Thursday, September 26, 2013

PS on Kestrel & Klapmeier

         

We were just out mowing the west 40 on this grand fall day when we had an afterthought on the post of earlier today.  It fits perfectly with our reputation for clear hindsight and non-judgmental cynicism.

Since the early Kestrel investment need for $100 million was to bring the new plane design to market, Klapmeier cannot blame his ‘cash-flow’ problems on ‘lackluster sales due to the weak economy,’ or ‘unexpectedly high material and production costs.’

And now he needs another $125 million to make it to market.  At least for now.

No, the kulprit here is Klapmeier himself and his incompetence in constructing the non-recurring cost model for bringing the design to market, and the creation of a valid business case for doing so.

Throw in the obviously flawed ‘due diligence’ performed by the MRRA and the authorities in Superior, Wisconsin, and you have the classic synergism of a technical genius with no business smarts, and government officials willing to bend over backwards with the public trust to encourage good intentions, no matter where they may lead.

Either that, or lots of wool being pulled over the right eyes.

Or, in the worst case, maybe both.

Remember Johnny Protocols and the ‘no less than a dozen Fortune 500 companies’ he was courting, who all seemed to disappear into thin air?  Maybe their protocol was disappearing, because they were never there in the first place.

Which makes disappearing ever so much easier.

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