Headlines

Fountain Re-Organization Plan

General,
It WAS a major company. Now it is just like most other high performance builders with 10-15 employees. I am sure most other major high performance builders dont have chief financial officers making 150k and a secretary-treasurer making 104k. I would be willing to bet that some of the major builders presidents are not making 260k at the moment either.

They will be back in the same position soon. How can they expect to be profitable having to pay back this every month:
FB their 30k
salaries of him and the two mentioned above 42.8k + insurance + ss + comp
salaries of a few employees 13.5k (say 6 at 27k yr) + insurance + ss + comp
utilities
+



INDY,
Awesome!
 
just keep in mind he has basically dedicated his whole life to fountain and has undergone the daily massive stresses of keeping that company together for years and making sure that his "family" of employees had a home. How many company's were forced to let employees go recently? spent way to much money on race program?...... maybe. but also he wasnt the only one that ran that vehicle.:rolleyes: . i know there are alot of business owners here and they know how hard and stressful it is everyday. and everyone thinks we just sit back with our feet up and collect.
 
If I recall...he had over 200 employees at one point and was/is down to 12 or so. I cant imagine he cared to much? employees were out while he was living it up. If he is so dedicated maybe he would cut his salary to 110k and hire 5 employees back at 30k each so they can have a home. Just for a couple years until the company is back on its feet. He is already rich...so 110k would be great pay for his passion.

Using INDY as an example. That is called puting your employees first and they can see it when toys start to go.
 
Last edited:
Twin27Advantage said:
If I recall...he had over 200 employees at one point and was/is down to 12 or so. I cant imagine he cared to much? employees were out while he was living it up.

Using INDY as an example. That is called puting your employees first and they can see it when toys start to go.
Click to expand...

Well,,, most of them that i talked too,,he did care and they heard it before all went down. He also sold his plane and other stuff before it went down.

Have u guys actually ever talked to some of the employees ,,,or are u just quessing ?????

mmmmhh,,,,thought so.
 
Good, bad, or otherwise. Fountain has one of the nicest facilities in the country and it won't be long before things are rolling again.
 
DAREDEVIL said:
Well,,, most of them that i talked too,,he did care and they heard it before all went down. He also sold his plane and other stuff before it went down.

Have u guys actually ever talked to some of the employees ,,,or are u just quessing ?????

mmmmhh,,,,thought so.
Click to expand...

Guessing...yes! How many do you know? One of the bankruptcy articles said they had 450 employees in 06' and around 40 at the time of filing in late august. I would guess that you only spoke to a couple or maybe you spoke to all 40, I don't know. One of the articles said the 40 would be reduced to around 12 a week after filing. So 28 were the lucky ones to get a warning. Must not have been much of a warning because the jet sold in july if I recall, around the time they did the Jammin On The James videos. The other few hundred must not have been so lucky.

I like what he did for powerboats
I like the boats
I hope the company sticks around
I wish he was out and started a consulting company to show the other companies how to market and make their boats as fast as a fountain:)

Go search and read several of the articles about him, his quotes, and spending. Like this quote:
"What I'm going to gain is the right to have a job and work in my company," he says. "Somebody else is going to own it, but that's OK with me. I never took any money out of that company anyway, except just enough salary to get along. I do it because it's what I like to do."

Sure...
 
Twin27Advantage said:
Guessing...yes! How many do you know? One of the bankruptcy articles said they had 450 employees in 06' and around 40 at the time of filing in late august. I would guess that you only spoke to a couple or maybe you spoke to all 40, I don't know. One of the articles said the 40 would be reduced to around 12 a week after filing. So 28 were the lucky ones to get a warning. Must not have been much of a warning because the jet sold in july if I recall, around the time they did the Jammin On The James videos. The other few hundred must not have been so lucky.

I like what he did for powerboats
I like the boats
I hope the company sticks around
I wish he was out and started a consulting company to show the other companies how to market and make their boats as fast as a fountain:)

Go search and read several of the articles about him, his quotes, and spending. Like this quote:
"What I'm going to gain is the right to have a job and work in my company," he says. "Somebody else is going to own it, but that's OK with me. I never took any money out of that company anyway, except just enough salary to get along. I do it because it's what I like to do."

Sure...
Click to expand...

Well,, i would believe him,!!!!!!!

What they don't tell u in those statements,,he owes one of the biggest law-firms in NY city, a lot of property in NY , NC and elsewhere all on his private name, not on fountain powerboats.
Do u really think for 1 moment that he made money doing this in the last 5 years ?????????
I am actually surprised that he kept it going for so long.
The BANKS,,,did not finance the boats at the dealers that where ordered from dealers and costumers,,,so he build them and shipped them and then got told ,,HEY REGGIE, u need to take those 400 1/4 mil boats back ,,,,because WE ( the bank ) stopped all activity !!!!!!!!

COOL, I ASK .......WHAT WOULD U DO ????????

Anyhow,,,he will be fine and fountain will be too ,just a matter of time.

HEY, OBAMA WILL FIX IT , America believes it and the war never happened. WHERE WE REALLY ON THE MOON IN THE 60's ???????????.:rolleyes:
Am i German ,,,,is my boat blue ????? WHO KNOWS !!!!!!!! WHO CARES !!!!!!!! THIS WORLD IS ALL ABOUT HEARSAY ,SO WHATS THE DIFFERENCE !!!!!!??????

I AM OUT !!!!!!!
 
Last edited:
Offshoredrillin said:
correct, it isn't the amount, its principal. I'm pretty sure there is a vendor somewhere that would love to have that amount over the next 3-5 years
Click to expand...

Of course, of course. This is however, one of those situations where, "it is, what it is" no matter WHAT Reggie, or anyone else could have done. :(

The employees were laid off, because there aren't enough new boats being ordered to justify all of them! There's not a significant enough decision making process involved with that market condition, to be solely Reggies' fault. Reggie's style is just as cheesy to me, as anyone else views him. He didn't create the economic chitstorm however, and has to weather it just like everyone else.

Also just for clarity, the Fountain plane was a twin prop, not a jet......so he clearly showed SOME restraint with his corporate spending.....
 
Bankruptcy in this country is a joke. A guy that owed me a significant chunk of $$ took that route. I knew he was a scumbag so I set out to find all his hidden assets. Once I did I hired a private detective to record him- he tried to buy some of his hidden car collection. Had him recorded bragging about hiding all this stuff from the court. The Bankruptcy judge couldn't have been less interested.

I like the idea of debtor's prison. :)
 
GENERAL LEE said:
Of course, of course. This is however, one of those situations where, "it is, what it is" no matter WHAT Reggie, or anyone else could have done. :(

The employees were laid off, because there aren't enough new boats being ordered to justify all of them! There's not a significant enough decision making process involved with that market condition, to be solely Reggies' fault. Reggie's style is just as cheesy to me, as anyone else views him. He didn't create the economic chitstorm however, and has to weather it just like everyone else.

Also just for clarity, the Fountain plane was a twin prop, not a jet......so he clearly showed SOME restraint with his corporate spending.....
Click to expand...

if it was a turboprop those are not cheap, yes cheaper than a pure jet but still alot of money
 
In large international companies this wouldn't even make the papers. The directors and CEO's of those companies make Reggie's wage look like peanuts.
Doesn't matter if they send the company in the tank or not.

It sucks but that is the way it is.
 
DareDevil,
Most news articles do try to paint a bad picture and leave out other information. The quote I posted above was a direct quote from reggie in this article at TradeOnly.com:
http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/home/499982-reggie-fountain-buoyant-in-bankruptcy

They are reputable and seem to be non bias. I was cracking up about the Obama part in your post...this quote (from reggie) in the same article:
"We're just following suit with what everybody else is doing," Fountain says. "I see how General Motors did it, how Chrysler did it, how AIG did it. So I said, 'Well, I might as well get in on that deal.' Look at Irwin [Jacobs, Genmar chairman], he's been around a long time and he beat me to it."


Not sure how reputable this site is but the information is public. It gives a pretty good idea about the money he was making.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/49424-rough-seas-for-fountain-powerboat-industries-inc

The best two things in the above link:
1. Company has a net loss of 5.05 million in 07' and he increased his salary 40.5%, 170k to 520k from 06'

2. Fountain has a company that leased the plane to fountain powerboats. During Fiscal 2007, Fountain paid that company $297,785 in rentals.

I wonder just how much over the years they paid in plane rentals? It is normal to do, but just another way he was making money off the company. Other stuff in there as well, but they do not seem out of line.

He is a smart man looking out for himself and family first. Nothing wrong with that, but it shows that he really does not give a crap about his employees, or he does as long as he gets a huge chunk of money first.
 
:seeya:Wealthy man once said if you owe the bank 200k it's your problem owe them 200 million it's there problem:bump:
 
straightpriority said:
just keep in mind he has basically dedicated his whole life to fountain and has undergone the daily massive stresses of keeping that company together for years and making sure that his "family" of employees had a home. How many company's were forced to let employees go recently? spent way to much money on race program?...... maybe. but also he wasnt the only one that ran that vehicle.:rolleyes: . i know there are alot of business owners here and they know how hard and stressful it is everyday. and everyone thinks we just sit back with our feet up and collect.
Click to expand...

It's amazing how sooooo many people think they know what this guy is going through...what and why he did what he did - With his ego and status, this must be the most humiliating situation possible.

I am by far not a fan of Fountain, but the guy did one hell of a job over the years and accomplished more (for both himself and the industry) than most can dream of.

I personally would never own a Fountain, but I am sure he did his best and did what he thought was right - up until the last days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Speed on the Water
Skater At 50—Plan 32B
Replies
1
Views
1K
Bobcat
Bobcat
Speed on the Water
Fountain, Donzi And Glasstream/GSX Out For Miami Boat Show
Replies
1
Views
445
Bobcat
Bobcat
Speed on the Water
Catching Up With Fountain, Harris And Ross—Talking Fountain Certified
Replies
1
Views
1K
Ratickle
Ratickle
Speed on the Water
Big Thunder Marine Going All In With Fountain Center Consoles For Fort Lauderdale Sho
Replies
0
Views
417
Speed on the Water
Speed on the Water
Speed on the Water
Offshore Racing Youth Movement Continuing In Sarasota With Peyton Riviero
Replies
0
Views
675
Speed on the Water
Speed on the Water
Back
Top