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Revival of a long dead company.

RealityBoatCoRealityBoatCo subscriber Posts: 1
edited September 2007 in Protecting Your Ideas
Has anyone ever heard of anyone taking a long dead company and rebuilding it?
Like one that was sold off years ago, continued under a new owner, then that company went into bankruptcy, and all the assets were liquidated.  Effectivly killing the company.
I`d like to use the name and rebuild it from the ground up, and have been trying to locate anyone that may have some claim or right to the name.  So far in 2 years, no luck.

Comments

  • decartedecarte subscriber Posts: 2
    First off, I admire you for wanting to bring this failed company back to life. However, The name of the business will always have that bankruptcy stigmata to it.
  • RealityBoatCoRealityBoatCo subscriber Posts: 1
    Maybe.  However, in talking with people about this company, they remember the original company.  Some just think they faded away, others know that it was bought out, then THAT company went out of business.
    Bankruptcy stigmata is not the main worry here.  Its more of, would I be stealing someones intelectual property that they seem to have left laying in the sand for about 20 years? Abandoned?
    I am also not talking about a 100% copy of the old product, but it would be very similar looking. 
    The name would be the same but different.  For example: Blank Boats, would become Blank Marine.
     
     
  • nevadasculnevadascul subscriber Posts: 3 Member
    Try state incorporation records then move onto Thomas Registry search.  You can also try the state economic development board and the state tax department.  You can also try the state and local business licensing departments to see if they have any records.  You public utility companies may also have records on old businesses.
  • decartedecarte subscriber Posts: 2
     I have been a part of an organization before that was similar to what you wanted to do, But we manufactured products.   Most of our raw materials were from the same companies the Bankrupt company used.  There was major problems and set backs trying to get back in good with these vendors.  It is very hard to convice someone who did not get there money from the original company to do business with a company with the same name as one that left them high and dry for thousands of dollars.
    Why not just start your own company up with the same ideas and get creative with marketing and business name.
     
  • RealityBoatCoRealityBoatCo subscriber Posts: 1
     So...what`s this product, why did it disappear, and is it still relevant to modern society and culture?  From the early 60`s to the late 80`s there was a boat company in business called Sidewinder Boats.  If you are around boating you may have heard of them.  They got bought by Thomson Boats in the early 80`s and they built the 16ft and the 18ft Sidewinders for several years before eventually going bankrupt, and liquidated.  This boat infuenced performance boat styling from day one. 
    Several years ago I was working on a deal to buy a set of molds for the 16ft Super Sidewinder.  I knew almost nothing about Sidewinders at the time, the deal fell through and the molds were later destroyed.  But, I had registered a domain name for the Sidewinders.  This sat idle until last November when I was talking to a fellow in Canada online that has one of these boats.  We both belong to a Fan Forum for Checkmate Boats.  He told me that he wished there was some place that Sidewinder owners could get together on the web and comunicate with each other the way the Checkmate site grew to be. 
    I told him I could set something up, if he would be a moderator and round up a few members.  I started www.sidewinder-boats.com</A> in late November of 2006, and the board grew like a weed.  Early in 2007 I upgraded the board software to keep up with it.  Now I even have members that pay for extra privledges, and currently have 2 supporting vendors that, sell boat parts and  trailers. 
    Well, these guys tracked more molds down for the 16 and the 18, these were the big sellers for Sidewinder.  We`ve even discussed maybe a limited run of new boats.  Since most of the originals are  well past there prime and even the good looking ones are looking at needing some work soon.
    We even discussed, using the molds to build replacement parts for the boats.  Like if either the deck or hull needed replaced, thus saving a boat that would have been landfill material.  This is something that will probably happen in the next few years.
    I am already building a company to build boats of my own design, and was kicking around the idea of the limited run of new boats for the Sidewinder Fans. 
    Here are some pics of the 18 Super Sidewinder that the moderator of my site owns.
    http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i818188_IMG1332.jpg</A>
    http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i88 ... G5694a.JPG</A>
    http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i88 ... G5555a.JPG</A>
    Here are a couple of pics of one of my member`s 16ft Super Sidewinders.
    http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... ts/071.jpg</A>
    . php?attachmentid=26&d=1183079454
    Well reproducing these boats would be fine, but there are problems with building them new today.  There are many more Coast Guard regs that have to do with boats under 20ft long.  Mainly they have to have enough floation foam in them to float level if they get swamped.  But that is mostly a math problem on where to put the foam, it just takes up any extra space in an already small boat.
    So I got to thinking, what would Sidewinder be building if they were still in business.  Since many of their customers would be out growing the 16 and the 18, I put pen to paper and did a quick sketch of what a 22ft boat might have looked like if they had built it.  Then posted it on the Sidewinder Forum.  There is a big intrest in it, both on the board and in private messages.  So here is a look at the proposed new 22ft boat. 
    ewinder001a.jpg
    The market here lately has been for 20ft and up boats so I think this would be the way to go.  Maybe even do a 20ft version of the boat also.
    Anyway, this is the idea.  If I can`t use the Sidewinder name, I`m probably going to build the boat anyway and call it something else.
    I could play it safe and just have Sidewinder as the model name.
     RealityBoatCo2007-9-4 22:9:48
  • RealityBoatCoRealityBoatCo subscriber Posts: 1

    Try state incorporation records then move onto Thomas Registry search.  You can also try the state economic development board and the state tax department.  You can also try the state and local business licensing departments to see if they have any records.  You public utility companies may also have records on old businesses.
    I`m working on this.    I was mainly looking for some examples of where this sort of thing had been done before, to add to a business plan.
    I`ve actually found a lot of the info I need to track people down, but its been leading to dead ends.  Some of these folks are either in retirement homes or have passed away at this point.
  • darrelmwdarrelmw subscriber Posts: 0
    There`s a small company here in Chicago, River West Brands, that specializes in "dead brands".....here`s a link to one of the articles on them:http://www.ipww.com/display.php/file=/t ... 6/brandingI have never been into boats, but I know the Sidewinder name.  Didn`t realize it went out of business.
  • RealityBoatCoRealityBoatCo subscriber Posts: 1
    Thanks everyone, this is the stuff I`ve been looking for.  While I still don`t know if I will be able to pull it off with Sidewinder.  At least I now have some example of where something like that has been done before.
    Colchester,  I have been collecting anything having to do with Sidewinder since last December,  back then I started a forum for Sidewinder Boat Owners.   I have nearly everybrochure.  Various magazine reviews of the boats.   A company history.   How they started.  Lawsuits.  We`re compileing a list of companies that have copied the design over the years(maybe 20+ copycats).  We`ve even found a couple of sets of molds for the boats.     RealityBoatCo2007-9-13 16:10:50
  • RealityBoatCoRealityBoatCo subscriber Posts: 1
    I`ve got an update to this thread.
    I got an email and a phone call about my site www.sidewinder-boats.com</A> from a guy that claims to own the Sidewinder  Boats Trademark.
    He let me know that his company will be building new Sidewinders for the 2008 model year.  And was concerned that I added a hyphen to my domain, because he already had www.sidewinderboats.com</A> 
    After talking to him on the phone, and he seems pretty decent, he had originally thought I was going to give him some trouble.  It is decided that we will be mutually benefitial to each other.   My site has been building hype about the boat for almost a year now, with 240 members and growing.  While his site, only just barely mentions Sidewinder.   If people come to my site they might find out about new Sidewinders being built by him, and if they buy a new Sidewinder, they might join my site to be part of the group.  AND if any of the dealers that will be selling Sidewinders want to sell on my site it will cost them a Supporting vendors membership. 
    So while I`m not going to be building new Sidewinder myself, I`ll still be building my own boats, and making some side money with the Sidewinder Boats Fan Forum. 
    Then......in a few years if this guy never builds these new boats like he says he is, then maybe, my company will have grown enough to buy him out.
  • ferociousarmanimalferociousarmanimal subscriber Posts: 0
    THAT is not true. Not even one of the original founders of Sidewinder is dead or incapacitated in ANY way. My father is one of them, and I am in contact with the others, who are my uncles. I loined your Sidewinder site, and it`s a lot of fun for me, as I knocked around the plant as a little kid. Look me up on your site and feel free to contact me! It would be fun to visit, and I know where at least one of the molds went. I`m Craig on your site.
  • CooperiderCooperider subscriber Posts: 0
    Craig, this is an old thread, you`ve helped update my info and encoraged me to continue. Thanks you.
     
    Now get your butt back and visit.
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