Last week, we told you Erik Buell Racing had been sold at auction, and it seemed likely the buyer planned on rebooting the company. From the news we’ve seen over the weekend, we can now confirm that plan.
EBR was bought by Bruce Belfer of Atlantic Metals Group, which was at first described as a scrap metal company. Not so! Atlantic Metals is actually involved in manufacturing and fabrication.
So what does the future hold for EBR? When it was put up for auction the company was described as a “turn-key” business, ready to start production again once the power was re-connected. Belfer says he plans to resume production at the Wisconsin plant, and for now, doesn’t plan to move operations to his home base in New Jersey.
He’s going to become EBR’s CEO, but wants to retain Erik Buell as president. He also wants to keep as much of the staff as possible. He told the Milwaukee Business Journal that as far as EBR’s physical equipment went, ““There’s not a single piece of machinery that I don’t have or can’t buy. EBR is people, skilled people, craftsmen and innovators. That’s what I was buying.”
He told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that a big part of EBR’s problem was their consultation work for Hero, saying it made Buell “distracted.”
Another slow news day, eh?