be the worst move they could make. they need us as past customer satisfaction is vital to any business.i own several manufacturing companies and ship worldwide. my people know i hold customer satisfaction as no 1. any error is always our error and we make it right --period.
in tight times we do not cut quality, or short cut. four of my competitors did and are no longer in business.
albin has several real competitors and the copy of my 31 te is really very well made, with well thought out upgrades.
no albin won't cut us off--they should really embrace us as we can help them much more than our barbs hurt. not to listen would be tragic. we need to find a way to get them to hear us.

mariner and i got off to a bad start, if he is ever in the beaufort area i offer a peace beer and barbecue or shrimpburger.
have to go have a b i d in st helena sound.
henry
(rescue 23)