Ten-Tec Merging with Alpha?

[W3WN]

Received via email today courtesy of the Ten Tec reflector. No other announcment(s) seen -- yet.
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On 05/12/14, Mike Pagel, K9UW wrote:

Has anyone else seen this? I received it as an email newsletter from Alpha.

73, de Mike, K9UW

ALPHA AMPLIFIERS AND TEN-TEC MERGE UNDER RF CONCEPTS BANNER

LONGMONT, Colo.- May 9, 2014 - Announcing today the merger of Longmont, Colorado -based RF Concepts LLC / Alpha Amplifiers and Sevierville, Tenn.-based TEN-TEC Inc., RF Concepts Chairman Michael Seedman, AA6DY, declared the union the perfect combination of amateur radio brands. The merger creates a multi-million-dollar company with products that span QRP transceivers to full-legal-limit amplifiers and establishes an organization with the size and scale to continue toinnovate into the next decade and beyond.

RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers has been building amplifiers continuously since the early 1970s and has put more than 13,000 amplifiers in the hands of demanding amateur radio operators. Alpha Amplifiers are considered "the finest line of linear amplifiers in the world" by the ham community.

TEN-TEC, founded in 1968, produces top-of-the-line receivers, transceivers, amplifiers and tuners and is known worldwide for the reliability and performance of its
products.

"For more than 40 years, Alpha Amplifiers and TEN-TEC have shared a reputation in the amateur radio market for offering exceptionally well-engineered, American-made products backed by extraordinary customer service," said Seedman. "Alpha Amplifiers is known for 'key down performance,' and TEN-TEC is known for pushing the boundaries of transceiver performance and capabilities.

"The merger of these brands under the RF Concepts banner makes perfect sense," added Seedman, "not only in terms of creating a powerful product line, but
also in terms of positioning our company for the future. This merger more than doubles the size of our business allowing us to invest more capital in innovative engineering and customer-driven product development."

RF Concepts' operations will now be shared between its Longmont Colorado facility and its Sevierville Tennessee facility. The company is currently seeking a new operations facility in the Sevierville area to more efficiently house factory operations, part of the engineering resources, and technical and customer support services. The Colorado facility will house engineering resources, technical and customer support services, and much of the front-office operations.

Both Jim Wharton, NO4A, who in January of this year took the reins of TEN-TEC upon the retirement of founder Jack Burchfield, K4JU and Ken Long, N0QO, who has been overseeing the operations at Alpha Amplifiers will be Presidents of their respective group, working together to build a strong, innovative company.

"Ken and I have spent quite a bit of time discussing our short- and long-term focus over the last few weeks and I feel our responsibilities are very clearly defined.", said Wharton. "Jim and I have a lot of work to do to make sure the merging of these two brands goes as smoothly as possible." added Long.

The merger announcement comes just days before one of the signature amateur radio events in North America-the Dayton (Ohio) Hamvention-where more
than 75,000 hams are expected to converge on the Hara Arena Complex to discover the latest innovations in amateur radio. Both Alpha Amplifiers and TEN-TEC will operate separate booths at this years show (May 16 - 18). Both booths will feature new products and special offers to commemorate the merger. At booths 209-210 in the North Hall, Alpha Amplifiers will be demonstrating the soon-to-be released DreamTuner 4040 Automatic Antenna Tuner, a graphically based, 4KW Autotuner. At booths 458-450 in the East Hall, TEN-TEC will unveil the Patriot, an open source, arduino-based SSB transceiver.

About RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers

RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers manufactures high-end linear amplifiers for ham radio enthusiasts. Based in Longmont, Colo., the company is known worldwide for its quality amplifiers. Alpha Amplifiers have been continuously manufactured in the United States since the early 1970s.

About TEN-TEC

TEN-TEC Inc. was founded in 1968 to provide beautifully engineered, well-crafted, well-supported and high-performing products to the amateur radio market. For 46 years the
Sevierville, Tenn.-based company has passionately designed, crafted and tested premium products which have earned the company a solid reputation and loyal brand followers throughout the world.

[KB3LAZ]

Well, that may be part of the reason an Orion replacement hasn't come out yet. They had their hands full with other things.

That aside, that brings up many questions about the future. I guess we will have to wait and see.

[W3WN]

Not a word out of Ten-Tec yet. And I know at least two Ten-Tec staff members keep an ear on the reflector, so they HAVE to know the news is out.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, this might explain why Ten-Tec has sold the existing factory and is planning to relocate in the fall... if they need more manufacturing space...

But that's idle speculation.

And, don't overlook that little "Oh by the way" near the end of the press release. The Patriot? Open source, Arduino based, SSB? This could prove QUITE interesting.

[N8YX]

Elecraft and DZ-Kits are looking more and more attractive for a made-in-USA HF radio solution...

[KG4CGC]

The value of my station just went way up.

[W3WN]

Elecraft and DZ-Kits are looking more and more attractive for a made-in-USA HF radio solution...Well, you know, now that the shock has subsided a bit... if you think about this, this may be very good.

First off, while the news to date is scant... note that Ten-Tec has previously announced they were looking for a new facility, in TN. Note also that the release specifically mentions TN for the factory -- no mention of the factory in CO.

Second, consider that the two founders (Al Kahn K4FW(SK) and Jack Burchfield K4JU) are no longer with the company. Now, further considering that Ten-Tec is (was) a small, privately held corporation... it is not at all unreasonable to presume that the two founders owned most if not all of the (voting) stock in the company. So what we may really be looking at is a combination of (a) the estate or heirs of one founder want to cash out, due to a lack of interest in the firm, and (b) the other founder wants to diversify his investments and portfolio now that he's no longer actively involved with the company.

So, one thing leads to another, and the owner of another Amateur Radio firm has the assets to buy some or all of the founder's stock/ownership options.

So what's bad about that?

Would you rather a corporate raider came along, bought them out on the cheap, squeezed them for every nickel, then broke up the remnants and sold it off?
Would you rather a soul-less corporation (think North American Rockwell) bought them out, made them another operating division, and then pulled them out of the Amateur market (think Collins)?
Would you rather see indifferent owners, heirs of the founders (or even the heirs of the heirs of the founders) who had no vision, no interest, merely wanted the cash cow to continue providing cash... until the company foundered?

Time will tell, and there are no guarantees. But overall, I think this will be a good thing. Even if the Ten-Tec corporate name doesn't survive.

[W5BRM]

...and it coulda been MFJ that bought em *shudder*

[W3WN]

...and it coulda been MFJ that bought em *shudder*Yeah. *shudder* indeed.

Look what happened to Cushcraft. The company got bought out, the new owners started phasing out the Amateur product line. So Martin F. Jue saves the day! Or did he?

[KG4CGC]

Yeah. *shudder* indeed.

Look what happened to Cushcraft. The company got bought out, the new owners started phasing out the Amateur product line. So Martin F. Jue saves the day! Or did he?

No clue on my part. I haven't perused MFJ's offerings in quite a while.

[KB3LAZ]

As long as Alpha prices do not come with the deal. In that case, if ever there were an Orion replacement, it may cost $200,000. RF concepts doesn't have a budget line or even one that is affordable.

[WØTKX]

I think it could be a good match, the two product lines compliment each other.

[W3WN]

As long as Alpha prices do not come with the deal. In that case, if ever there were an Orion replacement, it may cost $200,000. RF concepts doesn't have a budget line or even one that is affordable.Well, on the three Ten-Tec reflectors I belong to (the main, the Omni VI, and the Rebel... come to think of it, I should be on the Omni VII one now as well), there's a lot of speculation, mis-information, doom mongering, and a touch of panic. Almost reminds me of... ahem... other places on the Internet... ahem.

A couple of things have now become clearer, though.

First, the merger HAS already happened. It's done. Period. Finito.

Secondly, the two operating units -- Alpha and Ten-Tec -- for now continue to operate as independent companies.

Third, the reason for the sale of the current facility in TN now becomes clear. Because the press releases appear to indicate that manufacturing of Alpha amps is going to shift to Tennessee.

So what's actually changed? Ownership is now in CO instead of in the hands of the founders (one SK, one retired) in TN.

Now, in time, I'm sure that some of the top-level management positions will be consolidated. Some design and some R&D will still be happening in CO. And, obviously, it would be silly to have Ten-Tec amps AND Alpha amps as two overlapping lines. So I expect the Ten-Tec amps to "shift" to Alphas. Change of name plate, that's all. Again, this won't happen overnight.

The bottom line, I believe, is that Ten-Tec's ownership has taken steps to ensure the survival of the company, now that the founders are no longer in control. And they've done it in such a way that it should be VERY reasonable to not just expect to merely survive, but to thrive.

[WØTKX]

Hear, hear!