Extreme files chapter 11

Chapter 11 is a large debt plan. A reorganization of sorts that allows the business some breathing room to get their debt load in order.
It ain't the end of the road necessarily. Plenty of businesses have come out smelling like a rose after a chapter 11. Sportsman's Warehouse jumps to mind.
Of course, depending upon their plan, they could still fail.

Sort of surprising they seem popular.
But as mentioned 11 is a re-org usually to hold off creditors.

I worked for a major company that filed Chap. 11 in the '80s. I retired from that same company 15 years later. I wouldn't write X-treme off yet.

I hope things work out for X-Treme and parent company Howell Munitions and Technology - http://howellmunitionsandtech.com/

ohihunter2014 said:

I also seen something about freedom munitions possibly going under or chapter 11. Anyone else see this? I can't seem to find the post now.

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I got emails from both companies, pretty much the same wording. Hope things go well for them. I've ordered from Freedom Munitions in the past years and often from X-Treme. I like their plated bullets.

Dave

My company filed chapter 11 in 1989, emerged from ch 11 in 1993. I started working there in 1986. I'm still working for them and have never missed a paycheck.

I believe that Freedom Munitions and XTREME are owned by the same parent company. The rumor mill has long been a buzz that the parent company, in an attempt to capture the bulk of the market, underprices their product which can have the effect of clogging up the cash stream. Again this is rumor and as a retail consumer we have not entered into any kind of contract to purchase anything outside of any open orders.

So, if you like the product and agree the price is acceptable buy it. If not, look somewhere else as there is no shortage of bullet suppliers at the retail level. I have many 1000s of XTREME bullets on my shelf and I'm a satisfied customer. Their filing of chapter 11 will have no bearing on my continued use of their products.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE: There is really no reason to avoid dealing as a consumer with a retailer that is in Chapter 11, particularly for consumable goods. The calculus is sometimes a bit different for vendors/suppliers, or for those ordering customized goods with long lead times and long support/warranty tails. But if you want some plated bullets, or something else they sell, then go ahead and order.

I'd definitely like to see them make it, because they are the only source I know of for plated 220 grain 40/10mm bullets, which I use a lot of; because they are a cost-effective supplier of other plated pistol bullets that I use; and because they even have a cost-effective line of pistol brass (not quite as consistent as Starline, but less economically painful to lose in tall grass or loose gravel).

I was surprised to hear about the Ch 11. I had thought FM / Xtreme was one of the most stable and successful companies for reloaded ammo and components. I guess you never can tell what problems a company really has going on.

ATLDave said:

and because they even have a cost-effective line of pistol brass (not quite as consistent as Starline, but less economically painful to lose in tall grass or loose gravel).

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Dave, every time I get the urge to break out my 1911 and shoot in a match I think about leaving my 45 acp brass on the ground for someone else to pick up and quickly decide to stick with 9mm. LOL

The majority of my match shooting is indoors, so I get back 90% of the brass that I drop in most matches. At the outdoor matches, the brass survival rate is rarely even 50%... and that stings. I find a marker stripe on every case is helpful, but it's hard to pick one that works well in all conditions. Red stripes are camouflage on Georgia's red clay and don't contrast much with dirtied brass. Blue is good on red clay and sand, but makes things disappear in grey gravel. Green works ok in the gravel, but anything in grass is gonegonegone. Black - well, every 38 super open shooter has theirs marked black, and it just confuses things.

https://www.outdoorhub.com/news/201...arent-company-file-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/

Looks like Howell Munitions & Technology their parent has filled chapter 11 on business branches ,
I do hope xtreme continues on I shoot my share of their products but part of their restructure needs to be fixing the shipping times and customer service ,

As an possible opposing point of view, I would say that when you file Bankruptcy you essentially admit that you are broke. You cannot meet your obligations (bills) as they fall due. That your assets are exceeded by your liabilities.

gifbohane said:

As an possible opposing point of view, I would say that when you file Bankruptcy you essentially admit that you are broke. You cannot meet your obligations (bills) as they fall due. That your assets are exceeded by your liabilities.

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That's not an "opposing point of view." Nobody disagrees with that. But the entire point of Chapter 11 (as opposed to other forms of bankruptcy) is to get some kind of relief so that you can get cash-flow positive and resume or maintain normal operations. There are countless companies that have filed for, and then emerged from, Chapter 11 (and there are some that do not emerge and end up liquidating). Ever flown on Delta Airlines? Or watched a movie or read a comic by Marvel?

Chapter 11 is a large debt plan.
...
Of course, depending upon their plan, they could still fail.

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That's the challenge. How does X-treme reduce costs, increase margins and generate additional revenue in the present market while retaining existing customers and generating new ones? It's a tall order. Can the management team that got them into this mess make the changes necessary to get them out? Few management teams can so quickly adjust their thinking which is why the number of companies that emerge from Chapter 11 and go on to thrive without a management shake-up is rather small.

thomas15 said:

I believe that Freedom Munitions and XTREME are owned by the same parent company.

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Howell Munitions and Technology owns these companies and Chapter 11 was declared by the parent company - http://howellmunitionsandtech.com/

- Howell Machine
- Auto Load Worldwide
- X-Treme Bullets
- Freedom Munitions
- Range Time Training Ammunition

ATLDave said:

Chapter 11 ... is to get some kind of relief so that you can get cash-flow positive and resume or maintain normal operations. There are countless companies that have filed for, and then emerged from, Chapter 11 (and there are some that do not emerge and end up liquidating).

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hdwhit said:

That's the challenge. How does X-treme reduce costs, increase margins and generate additional revenue in the present market while retaining existing customers and generating new ones? It's a tall order. Can the management team that got them into this mess make the changes necessary to get them out?

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Walkalong said:

I wish X-Treme well, but if they don't change the ways that brought them to this......

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You can't keep doing the same and expect different outcome.

I kind of suspect that their Freedom Munitions division did them in. They spent a ton of money on new equipment to make remanufactured ammo and ended up with remanufactured ammo that is about the same price as federal new ammo with brass reloadable cases. It is tough to sell at the prices they wanted.

Ordered bullets when Xtreme had a sale one time, 4+ weeks to get my order.
Contrast that with 4-5 days (usually) from the time I place an order with RMR until the time I get the bullets.
Easy guess where most of my business goes.
I do like Xtremes 100gr .355 RNFPs, but every order I have placed from Xtreme took me a least two weeks to get.
Yes I can order weeks in advance, but why should I have to?

Hopefully they can get on track and come out of Chapt. 11.

splattergun said:

Chapter 11 is a large debt plan. A reorganization of sorts that allows the business some breathing room to get their debt load in order.
It ain't the end of the road necessarily. Plenty of businesses have come out smelling like a rose after a chapter 11. Sportsman's Warehouse jumps to mind.
Of course, depending upon their plan, they could still fail.

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Colt went thru C11 and they're still around.

Dudedog said:

Ordered bullets when Xtreme had a sale one time, 4+ weeks to get my order.
Contrast that with 4-5 days (usually) from the time I place an order with RMR until the time I get the bullets.
Easy guess where most of my business goes.....

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We should keep this whole thing in perspective. As far as bullet suppliers go there are literally 100s of them in the US and it's a bullet not some kind of proprietary industrial secret formula with twenty process patients. With a little training and a few 100 dollars investment the average consumer can bypass the bullet suppliers all together. We could if we had the desire, home swage our own jacketed bullets. Buying commercially made bullets is basically a convenience item, unlike gun powder and primers we chose to buy them to make life easier.

Anyway, there have been many discussions on bullet delivery times right here on this very board. Reasons why the condition exists and personal experiences have been discussed in fine detail. Handloading is a hobby not a means to feed our family or pay the rent so we buy what makes us happy from whoever makes up happy.

The thing is no one on this board knows the financial condition of any of their favorite suppliers of reloading stuff if that company happens to be private. A company that is gold plated today and shipping hours before you actually place your order might be cast into the lake of fire tomorrow for all we know.

It's not necessarily the end of the world. Hope they make it. Their bullets seem of good quality at an affordable price. Their rebate program with Cabelas for free brass is nice too, but maybe it wasn't the right marketing tool if they're in this kind of financial trouble.

I've got 2000 of their bullets sitting on my bench ready to load. Just been too distracted to load lately.

I still have 6K so I'm pretty happy, but it still won't take me thru the Fall season.

Freedom, and probably X-Treme too, expanded pretty rapidly when people were buying heavily, including adding a retail outlet. People are more relaxed in their buying now, at least in my area, so they probably have had to scramble to meet their economic expectations.

Dave

It does seem likely that, like a lot of firearms-sector businesses, they ramped up dramatically during the crunch/shortage, and have struggled to keep things cash-flow-positive with current reduced demand. They're probably hoping for a blue wave in November to re-stoke the panic! ;P

I really do want them to survive, not just for the reasons I listed above, but because they have been a supporter of shooting sports (particularly USPSA). Many of the big ammo companies provide very little support to the competitive shooting community, particularly in relation to what they could. So when a mid-sized business really goes all in, I appreciate that. I'd rather buy from a business that makes stuff well-tailored to competition and who supports matches than one that doesn't and doesn't.... even if the former is slower on shipping.