Abel Reels Under New Ownership
- Thread starter surface film
- Start date
sweetandsalt
Well-known member
Last week a forum participant complained of a man with a smeared name being in an ownership position at Abel...all in the past now as Abel Reels keep getting narrower and better.
surface film
Active member
Was one of the reasons I posted this
Makes you wonder if the change in ownership had anything to do with the smearing of that apparently ex-stakeholders last name... LOL
I always like to keep in mind, you can choose your Friends, but your stuck with your Family LOL
Sage & Abel
Well-known member
I'm a huge fan of Abel reels and own a number of them from trout reels to steelhead & salmon reels. Obviously it's difficult to obtain any information of significant value from a modest press release but from what I can see it looks like a move in the right direction and I view it as positive news.
sweetandsalt
Well-known member
I have been assured by an industry friend that all will remain as it has been...same fine folks running the company and making the reels right here in the USA (OK, OK, California).
surface film
Active member
Yeah, some would say California is in a league all of its own LOL
jaybo41
Well-known member
Excellent news so it seems. Hopefully things stay the same. The few Abel products I own are nothing short of top notch.
I have never owned or looked at Abel until someone on this site brought them up. I really like the looks of their reels and will probably be buying some. Hopefully they stay how they are which seems to be a good company from a product stand point.
This certainly isn't the first time I've heard "all will remain as it has been...same fine folks running the company".
It seems with a lot of companies, when removed from their founders and originators (the people who actually put in the long hours and sweat equity to build the company) something is lost. I firmly believe it is the passion for the product itself as it goes without saying that an investment company has one main goal, to make money. If that means they cheapen the product or take manufacturing to China to turn a quick buck that they usually will. Many times they live for a while just milking the name for all it is worth.
Personally, I would like to see more innovators and creators rather than money changers and investment types in this country but that sort of thinking harkens back a generation or two.
Only time will tell how this plays out.
It seems with a lot of companies, when removed from their founders and originators (the people who actually put in the long hours and sweat equity to build the company) something is lost. I firmly believe it is the passion for the product itself as it goes without saying that an investment company has one main goal, to make money. If that means they cheapen the product or take manufacturing to China to turn a quick buck that they usually will. Many times they live for a while just milking the name for all it is worth.
Personally, I would like to see more innovators and creators rather than money changers and investment types in this country but that sort of thinking harkens back a generation or two.
Only time will tell how this plays out.
sweetandsalt
Well-known member
I agree wholeheartedly that "I would like to see more innovators and creators rather than money changers and investment types in this country". It is our traditional strength and from where our old-fashioned passion for quality comes from. The Abel's had to sell the company for health reasons and the purchaser, another investment group, changed nothing but undoubtedly made money on the sale to this newest "Mayfly" group. The gentleman the runs the company and continues the refinement and design innovation in the products themselves is the same guy who was doing this with Steve Abel when he owned the company. This is my cause for optimism. If we start feeling some flex in these reels or they feature little peel-off oval stickers indicating off-shore origin...I will eat my words and say really bad things about financial imperatives. But for now I feel good about the future one of our few Halo reels.
moucheur2003
Well-known member
Or maybe not. The recent seller was a group led by Andrew Madoff, Bernie Madoff's son, who is fighting lymphoma as well as struggling to extricate himself from the wreckage of his father's monumental swindle. His other liquidity needs may not have allowed him the luxury of holding out for top dollar.