rumor?
 

donzi has new owners?

That is FACT. Along with some changes. Donzi plans to drop all the single engine boats, except for the 27ZR and 22 classic. They will concentrate on boats larger than 35. They also have a cat boat in the works. Donzi has a bright future and look for some good things from them very soon.

who?

Wow, that is huge news! I'm glad they are at least keeping the 22 Classic.

President Obama

I would rather stick with Donzi and what will happen with them in the future & take my chances.. Obama can keep the "Change"... J:party-smiley-004:

Don't know the names or affilates that bought Donzi but I can only see Donzi getting stronger and as far as the boats, they have not let out information on what boat lines are being cut or what is being added to the line. I wish them the best because I have been a Donzi owner for over 35 Years and would not want to see the Donzi name fade into the sunset.

Donzi has gone through many different owners since inception, I would like to think it is not going away.

The word is Donzi sold for 10 million. It is probably a good thing and hopefully the new owners are committed to a long term vision. There is also another very popular struggling legendary boat manufacture available for 7 million. This economy has taken some good companies to their knees. Give the market one more year and they will be back.

Whats up Fishin?? Glad to see you on here.:coolcowboy:

I'm hearing through the grapevine that Donzi has let some key people go. Too Bad, they were an awesome group to work with.

Obviously very selective....:evilb: Let's hope for the best!

Pumping the rumor mill ....

I was told that Donzi was bought by a resin & plastics company. There was an implication that they were owed a bunch of money ......

T

Donzi is once again building boats with Craig Barrie running the show. The future at Donzi is looking real bright. Look for some new things and some of the older models to be going away.

A little article I found.
Private investors buy Manatee's Donzi Marine

HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE / 2000 Buy photo
Workers at the Donzi Marine plant in south Manatee County assemble boats on the shop floor. Boat manufacturers have been hit hard by the recession.

Staff Report


Published: Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 7:16 p.m.
MANATEE COUNTY - Donzi Marine and its sister Pro-Line Boats have been sold by their parent American Marine Holdings to private investors.

The identity of those investors and the terms of the deal for the Manatee County boatmaker are not being disclosed.

Donzi's management team will remain in place. The investors of American Marine Holdings have sold their shares to the private investors, said Josh Stickles, Donzi's vice president of marketing.

Boat manufacturers have been pounded by the deep U.S. recession. With their net worth falling and credit so hard to come by, consumers have been loathe to buy big-ticket items like boats.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association reports sales of new boats fell 30 percent in 2008 and are expected to drop another 20 percent this year.

Genmar Holdings Inc., which shuttered its enormous Manatee County plant and laid off 225 employees last year, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors earlier this month.

Struggling like it counterparts in the moribund economy, Donzi has been operating its Manatee County plant in a limited production mode. The company has a typical production staff these days of 15 to 20 compared with 200 when the economy was booming, Stickler said.

But Donzi has started planning to ramp up production and recall some employees, a move driven by some rising demand as supplies of Donzi boats shrink in the marketplace.

"We've established a bit of a backlog. We've been reducing our field inventory," Stickles said Wednesday. "When the market returns, customers want new boats that they can't find in the field."

Rumors have circulated that, as part of the sale, Donzi plans to eliminate most of its lines of single-engine boats, but Stickles defused that notion.

"We really haven't established that yet," he said. "Larger boats, twin and triple engine boats are where the market is heading, but that is still to be determined. None of these discussions are being made lightly. There will be no immediate shift in what we're doing."

For some time, Donzi has been more focused on its larger models, customer boats and the more "up market," Stickles said.

To appeal to the high-end buyer, Donzi has increased the average size of the boat it sells from 28 feet five years ago to 38 feet in recent years. Prices range from $50,000 to more than $500,000. The boatmaker also hyper-customizes boats, whether that means a $25,000 custom paint job or an ultra-plush interior.

"Our plan here is to continue to stay true to our brand," Stickles said.

Genmar's bankruptcy filing shows the pain in the boat-making business. The Minneapolis-based company listed assets of $237.5 million and liabilities of $216.5 million. Genmar, besides closing its plants in Florida, has cut its work force from 4,500 to about 1,500.

Brunswick Corp., the world's biggest boatmaker, also has suffered. Last month, the Lake Forest, Ill.-based company reported a 52 percent drop in marine sales for its first quarter. Brunswick said it moved to the first-quarter loss as the recession continues to keep customers at bay and erodes sales. Results also were weakened by restructuring charges and some special tax items totaling 85 cents per share.

The company, which also makes exercise and bowling equipment, lost $184.2 million, or $2.08 per share. That compares with profits of $13.3 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier. Sales slumped about 45 percent to $734.7 million from $1.35 billion as Brunswick's marine sales tumbled.

Who is the other boat company that is available?

Fountain.

50% of donzis 07 and 08 dealer invt has been repoed and selling at less than dealer cost.... search boat trader... allmost all the donzi listings are now dealer repo liquidations 10/20% under dealer cost

2008 38 ZSF tripp 300 verados original list 400k now 200k with demo hours

Hey Andy,

The person quoted in this interview doesn't work for Donzi anymore

Josh is gone?

Hope not that would suck

I can't confirm that Josh is gone. Mark, you know more than I do.

On oh so many levels...

Maybe I can offer some insight here to everyone.

New owners. This was a sale arranged by AMH's largest creditor (bank). They loaned multi-millions of dollars several years ago as a equity partner. Within the past two years purchased both factories in Sarasota and Crystal River with a lease back to AMH.

With the decling financial stabilty of the company the "bank" arranged/forced the sale to avoid total loss in bankrupcy court.

This is not a good thing. All furlowed employess have been told they are not going to be brought back.

It's true and it does

What's really going on?
 

OK, who wants to spill the beans on what is really up at Donzi Marine. I'm seeing a lot of mysterious post on the forums like there is some kind of big secret about what is truly going on.:confused:

Rumor
 

Carl,

I found out from my dock neighbor in Chattanooga that they had some issues with payments. That is no surprise considering the state of the industry.

I pulled the UCC's and bankruptcy detail and did not find anything interesting. My guess is that they structured a pre-petition deal which initiated the sale to the private equity group.

I dunno why everyone was so cryptic. If they did not want to tell, I think that they should keep their mouths shut.

So they have new ownership but have retained a bunch of the old management. They should still be able to build a good if not better boat.

Bill

You are going with your dock buddys story? The did not file bankruptcy. I was there last week picking up a boat and they have not filed per the company, and are building boats again, all SOLD orders. Rumors, ain't they great? People love bad news. Good guys work there and are killing themselves to keep things going, doubt if they need your dock buddy stirring the pot.

Fact: they had problems and got sold. That is public info.

My post never said that I pulled the records and found NOTHING.

Now I did say that they should be able to build a good boat.

That's not how I read ZXXX's post at all.

Yes I think Donzi can still be a player and I wish them the best, just don't know what the secrecy is all about.

Thanks Third. You read my post right. It was not meant to spread dirt.

I am still a little baffled over some of the past secrecy. I think it is better to come out with some of these problems. If you make them too cryptic they may actually seem worse than reality.