Legend Brands acquires Prochem

Captain Morgan

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Didn't Sapphire buy Blueline and Vortex? Then proceeded to shutter both and offered their own line of machines? I'll admit my timing of events may be a little weak..but it's possible they might do something similar in cost cutting, minimizing duplication of products to streamline offerings etc. There's bound to be some big chances sooner or later.
 

jcooper

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Right now it makes sense to drive your van across the border and buy a Cleanco unit. Adds up to a 35% discount when you pay in US dollars.


How would that actually work? 35% is like 7-8 k!

Gotta be some type of penalty or tax when it comes back to the us. Right?
 
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Didn't Sapphire buy Blueline and Vortex? Then proceeded to shutter both and offered their own line of machines? I'll admit my timing of events may be a little weak..but it's possible they might do something similar in cost cutting, minimizing duplication of products to streamline offerings etc. There's bound to be some big chances sooner or later.
Blueline bought Vortex. (What was Thom thinking?)

Legends bought Blueline. (Mfg capacity and dealer network)
 
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SamIam

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What if Sapphire wanted to get its hands on some Prochems proprietary technology.

Some old pTO stuff for the newer vans to have a product to compete with hydramaster?

Or just felt like doubling sales and reinventing Prochems market share!
 
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Well now they should talk to Les & Larry and build easy & simple units. The cage units hold the secret for repairs and service and make it hard to replace the caged parts. All of the units are based on the same simple operation. Les & Larry's perform the same and are basic design for ease for you & me.
 

Mikey P

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Well now they should talk to Les & Larry and build easy & simple units. The cage units hold the secret for repairs and service and make it hard to replace the caged parts. All of the units are based on the same simple operation. Les & Larry's perform the same and are basic design for ease for you & me.



Jackie has a great point.

Wouldn't that be cool if Roden came out with a "cageless" unit before he retired.

Fresh and waste split like the Cobber, filterless like the Judson, sloped easy draining and washable, a real silencer and not a Kragen muffler, 4.8/30HP water cooled and a simple exchanger with a freeze pop off for Damon.

Keep it simple.


and unlike the Cobb and Judson , make it look nice and modern up front.
 

Cleanworks

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How would that actually work? 35% is like 7-8 k!

Gotta be some type of penalty or tax when it comes back to the us. Right?
I am not sure how it works crossing from Canada to the US but I have purchased equipment in the US and only had to pay appropiate Canadian taxes when I crossed the border. I did have to apply for a free import number.
 

Desk Jockey

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Jackie has a great point.

Wouldn't that be cool if Roden came out with a "cageless" unit before he retired.

Fresh and waste split like the Cobber, filterless like the Judson, sloped easy draining and washable, a real silencer and not a Kragen muffler, 4.8/30HP water cooled and a simple exchanger with a freeze pop off for Damon.

Keep it simple.


and unlike the Cobb and Judson , make it look nice and modern up front.
If people wanted to take a step back in technology everyone would sell them.

Most don't, that's why Prochem & Sapphire are as big as they are. Look at the advancements Hydramaster is making the their new machine.

There will always be garage builders, some quiet good at it like Cobb & Judson but those type of units will never dominate the industry.
 

smart n kleen

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If people wanted to take a step back in technology everyone would sell them.

Most don't, that's why Prochem & Sapphire are as big as they are. Look at the advancements Hydramaster is making the their new machine.

There will always be garage builders, some quiet good at it like Cobb & Judson but those type of units will never dominate the industry.
Add MasterBlend to the garage guys lol.
 

Desk Jockey

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I would still put my old technology Powermatic cleaning performance up against the new technology heat exhanger equipment. :)
Old technology is still very capable, its just not desired by the majority of cleaners.

When you can clean as well or nearly as well without secondary heating fuels, most would prefer to do so.
 

rick imby

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It never made sense to me for Karcher to buy Prochem in the first place unless they were after Prochems distribution for their other Karcher products.

European companies have significant trouble managing manufacturing in the US. From the old Mikey Video on SS where they state that every specialty part on their machines is made in house vs Prochem outsourcing the odd stuff.

I am amazed that Prochem is only doing 22 million in sales. That probably converts to closer to 40 million at retail but still not very big for the variety of products they manufacture. There were a lot of manufacturing issues in Prochem for only 22 million in Sales.

Prochem will go the way of Blueline.

I would bet that SS paid very little for Prochem. When Karcher made the decision to sell there were not many options on companies looking to buy them.

I would also bet there are a lot of guys on this board that know a heck of a lot more about this than me.---Larry Cobb, Lee, Mikey, Olson etc

The carpet cleaner supply business is a tough one for manufacturers and for distributors because of the small number of potential customers in an area.

Prochem and SS have to factor in distributor markup----25 to 50%---to be tacked on all of their products. This is where Butler and Judson have a significant advantage.
 
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Larry Cobb

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Old technology is still very capable, its just not desired by the majority of cleaners.

When you can clean as well or nearly as well without secondary heating fuels, most would prefer to do so.

Modern Heat Exchangers today are capable of as much heat as desired.
The next technology is going to be in new high-lift vac systems,
and new electronic cleaning systems for better cleaning
and absolutely no residue.

You will see both of these in 2017 . . .
 
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Modern Heat Exchangers today are capable of as much heat as desired.
The next technology is going to be in new high-lift vac systems,
and new electronic cleaning systems for better cleaning
and absolutely no residue.

You will see both of these in 2017 . . .
Will they have belt tensioners or other means to adjust the belts?
 

steve_64

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How about moisture sensors on wand heads tied to the vacuum so it increases lift when you are leaving to much water behind.

This would be new technology and is doable.
 

Bob Savage

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All Ya'll are a riot!

I am impressed with Legends brand and their tech leap. More power to them!

Will they have belt tensioners or other means to adjust the belts?

I use a belt tensioner from Motion Industries on my modified dual wand powerhouse Cleaning Technologies Truckmount, and those single "B" belts to the blower last a very long time, even though the blower is "overdriven"!

Has any TM manufacturer ever tested their TM equipment to see what the minimum vacuum system requirements are to properly extract carpet with a single vac pass, considering hose length to the wand from the TM?

If so, I must have missed it.
 

Larry Cobb

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Lee;

What do you think about eliminating belts, couplers, and tensioners . . .

Steve;

New systems will offer high lift all the time . . .

Bob;

We did actual flowmeter/lift testing on various blower types and TM wands
with various lengths of hose (up to 500').
 
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