Are they still in business?

G

grumpy1

Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
6
I sent them a brand new but defective knife which they received on Nov 6th. I sent them several e-mails which they ignored and then I called and and was told they were on strike and maybe they would have someone by January that could look at the knife. When I suggested that one of them get up off their butts, put a new knife in an envelope and send it to me, she said they couldn't do that until a tech looked at mine and they don't have any techs. Now they don't even answer the phones. Anyone know what the situation is?
 
The short answer is - yes, they are still in business despite their best efforts. I wouldn't hold out much hope for an answer about your knife any time soon.

Just last Friday, they fired the last two supervisors (each one approaching 30 years on the job) in the building stating economic reasons. Yet they continue paying consultants (who add NO value to the company) over $10,000 a week. Hey, makes sense to me.:confused: The management people left "on the floor" are just waiting for the phone call. Camillus is operating at about 15% of what they were less than two years ago.:jerkit:

It is a really depressing time if you work inside the walls of Camillus Cutlery. That is, unless you stand around talking and drinking coffee all the time. (Sorry, inside joke!)
 
knifeworker said:
The short answer is - yes, they are still in business despite their best efforts. I wouldn't hold out much hope for an answer about your knife any time soon.

Just last Friday, they fired the last two supervisors (each one approaching 30 years on the job) in the building stating economic reasons. Yet they continue paying consultants (who add NO value to the company) over $10,000 a week. Hey, makes sense to me.:confused: The management people left "on the floor" are just waiting for the phone call. Camillus is operating at about 15% of what they were less than two years ago.:jerkit:

It is a really depressing time if you work inside the walls of Camillus Cutlery. That is, unless you stand around talking and drinking coffee all the time. (Sorry, inside joke!)
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knifeworker, I wish you were kidding. What a damned shame.

grumpy1, I had fears your knife might be gone for good. Now they're somewhat confirmed.

I wonder if there's even much "Becker" related stuff left on the grounds after Ethan played the court-order card.

I also wonder if anyone (else) from Camillus actually looks at this board anymore.
 
Knifeworker - are you inside now working??? Are you sure you know what you are talking about. Not to down you or anything like i have seen you do many a times. My guess is to say that there is truth in some of what you are talking about, but is it fact, fiction, heresay or ?

My best advise for all is walk a mile in someone else shoes for a day! Then you all won't be so hard pressed to down someone so quickly. BUT, there is always some truth in what you see just by the demeaner of the person and how they see others.

What a shock to learn the new news. And what do you think is running thru the minds of the other people who are still there???
 
Yes, there are people who had worked at the company who are still interested in what is going on. When you're talking about more than half your life in one place the connection is hard to put aside. Knifeworker is correct on a lot!! I still have contact with those inside and out of Camillus Cutlery. All walked the miles many times over and wish that others could see where we have been. There are still quite a few that do not have jobs or unemployment checks. The training provided by the government is very iffy. Between the time frames and whether you will be accepted by Albany is up in the air. Some have sold or given up their homes and most are trying desperately in their search for a job. January is not a month that employers usually hire. I have tried my best to get a few into where I work but the company won't be hiring until March.
The no answer attitude from Camillus is for everyone, whether you are a customer or ex-worker. I guess they think that no comment confirms that nothing is really going on and if it is it's just best to ignore it. (maybe it will go away). The common thread going through the workers that are on the inside is " Will I be next to hit the streets?" Can you imagine having that hanging over your head everyday??
Knifeworker, hope that all is well with you. I'm doing much better than when we were at the company. It's totally like working in another world where I'm at and I'm still in wonder how I've been so lucky in acquiring my job.
 
observerq -

No, I am no longer there but rest assured I have walked MANY miles and know what is going on. I am not a disgruntled ex-employee as I have moved on with my life. What I am - is upset that the owner has nothing else on his mind except how much money he can put in his pocket and the fact that he took a very viable company and brought it to its knees in the name of greed. Camillus could have continued on and been profitable but it was and still is mis-managed. PERIOD. That and the fact of the many families that have been effected by this. As HunterH has said, people are losing their homes and these people's lives have been destroyed. While I must say that like HunterH, I, too, am very satified with my new life but right now we are definitely in the minority. I only wish the best for everyone so that they move on with their lives and that they find happiness.
 
This is old news by now but this was what was in the paper January 3, 2007:

Knifeworkers to get benefits
Camillus Cutlery workers who lost their jobs after a strike are eligible for additional unemployment benefits and training, the federal government has ruled.
The United Steelworkers Local 4783 was notified this morning that an investigation found the workers lost their jobs because of foreign imports. The federal Department of Labor has certified them as eligible for additional benefits under Trade Adjustment Assistance.
The union representing 78 workers struck the knifemaker on May 17. Workers voted Nov. 16 to accept a contract that contained concessions on wages, time off and health care benefits.
The company recalled 19 workers to the plant after the settlement.
For more information see Charley Hannagan's story in Thursday's Post-Standard
 
This is a bad situation. I wonder if the workers and the company would do anything different if they could go back in time to January 2006 (when the Beckers were still being produced). Yes the company (as rumor has it) was having finical problems but I bet E. Becker was still getting paid (rumor has that he is not now) and allot of now unemployed workers were working.

Life is full of give and take, the problem is there are too many on the take and not enough giving.

Every time someone is pointing a finger there are three pointing back at them.

All said and done the its the loyal Camillus customers that are loosing.
 
I hope this turns around, somehow? where is the hero on the white horse?
 
knifeworker said:
observerq -

No, I am no longer there but rest assured I have walked MANY miles and know what is going on. I am not a disgruntled ex-employee as I have moved on with my life. What I am - is upset that the owner has nothing else on his mind except how much money he can put in his pocket and the fact that he took a very viable company and brought it to its knees in the name of greed. Camillus could have continued on and been profitable but it was and still is mis-managed. PERIOD. That and the fact of the many families that have been effected by this. As HunterH has said, people are losing their homes and these people's lives have been destroyed. While I must say that like HunterH, I, too, am very satified with my new life but right now we are definitely in the minority. I only wish the best for everyone so that they move on with their lives and that they find happiness.
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Good, bad, or ugly management aside, the precipitating event for Camillus' crash and people losing their jobs was an exceedingly ill-advised strike IIRC.
 
I won't get into a pi**ing match about this but whether we went on strike or not the outcome would have been the same. This "event" was orchestrated back in 2005 by the owner. It was like flipping a light switch as soon as we came back to work after the holidays (Christmas 2005). Shipping dollars was no longer a priority as it had been for as long as anybody could remember. All bills stopped getting paid and EVERY vendor had us on credit hold, CIA or just plain out refused to deal with us. Guess maybe you had to experience it but it was very clear where we were headed. Sorry to disagree but the strike had very little to do wiith where Camillus is today.
 
No whizzing match needed. This did not occur in a vacuume, and it certainly did not happen overnight. Many of the factors which drove Schrade to it's knees were affecting Camillus at the same time, even in the absence of a union strike. IMHO, it is a testement to the Camillus workers that the current...status?...of the company did not occur at a much earlier time, or that the company did not domino right behind Schrade. Colonial want down earlier, but got back up. United/Arrowhead fell more recently. All from the same underlying factors in the same market environment. I am not too prone to point fingers at anyone at this juncture. My own company fled to the Pacific rim years back with my job and another 1,100 jobs, and did it in such an underhanded way that few if any got training or unemployment. What you do is pick up and carry on as best you can, and realize that your worth lies within you and your family, not where you work, or who zoomed who.

Codger
 
What you do is pick up and carry on as best you can, and realize that your worth lies within you and your family, not where you work, or who zoomed who.
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Codger_64,

EXACTLY!!!! It wasn't that long ago when you went to work and that is where you retired from. Now all bets are off between companies and employees. Guess it was just very frustrating how it all played out. In hindsight, it may have been better if it went out like Schrade - come in one morning and being told the place is closing as opposed to dying a slow death.
 
Even with Schrade, after the letter was handed out at the end of July, a skeleton crew was kept on for months trying to turn the parts inventory into finished knives to boost the WIP for the auction in October. Our factory gave us the "mushroom treatment" up until the bitter end. But my life certainly didn't end there. Just my career as a manufacturing process engineer. I went back to the construction industry where I can call my boss names, refuse to work, and all that happens is I make less money. Self employment is the best and worst. But at least I know who to blame when things don't go to suit me.
 
So does anyone know if Camillus production knives are even made anymore? I'm looking at buying a bunch of BK10 or BK2's for a summer camp knife class (students keep the knives) but don't want to go chasing qty's of 2 and 3 with various online vendors.

Is there a way the summer camp general store and sign up as a reseller for Camillus or is it just not worth it these days? I like the versatility of the Camillus lineup but don't want to start down one road just to reverse course.
 
Codger64 and Knifeworker,

Thank you for the eye opening comments. Life doesn't have to revolve around your job. Only you have the power to change your destiny. It is just a matter of leaving your comfort zone and seeing that life is ever changing and if you don't jump from the comfort zone and see that, you are adapt to not go anywhere.

Pointing fingers and telling lies no matter how big or small WILL always come back to you in such a way that hurts you and possibly those around you that are unaware of what you did. And yes, I have seen what those things can do to a great many people who think that they are invisible.

I have learned a grave lesson, people will use your past against you if it is keep in the dark. Reveal the darkness yourself and you can't be hurt as bad.

To all - good luck in finding yourselves, you have the power within you to make your changes happen! Remember - it is okay to fall down, just as long as you get up and BELIEVE in yourself!!
 
CRKS said:
This is a bad situation. I wonder if the workers and the company would do anything different if they could go back in time to January 2006 (when the Beckers were still being produced). Yes the company (as rumor has it) was having finical problems but I bet E. Becker was still getting paid (rumor has that he is not now) and allot of now unemployed workers were working.

Life is full of give and take, the problem is there are too many on the take and not enough giving.

Every time someone is pointing a finger there are three pointing back at them.

All said and done the its the loyal Camillus customers that are loosing.
Click to expand...

Ethan has not been paid in a LONG TIME!
The Company has a long history of financing itself on the money of others.
They have just gotten worse!

It is my understanding that NO MORE Beckers will be made by Camillus Cutlery Co.
 
Thanks for the link, hikeeba. Very interesting.
 
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