News Journal Online wrote:April 22, 2009
Crane Cams auctioned off
By BOB KOSLOW
BUSINESS WRITER
DAYTONA BEACH — About 100 registered bidders showed up today, with many others watching on line, to buy machinery, equipment, parts and pieces, inventory and the intellectual property in Crane Cams’ liquidation sale.
The Fentress Avenue company, which for 56 years here manufactured camshafts and other auto parts for high performance automobiles, closed its doors in late February, leaving about 280 people unemployed.
Confusion reigned for several weeks as Scorpion Performance, based in Fort Lauderdale, attempted to buy it from Crane Cams’ parent company, Mikronite Technologies, with a goal to reopen the business. But, at the same time, Crane Cams officials hired LiquiTec Industries to sell off the assets to repay company debt.
At the start of the 10 a.m. auction, LiquiTec’s chief executive officer and auctioneer Andy Gronik read a statement from Wachovia Bank saying the auction was not a foreclosure sale and Crane Cams had hired the company to liquidate the property.
The bidding opened with Scorpion representatives bidding $1 million for all the assets, but an online bidder offered $1.1 million.
The offer went for naught as a bidding team of former Crane Cams CEO Lance Harris and Wisconsin-based S&S Cycles outbid the total by purchasing Crane Cams’ patents and trademarks for $1.2 million. The team also bought the parts inventory for $215,000.
Top Line Automotive out of Chicago bid $200,000 for the machinery and equipment, but LiquiTec officials expected that bid not to hold through the day as the 800-plus lots are expected to sell in total for more than $200,000, thus being sold piecemeal.
Winner bidders have until close of business Thursday to pay for their purchases and remove them from the Crane Cams building within a month.