WASCO has become part of McKenzie

How can the forms they are making in S Africa be US Patent? Are you still charging the same price for mounts as you were 10 years ago? Don't say it's because of the supply cost either cause thats complete BS.

 

its all about the bucks....if you have a problem with the costs of the forms, sculpt your own and blow the foam yourself......you still can't make one yourself for 5 bucks each

 

That's not entirely true.


Old Fart is right on in everything he said.

Mike, I am not bothered by the success of McKenzie, nor do I have a problem with Ken and Sally selling their company. Had I been in their shoes I likely would have done the same. My concerns are 100% selfish. Thinking only of myself, I would prefer dealing with several small companies that work hard to keep their prices competitive. Great for Ken and Sallie, great for McKenzie, not so great for little Cole in NW Missouri.

 

Do you know first hand that McKenzie ditched the staff Cole? Don't even say I am actually stupid. Been down the road as an employee with National Corporations a few times and they NEVER wiped out the staff.

 

I understand that scenario completely Cole!

Smitty, most forms used I'm Africa are pirated. And you can make your own for $5.....but them there is this little thing called overhead and profit than need to be added in to the end price.

 

BILL,You know exactly what I am getting at!!If i duplicated forms here in the US I would be sued and jailed.Didnt our good friend Dan go down that road a few years back??

 

I am not in any way saying you are stupid. I suppose since I do not work at WASCO I cannot say I have first hand knowledge, but it is my understanding that not everyone involved will be allowed to keep their job. Perhaps you do have first hand knowledge on the subject?

 

No I don't Cole but in MOST cases of a buy out it can be economic suicide to fire the whole staff. It's incredibly time consuming and expensive to re train employees. McKenzie bought WASCO to make money not waste it. There will probably be some house cleaning though. There is probably a clause in the contract that stipulates keeping key staff. I could be horribly wrong but I don't think so.

 

What will we do...... Pretty soon there will only be one supplier "Mckenzie" and one tanner/taxidermy studio "TWG"

When that day comes....... I will be proud to wear either one of their shirts, if they will have me..

 

Thanks for all you'v done for us .. good luck ... rw

 

This pot doesn't need much more stirring, but I have to set the record straight on the WASCO employees. I talked with a WASCO employee in Georgia today on the phone. She said everyone at her location was losing their jobs. Not sure if there are other offices in Georgia or just the one.

 

That could very well be true. Maybe a part of cleaning house so to speak. Like I said, I could be horribly wrong. I hope not though.

 

JBrown II- I was at WASCO today in person and yes they are closing the warehouse here and moving it to NC and the staff did loss their jobs!!

 

Well damn I stand corrected. Just going on my own experiences though. Thanks for clearing that up. That sucks though.

 

I do not know the ins and out or the rhyme or reasons for this deal, but I do know Ken Edwards and Ken is a man who loved and cared for his employees. He knew them all by name, knew their family and treated them as family and would never have harmed them simply for financial gain. I am sure that there is alot of reasons and it is not our business to know them. If McKenzie does lay off the entire WASCO staff, who is to say that their jobs would not have been lost in the coming year due to other reasons.

It's cut and dry plain and simple...... if you love WASCO as much as you say you do then respect and stand behind Ken Nd Sally's decision. None of us had to make it and as much as Ken loves that company I am sure that he did what was best.

Also, stating that a company is a monopoly is accusing them of commiting a Federal crime...... how would you like if people off the top of their head accused you and your business of violating Federal law..... you wouldn't like it at all now would you? Before you start accusing a company in our industry of violating Federal law, maybe, just maybe you should know what you are talking about. There are some lines you do not cross, and this has been a good debate for all involved..... but when you start throwing out accusations that a company is committing a crime that they could be shut down for that is not only irreesponsible, it shines a bad light on the entire industry!

 

X!00

 

Wow! I have been a surrogate member of WASCO's team for many years and have enjoyed every minute working with Ken, Sallie and Rick . What an inspiration they have been to me personally, and I know everyone else as well. I have sad feelings too but can see the big picture :-\.

Thanks again Ken, Sallie, and Rick.

Sincerely,
Jeff

 

So do we continue to get a WASCO catalog, I'm sure that is quite expensive to produce and will also be eliminated, I have to say I too will personally miss The WASCO name even thou I don't know Ken or Sally personally I feel they have both contriuted a lot to my enjoyment in taxidermy, anyway good luck to you both and hey shouldn't we all look forward to semi retirement.

 

Can we all just be Happy for Ken and Sallie ?

 

Well it's refreshing to see you're just as dumb as business as you are at politics. I can guarantee you that you did not see one single form in Africa with a US patent on it. Not one. Now you MAY have seen forms with COPYRIGHT symbols on them, but a form would never meet the criteria of a patent.

So now that we've established that you don't know the difference, copyrights are protected only in countries with a reciprocal agreement. That's how fake Rolex watches and fake designer clothes and leather goods come out of China. In Africa, they don't have the EPA and OSHA either. That means that the foam chemistry is what we used 20 years ago - it works better but is hazardous "as determined by the state of California". They don't have to pay tariffs and "hazardous cargo" prices to get it either. Many African taxidermy shops will have only one or two forms per species and "one size fits all". Pay for employees is pennies on the dollar to what you'd expect here.

And since you don't know business, WASCO was not, to my knowledge, a "public entity". As a private firm they didn't have to tell anyone anything. And like Michael said, it was none of your damned business anyway.