Koester Brings Bentz Products Back to Life

[ATeam]

Below is part of the text of a notice I received today. I will post the full notice as time permits. The .pdf file from Koester is too large to attach here. The remainder of the notice talks about product lines and gives company contact information. Related story (10/19/2009): The Downfall of Bentz Transport Products, Inc.
--------------------

04-29-2010

Koester's is proud to announce the acquisition of the Inntellectual Properties of Bentz Transport Products Inc. add on Aftermarket Sleeper Program for any make truck, Peterbilt and Kenworth Extended and Crew Cab Programs as well as the Peterbilt Backpack Sleeper Program.

As you may or may not know, Bentz Transports Products Inc, ceased operations in August of 2009 due to economic conditions. Koester's has had a long standing tradition is a Bentz supplier and wants t o continue to producet he product lines established by Bentz and advance into the fuiure with
new products.

Sales support will be continued with Richard( Dick) Bentz joining the Koester's staff along with the Engineering Support of Jeff Walker, both with many years of understanding the needs of the Trucking and Transportation Industry. Koester's has been established in Sales, Service and Repair with
the Transportation Industry since 1964.....

 

[jaminjim]

Maybe you could help them edit the announcement.

 

[ATeam]

The cut and paste from the .pdf left many gaps and ran words together. The original piece looks better than what came out above.

 

[dabluzman1]

Hi Phil, I dont know if you saw my post:
Benz is now spelled BOLT.
http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/general-expediter-forum/40711-bentz-now-spelled-bolt.html

They are manufacturing the SST series again ( maybe called something dif)

I guess this merger is the reason Don Bentz calls his company Bolt.

Jeff Jones , as I understand it, is part owner.

We were back at their facility about a month ago and saw some very nice looking expediters that had recently been built.

 

[redytrk]

Koester is a fine company. I have had a lot of work done by them. All first rate.

 

[moose]

i recently seeing a truck with a Bentz sleeper that can eat phil's ones for breakfast .
Next to the Bentz sign it say :

"Insanity at it best "

 

[ATeam]

The full story needs to be told and I don't know what it is. A few phone calls to the people and companies involved would complete the picture.

I don't know if the Koester's purchase of the Bentz Intellectual property is a new development or part of the Bolt development dabluzman1 reported in his post. I don't know what connection, if any, exists between Koester's and Bolt.

The Koester's flyer suggests it is a new development. No mention is made of Bolt or Don Bentz in the flyer. Mention is made of Richard Bentz and key engineer Jeff Walker and of Koester's intention to continue the Bentz product line.

As I said, a few phone calls to the people in question would produce the full story. Diane and I will be in Fort Wayne on Tuesday getting some truck work done. Our Volvo dealer is across the street from Stoops where Jeff Jones works. Since the truck will be in the shop and I'll be killing time, it will be easy then to visit with him about this if he is available.

Diane and I have been running hard for the last week and we're on a long run now. I don't have time to figure out how to get a .pdf file posted here or someplace else where people can read it in full. I sent a copy to Lawrence with the request that he post it someplace. As time permits, I can e-mail it to anyone who asks.

It is times like this that I miss being the editor of Expedite NOW. There is a story here of interest to many and some detective work to do. This is when it gets fun. But it is a time-intensive activity to interview the players, get reaction from others (competitors, customers) and write it all up; which is why I vacated the editor's chair.

 

[greg334]

Why does the full story need to be told?

The former owner is working, the name is sold, the people are not employed.

How many other sleeper companies went under because of the economy?

How many truck dealerships went under?

 

[cheri1122]

However it shakes out, I'm giving two thumbs up to Don Bentz, who replaced my Fantastic Fan unit last week, with no charge for labor. [Probably because the first new unit didn't work, and a second had to be installed - not his fault at all, but it took longer.]
Can't promise free labor to anyone else, but can recommend Don Bentz as first rate.

 

[Lawrence]

I haven't spoken to the Koester people yet - I have spent some time with Don and he seems eager to server Expediters and their needs. I hope to learn more about the Koester group in the coming weeks.

 

[Lawrence]

Phil - Thanks for the .PDF announcement:

You can download it here!

 

[TeamCaffee]

We have met Don Bentz several times and really enjoy his company. I believe what Don tells us he will guarantee. He does seem to have a fond attachment to expediters and stopped by to see many of us over in the Papa Johns parking lot at MATS this year.

 

[14Wheeler]

"And the full story will be told"

Bentz is back !!

I know of not one sleeper mfg that directs more efforts towards the expedite maket than those guys. Been seeing them for years in Louisville for MATS. Know a large handfull of owner opps who swear by the quality - fit & finish of their product line.

Great to see a good ole U.S. manufactured product coming
back to life. Excellent for the Indiana residents and those seeking an afforable reliable well built product.

Wish nothing but success for all involved.

 

[ATeam]

Diane and I are in Fort Wayne getting truck work done. I spoke at length with Jeff Jones yesterday in his office and hope to speak with others today.

I am still gathering information but can say that it is not the case that "Bentz is back!!" The company Bentz Transport Products, Inc. was liquidated. It is gone. The liquidation was involuntary. The bank shut Bentz down. That story was reported on EO on October 19, 2009.

Some of the company assets were then sold and some came to be owned by the bank. People involved with Bentz in different ways (employees, suppliers, dealers) moved on, each in directions that made sense to them. In other words, the people and assets that once constituted Bentz Transport Products, Inc. have scattered.

Koester's, a Bentz supplier that now intends to build sleepers (announcement here), bought some of the Bentz assets from the bank. As the announcement says, Richard Bentz is associated with this. Jeff Jones, a Bentz dealer and sales representative at Stoops Freightliner, purchased directly from Bentz the integrated sleeper "molds" as they are informally known.

As Keith Bentz explained in the EO interview, that means, "The intellectual property including the drawings, designs, solid models, engineering data in our computers, bills of material, cost data and pricing data...." These are the items that produced the Bentz-style non-booted, integrated sleepers in recent years.

Jeff Jones and his wife personally purchased these items using personal funds. Mr. Stoops is fully aware of this venture and supportive of Jones but Stoops Freightliner is not financially connected to it. At present, the assets are in storage.

Jones intends to build new trucks using the assets he purchased but will not build them himself. He said he has a "handshake agreement" with Don Bentz to do that. A Freightliner Cascadia chassis on which the first truck will be built is on order. Jones expects to have a completed truck to show in September.

The agreement to build sleepers is not exclusive. Jones, a huge believer in the aftermarket integrated sleeper, hopes to license his technology to other sleeper manufacturers in the future.

The good news for customers who also believe in the aftermarket integrated sleeper is that new ones are likely to be built in the near future. I asked Jones what the price might be. He was unable to say at this early stage in the build.

I hope to learn more as I speak to others today and will share what I learn.

 

[greg334]

Thanks for the clarification Phil.

I hope Mr. Jones can be a little more proactive in improving quality control and customer care than the previous company was.

 

[ATeam]

I visited Koester's today. They purchased the particular Bentz assets they did because they fit into their overall product line, which is described in the flyer mentioned above. They intend to build sleepers but that will not be a main part of their already widely-diversified business. Note that Bentz was in the crew-cab business too, which is part of what Koester's picked up.

Koester's is not going to build sleepers with expediters specifically in mind. They do not expect to build sleepers larger than 96 inches. The sleepers they build will be "bare bones" with no custom options available.

There may be value to be found in these sleepers for expediters who do not want the full-featured, big bunk sleepers. Vendors other than Koester's will be the ones to supply large custom-built sleepers.

As to when Koester's sleeper production will start, Susie Koester told me they have everything they need to build a sleeper tomorrow if they wanted to. The economy will determine when their sleeper building will start.