What IP? Its a filter?
First Brands (Fram) bankruptcy
- Thread starter Alien
- Start date
The brand name is considered IP also
OK. I didn't think of trademarks as Intellectual Property - but they are property, - and yes someone would buy the FRAM name for sure.
I would not necessarily be against seeing a PGI made filter with FRAM branding on it.
There are a lot of well known and reputable companies on that list.. I had no idea. Centric/Raybestos/Carlson for brake products and Draw-tite/Reese/Hopkins/Tekonsha for towing products..
I'm guilty. I haven't bought anything FRAM in probably 15 years......
I did run a PH9688 Extra Guard in my sons Kia Rio 5 years or so ago, but it was given to me by a neighbor, I paid zero. I put a C&P on here I believe.
I did run a PH9688 Extra Guard in my sons Kia Rio 5 years or so ago, but it was given to me by a neighbor, I paid zero. I put a C&P on here I believe.
The brand name is not for you and I though. Is for someone just walking by needing to grab a filter, they grab what they recognize. No one knows who Premium Guard is. But people pay a lot for a PG made Mobil 1 filter.
Of course just because someone bought the brand, doesn't mean that Walmart or the parts stores would stock them, which is likely why First Brands bought them in the first place.
Balance of probability in my book says Walmart would still stock FRAM regardless of who owns and makes them.
I have always been of the opinion that someone should just buy the brand and chuck the legacy manufacturing capital equipment and methods to liquidation. If they are wanting to keep some manufacturing in the USA, then start fresh with new methods, equipment and design.I agree, we all know that Walmart has a vested interest in cardboard
I think part of the problem with Fram over the years and changing hands has been successive owners taking on both the debt and legacy manufacturing and limping along with never having the capital to do a top to bottom factory reset. Only way to make the money has been corner cutting and that has been a law of diminishing returns. They need to break that cycle.
Once a titan in the filter business, unfortunately a lot of companies screw up and bankrupt themselves, even the big players.
While the Fram Ultra oil filters no longer have wire screen backing of pleats, from watching yt videos of opened filters, the number of pleats has increased, and the surface area of filter media has also increases significantly, and that was only possible because without the wire each pleat takes up less room. The increase surface area likley results in lower delta P ( less restriction ) less time with the bypass opened with cold starts and cold oil, and maybe even more capacity to catch stuff before becoming restricted.
Pleats with less space between them on the oil input side are also less likley to give up debris when the oil flows mostly by the outer diameter of the filter media when in bypass.
In other words, without proof of the lack of wire scren backing causing a problem, it may be an improvement, though often not sean as an improvement.
Pleats with less space between them on the oil input side are also less likley to give up debris when the oil flows mostly by the outer diameter of the filter media when in bypass.
In other words, without proof of the lack of wire scren backing causing a problem, it may be an improvement, though often not sean as an improvement.
To my knowledge, one of the filter companies FB owns has been through bankruptcy proceedings at least twice in recent years, that being Champ Labs. Rank Group who owned Fram and Champ before FB, cast off Champ Labs before FB acquired them. Filters a tough competitive business with low profit margin. Just have to watch and see how it all shakes out. Based on what I've seen of the cheapening of both filter brands, can't say this comes as a shocker.
Thanks for the heads up.
Thanks for the heads up.
I worked for Centric when FB acquired us....I have a smile reading this....couldn't have happened to a bigger bunch of ******es.
For better or worse fewer brands means less competition and higher prices. I won't shed any tears for Fram, but we will ultimately pay more most likely.
Fram has too much market share and name recognition, somebody will snap them up. Doesn't mean they will be any better though.
Maybe that means Fram will get sold to a company that actually gives a f....
Probably not, but I can dream, right?
Probably not, but I can dream, right?
This seems to be the repeated pattern with capital companies...they buy up major brands, leverage those major brands to buy more, and repeat until the debt load is too great. Then they fail.
Meanwhile the perpetrators (yes I mean to accuse) pay themselves a whopping salary and get rich. Then wash their hands of and simply walk away from the mess they've created. It is intentional fraud on a new creative level.
Welp, dang. Good to bad to worse it seems. I’ll probably stop buying cabin air filters from them now too which was the last things I was willing to buy.
So can we now start referring to them as the orange can of bankruptcy?
So can we now start referring to them as the orange can of bankruptcy?
Local Walmart was totally our of the Fram Ultra in the XG7317 today. Most other sizes were in stock.
