Langenberg Hat Co. destroyed by fraud

[Wally in Cincy]

or so says the Feds

Now the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco is after Armstrong for allegedly committing a new fraud in Missouri. Prosecutors say he bought a 140-year-old hat company, negotiated a $1.5 million loan using the business and its employee stock option plan as collateral, then promptly defaulted on the loan, forcing the company to close and wiping out the employee stock and retirement plan.
The Missouri firm, Langenberg Hat Co., was closed by state court order early last month, leaving about 150 employees jobless.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Scam-Artist-Accused-Of-Big-New-Swindle-He-has-2799278.php

 

[barrowjh]

Thanks for posting that; I had wondered how that operation went down. Excessive debt is usually always the problem, but it was unclear why such a long-standing manufacturer (Beaver Brand) would have borrowed heavily. From the looks of the Beaver Brand auction, it did not appear to me that there was anything 'new' purchased with any recent borrowings. Interesting.

I clicked on the Langenberg link and see that it is not the same as Beaver Brand, though the Langenberg name was a part of the history of Beaver Brand (or so I thought). Maybe this company was created by buying that name from Beaver Brand?

 

[jhe888]

If we weren't a nation of laws, you might be tempted to give Armstrong to the employees of the hat company and let them mete out justice.

 

[fedoracentric]

I am a little confused by this thread. The linked story is from the year 2000. Then someone mentions Beaver Brand which just went down this year. What does Langenberg Hat Co. have to do with that?

 

[TheDane]

I am a little confused by this thread. The linked story is from the year 2000. Then someone mentions Beaver Brand which just went down this year. What does Langenberg Hat Co. have to do with that?

Here's a little more on the subject from 2000 - and a little more (scroll down to middle of page - or search for "Langenberg" on the page). Something definitely happened back in 2000, but the story is not about the final close down, we saw recently

 

[Wally in Cincy]

I am a little confused by this thread. The linked story is from the year 2000. Then someone mentions Beaver Brand which just went down this year. What does Langenberg Hat Co. have to do with that?

Sorry about that. I did not notice that. I am at work and did not take the time to fully investigate this.

 

[Wally in Cincy]

here's a link that might make more sense

http://www.ksdk.com/money/article/389083/5/Beaver-Brand-Hats-closing-after-more-than-150-years-in-business

Mike Moore showed up for the auction. Isn't that the Buckaroo Hat guy?

 

[TheDane]

That's the major, allright. He and Rusty (RBH) has written quite a bit about the auction here on TFL

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

Mike bought a bunch of ribbon and a couple of hatter tools and since he came home with them, he got a decent price. From Beaver Brand's old website, I think that their business model was flawed. The website that used to allow you to have a hat custom built online was sure cool, but it didn't really do much to be sure the hat fit or that the hat made looked good on you. The right custom hatter will find a nice way to tell you a certain hat style makes you look like a dork.

Later

 

[Wally in Cincy]

this article has some geneology of the company

http://www.emissourian.com/features_people/feature_stories/article_d0425324-6302-5871-987a-92a7cf46e201.html

 

[Jedwbpm]

Who Bought the Brand Name?

Jeff

 

[TheDane]

Who Bought the Brand Name?

According to the article, nobody. The name is still property of Doug Klabzuba

 

[Landman]

It makes me sick to think about all that old equipment, hat making tools and ribbons being sold at the Beaver Brands auction. It is too bad somebody couldn't keep it all together and get the factory back up and running.

 

[RBH]

It makes me sick to think about all that old equipment, hat making tools and ribbons being sold at the Beaver Brands auction. It is too bad somebody couldn't keep it all together and get the factory back up and running.

I believe most of the best hat making items went to various hat makers.
But I do know the scrap dealer ended up with plenty of stuff.

 

[Rogera]

...But I do know the scrap dealer ended up with plenty of stuff.

That's terrible to hear.

 

[Landman]

I believe most of the best hat making items went to various hat makers.
But I do know the scrap dealer ended up with plenty of stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is wonderful that custom hatters like Major Moore ended up with some of the better stuff. I just hate to see a hat factory that old be totally dismantled.

 

[Hatter4]

Don't get me wrong, I think it is wonderful that custom hatters like Major Moore ended up with some of the better stuff. I just hate to see a hat factory that old be totally dismantled.

Is any of the hatters tools still to be had? who bought most of the hat making items? there are some tools I could use.

 

[TheDane]

Well, Langenberg sure made very great hats, but in their later years they just as sure made some worthless crap! I'm not sure how many of their later hats that were crappy - and how much they lowered their general quality to survive - but it sounds like a well known libretto: Factories getting pressed by a retracting market, and therefore lowering the quality to fight off the resulting financial problems. That model was dominating the scene - at least throughout most of the last half of the 1900s. I can't say if this was a factor in the fall of BB, but it could very well have had some influence.

Anyway, it's always a pity when factories close and people loose their work. It can be catastrophic, especially in smaller communities, but the bright side of those liquidations is, that quality oriented hand hatters often get the opportunity to buy some equipment for making their quality hats.

Is any of the hatters tools still to be had? who bought most of the hat making items? there are some tools I could use.

It depends on what you mean with "hatter tools". I saw quite a number of pictures from the auction, and I didn't see that many tools. It was a hat factory, so there were lots of machines, blocks, ribbon and finished/unfinished hats, but I didn't see much hand hatter tools. I know that Rusty was there, so he can probably tell you more about what tools were up for sale

 

[Taylor lugo]

Howdy gents, made a profile just to post these pics. Does any of you know how much this would be worth considering the Langenberg company is no more? I believe it’s an 87 or older

 

[belfastboy]

looks like a nice hat in good condition. I have picked up some decent Beaver Branded hats on Ebay over the years. Have always purchased them for under $50. Beaver Brand makes a decent hat, well made if a little on the coarse side, robust, but more of a utilitarian hat than a collectable. Best bet is to track a few on Ebay and see what they sell for....size always determines price as well.....size 7 and under do not command much attention, 7 1/4 and up represents a larger market.