I've tried to be as objective as possible with my covering of the changes in the Ultra for example. Now, yes, some people have had some knee-jerk reactions to some things, but that's unfortunately typical.
There have been a couple of things that have proved worrisome between the communication with FRAM by some members, and then inspection by people on here. People who have no vested interest in the product/brand and wouldn't benefit from it going one way or the other. An example would be what appears to be the use of nitrile ADBV valves when Customer Service said they were just black silicone. It certainly further warrants some scepticism regarding the accuracy of some of the data we've been given, like with the odd and incorrect description of the original Ultra.
Now, ownership changes can be complicated, particularly if there is staff turnover or consolidation of customer service operations and other departments. But it's disappointing to see this nonetheless.
The fear is that First Brands is taking FRAM, a brand which many on this board have grown to trust for producing quality products at a reasonable price, in a direction that isn't favourable. I think there's some legitimacy in that concern, though I don't think it's been long enough, or that we have enough evidence at this point, to conclude that this is the case. We may just be seeing some "growing pains" or "transition pains" and. And of course supply shortages are affecting everything, which isn't helping.
