In the past few months, we have been face with multiple issues that have disrupted FBM’s business operations, heres a brief rundown of our weird ass bike company and the winter antics.
As a small independent manufacturing based company, we have different details to our operation that add up to making it difficult to have lots of cash flow, things like tooling expenses, machine shop supplies, maintenance, manufacturers liability insurance, welding supplies, and a laundry list of other complicated details that come along with assuming the responsibility and the task of making bikes, and parts, and warehousing them on our own.
We choose to do things this way…
One of the drawbacks is that the space we require as a company such as FBM is rarely affordable given the nature of the BMX industry, and we end up in places like an old shoe factory that made boots for U.S. soldiers during Wolrd War 2.
In addition to what is listed below- Some of you may know- John Lee had a bad accident, and while he recovers we are down one person with the day to day at Headquarters. John Lee is the man who essentially manages the warehouse, and much of the behind the scenes action at FBM, him being out for a couple months has had an impact on our everyday work scenario.
1.We got word a little while back that the landlord of the building where
FBM’s warehouse, offices and machine shop had NOT paid any property taxes
and the building was being seized. Essentially that left us in a very
difficult situation, and looking to relocate. Local Governement officials posted “NO Trespassing” signs and told us to take a hike…
During the process of looking for a new space to be the home of FBM, the water main at the Johnson City Location froze and exploded, forcing us to shut down production, and further complicate things for a small independent business.
2. To make matters even more absurd, the warehouse was broken into twice, burglarized once, and
on top of all of that, when the police searched the warehouse after the second break in, the K9 dog shit on our floor, and they left without saying anything, and never cleaned it up. The theft didn’t help our situation either. Did I mention it was one of the longest, coldest, stormiest, shittiest winters on record in upstate New York.
3. The paint shop that powder coats FBM frames, just doesn’t paint stuff, we drop stuff off, they forget about them, go on vacation, or get hammered drunk , it is insane…. Did I mention it was one of the longest, coldest, stormiest, shittiest winters on record in upstate New York.
4. The Van we were using to start working the new location caught on fire
after the rear axle sheered off, leaving a load of supplies stranded on the side of the highway during cold, stormy winter weather.
5. This winter in an unheated warehouse with no electricity or plumbing, we started building the new headquarters for FBM, the most professional company in BMX. The weather service reports it was one of the longest, coldest, stormiest, shittiest winters on record in upstate New York. It’s been a cold and trying process, but we are miking it happen ourselves, and its rad,
6. With the help of some good people in our community, we have been lucky enough to face these issues, come together as a group of individuals who strongly believe in the DIY culture, the community aspects of BMX and FBM, the ideas of making cool shit and sharing it with people, and we are on our way to putting a long, challenging cold winter behind us and starting anew.
Things have been very hectic the past 2-3 months, so I also apologize for
any inconveniences, and ball ups, and to all the good people who support FBM, we say thank you, and ask you to hold tight for the next update, we will not disappoint!