[SFDXA] Heathkit Educational Systems Closes Up Shop

[Bill]

 From Tony N2MFT:


    Heathkit Educational Systems Closes Up Shop

*TAGS:* Amateur Radio kits 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:Amateur%20Radio%20kits>, arrl 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:arrl>, ARRL Education 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:ARRL%20Education>, educational 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:educational>, heathkit 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:heathkit>, Heathkit 
Educational Systems 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:Heathkit%20Educational%20Systems>, 
hopeful <http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:hopeful>, myriad 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:myriad>, sales 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/search/Tag.name:sales>
05/09/2012

For the second time since 1992, Heathkit Educational Services (*HES* 
<http://www.heathkit.com/>) has shuttered its doors. Rumors of the 
legendary kit-building company’s demise were *posted on QRZ.com* 
<http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?344804-farewell-to-Heathkit>, with 
several readers bringing the news to the attention of the ARRL. In 
August 2011, Heathkit announced it was *returning to the kit building 
business* 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/heathkit-returns-to-the-kit-business>, and in 
September, that it would once again be *manufacturing Amateur Radio 
kits* 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/heathkit-s-amateur-radio-plans-taking-shape>.

The ARRL tried to reach Heathkit to confirm that the company is still in 
business, but their phone and fax numbers have a continuous busy signal, 
and e-mails to the company have gone unanswered.

On LinkedIn, a popular networking site, HES Chief Executive Officer Lori 
Marciniak listed her *employment ending at Heathkit as of March 2012* 
<http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lori-marciniak/7/bb0/72a>. Likewise, 
Heathkit’s Marketing and Sales Director Ernie Wake listed his 
*employment ending in April 2012* 
<http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ernie-wake/13/408/225>. An *unsubstantiated 
report on Wikipedia* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathkit> states that 
“[in] December 2011, Heathkit Educational Systems laid off most 
employees and in March 2012, the company indefinitely suspended operations.”

Tom Ferriter, of Technical Education Products, is an outside sales 
representative for HES, based in Hampden, Massachusetts. “Heathkit is 
telling us that they have temporarily closed, but that they are hopeful 
that they will be able to reorganize,” he told the ARRL. “While they’re 
not telling us too much, they did say that they were having poor sales 
for a myriad of reasons and are hopeful that they will be able to 
refinance the company and negotiate with the bank to refinance some of 
the debt.”

ARRL Education and Technology Program Director Mark Spencer, WA8SME, 
spoke with Ferriter a few weeks ago. Ferriter told him that Heathkit was 
having problems with its creditors. Ferriter also said that Heathkit 
told the distributors that it hopes to reopen sometime in the future, 
but it was his opinion, as well as the opinion of others, that Heathkit 
was not going to be able to do so.


http://www.arrl.org/news/heathkit-educational-systems-closes-up-shop