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.

Mikronite, an industrial technology firm, bought Crane in 2006.

In March 2007, Mikronite sold its property on Fentress to STAG Capital Partners of Boston, then signed a 10-year lease.

Holy crap! I find that hard to believe. I always thought crane was a leader in cams???

Matthew

NO WAY!!

Bad news. :sad10:

Aw Man...bad news indeed....

That sucks, the cam I need for my roller 405 was gonna come from Crane. I was working on saving the money I needed to order it as a custom grind cam.

Hmm...I'll have to explore other options. Suggestions?

This is one of the worst things I have heard too. Its a shame that business was sold in the first place. Once it got into the hands of some corporate business wiz was the signing of its death probably.

I wonder how Comp and Isky and others are doing?

That sucks, I have a "Crane Cams Handbook" in the shop that I got in the early '70's.

Quote:

Isky was owned by Mallory. Mallory was one of my customers until about 4 years ago. Mallory merged with another company right after I left so they might be OK.

It sounds like the company that bought them sold their assets for short term gain. There was no intention of keeping Crain open. It's blatently obvious.

A shame. An absolutely utter shame.

WOW unbelievable

A Crane cam was on my "down the road" wish list. Shame. Maybe they'll reopen under bankruptcy protection. Didn't Holley file for bankruptcy awhile back? I'm afraid there's going to be more consolidation going on. It's happening in the firearm industry for one.

Attach file:

---

  121208.JPG (39.08 KB)

That's a big bummer.............

Don't they make the HotCam kit rockers?

If so, will they go out of production?

This is among the worst news I've seen in the aftermarket for some time. I'm not a big fan of their cams, but I'd never want them to close. There are too many families already in crisis over job loss. If you're willing to take the time, here are my thoughts on this regrettable loss.

I know Crane has been at the front of the pack with their LSx camshaft development, but what have they done otherwise?
It seems to me, and I'm often WRONG, that Crane R&D on the rest of their line was somewhat stagnant. If that's true, that starts the downward spiral in the marketplace. When that market dwindles during hard times, someone's gonna lose.
Let's not forget that management plays a part as well.
Did they see to proper maintenance and upkeep of manufacturing equipment? I've personally watched now defunct companies lower their QC standards as a way to avoid repair/replacement of equipment. There's also the managerial thought of, "That's how we've always done it, that's how we'll keep doing it."
On the positive side, Crane was one of a few actual cam grinders in the marketplace. Some companies "say" they're a manufacturer, but if that's true, why was Crane big among the "white box" parts? I think it's because they had the best historic mix of reputation,price, and quality control.
It's because of their name and history in the market that I bought Crane in the past. But that was over ten years ago.
Somehow, thru hard work and innovation, companies like comp cams have excelled over others. Sadly, it's become a part of the business cycle in our world.
Hopefully one of the better companies, like Comp will see the need to acquire rights to some of Crane's R$D along with actual product lines so they can remain available to the motorheads of the world.
No matter what, I'm still very sad to see the loss of an industry icon like Crane and my thoughts and prayers go out to the employees and their families.

Down but NOT out

Plans to reopen

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090227/CARNEWS/902279984

Quote:


That's great news, though I think my next cam purchase will be from Comp. Ironically their shutdown caused me to search the offerings of Comp for my cam shaft needs and I found one I liked better, for a better price.

The one difference I might like better from Crane is the pressed in iron gear, which would save me from buying a melonized gear for my distributor.