Ouch - Harbor Freight problems
Harbor Freight sells cheap (and cheaply made) tools at very low prices.
When I am going to use something daily, I will spring for something of better quality but when I just need something on a one-shot basis, I will get it from Harbor Freight rather than rent -- same money and I get to keep the tool. If I find myself using this tool on a regular basis, I'll Craigslist the HF tool and buy a good one.
That being said, Harbor Freight may be going through some serious changes.
From the
Ventura County Star:
Harbor Freight CEO accused by parents of 'looting' company
When he founded Harbor Freight Tools four decades ago, it�s unlikely Allan Smidt expected it would end like it did this spring, when his own son had an executive walk him out the door and lock him out of the building.
It was the culmination of almost 15 years of growing friction between father and son. Last week Smidt, 81, and his 76-year-old wife, Dorothy, struck back in the increasingly acrimonious family feud and sued their 50-year-old son Eric L. Smidt, CEO of the Camarillo-based tool retailer and importer.
The couple accuse their son of �looting� the company to buy such things as a $20 million Manhattan apartment and a single painting for $100 million.
The lawsuit, filed last week in state court in Los Angeles County, alleges their son used his relationship with his parents to cajole them into giving up control of the family business and subsequently enriched himself to the company�s detriment.
A bit more:
The complaint states Eric Smidt took out more than $500 million in loans to acquire property such as The Knoll, the former Beverly Hills estate of the late billionaire Marvin Davis. Eric Smidt paid a reported $46 million for the Georgian-style estate, which was on Forbes.com�s list of the most expensive homes In America in 2004. The 13-bedroom, 12-bath mansion also once belonged to country-singer Kenny Rogers. It has 25,000 square feet of living space, two pools, a tennis court, two guest houses, a screening room and two wine cellars.
Allan Smidt objected to some of the leveraging, according to the complaint, and in an effort to work out the dispute, Eric Smidt allegedly agreed to pay his father $2.5 million per year for his continued service to the company for the remainder of his life. But Allan Smidt claims Eric failed to make the past two payments, saying �the company was going through bad times and the payments could not be made.�
What a putz -- Eric is going to break that company within a few years.
Posted by DaveH at July 27, 2010 12:31 PM