Clearvue Cyclones Closing!

[Bill Miltner]

Visited their website just now and there is a notice posted indicating they are closed to new business as of May 1.

[Leigh Betsch]

But I wish Ed well in retirement!

[John Coloccia]

Well, now that is sad news for us, but great news for Ed. Have fun in retirement, and thanks for the cyclone :)

[Steve knight]

not much info on what is getting sold as the business. no tooling info and such.

[Alan Schwabacher]

I sure hope someone does continue the business.

[Hugh Jardon]

Buying his business (at $260,000) is probably cheaper than what this hobby is going to end up costing me :)

[Jim O'Dell]

Bill, thanks for posting this. I go onto the CV forum every day, but not to the website. I just emailed Ed thanking him for all the help he has given me. I didn't follow the link to the sale of the business, but it does sound like an opportunity for the right person. But I tell you, they would have mighty big shoes to fill. Ed is one of the good guys, and they seem to be hard to find in the business world. Jim.

[John Schreiber]

Bummer. I'm quite a few pennies away from the purchase, but I had planned on a Clearview. I hope this is a positive move for Ed and his family. A small family owned business has an uphill fight in this economy.

[Dennis Hook]

Wish I had the capitol, I was born in Greenvile, SC which is pretty close to pickens and would'nt mind moving back.

Best of luck in the retirement.

[Kel Tremblay]

I got lucky. The Clearvue went on sale a couple of weeks ago ($100 off the regular price) and I decided to take the plunge. Mine arrived last Wednesday. Sad to see the small business shut down and I hope that Ed does well in retirement.

[Steve Peterson]

They had a $100 off sale last month to clear out inventory. It would have been better to announce a final sale to give people a chance to get an order in. I got mine about 4 months ago and love it.

Ed is a great guy that I always admired how he took a concept and made a successful business out of it. I wish him well in his retirement.

The business is for sale, so it might come back with new owners in the future.

Steve

[Dennis Lopeman]

Now... where did I put that $260k??????

[Bill Huber]

I wonder if his decision had anything to do with the law suit from Oneida over the mini.

I hate to see any small business like that go away, he had an excellent product.

[Jim O'Dell]

I don't think it did Bill. He pulled his unit off the market, even though his was out first. He just didn't patent it. I'm guessing the revenue from it's sales would never recoup lawyers fees. Wise business decision. But those hassles may have had something to do with his deciding he wanted to enjoy his great granddaughters instead of working. He has promised me he will post some pictures of the furniture he will be building for them!!! Jim.

[Brian Backner]

I think I ordered the last one he sold on Friday. When he emailed me later to give me the confirmation numbers and UPS tracking numbers, he indicated the he would be retiring and selling the business. As his son did not want to take over, he decided to sell the firm - had nothing to do with the Oneida cease and desist order - he realized early on that it would be far cheaper just to "eat" whatever stock he had left rather than to fight them in court (even though he can demonstrate "prior art" several years prior to their patent application date).

In terms of "patent" or "design trademark," it appears that Bill Pentz intends to retain rights to his design - there is now a note on his website that his son will once again be making and selling kits and cyclones/blowers from sheet metal (newly posted on 4/30) and that only his son has the right to do so:

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/cyclonekits.cfm

Brian
Taxachusetts

[Tom Rick]

Thanks for posting

[Tom Adger]

I have a clearvue mini that I bought a year ago, and it is one of the few items in my shop that not only works as good as advertised, but better.

I suspect Oneida's actions had something to do with the closure. Their actions may have made good "business sense", but their ethics is questionable.

[Jesse Wilson]

I wish we would have had some notice.... I was about to buy some 6" to 4" boxes for a few tools. He could have made a lot of money if he had announced the closing of the shop I guarantee it.

[Robert Payne]

I visited Ed and Matt yesterday in Pickens to pick up a full CV1800 cyclone with filters that Ed basically donated to a North Carolina-based woodworking forum for their spring fundraiser. Rules here preclude me from including a link to that site.

For those that are interested in "what is included" in the purchase of the company -- it includes all of the machinery, jigs, forms etc. used to manufacture the cyclones, just not the building. Ed is retiring because it is time and he did not close the business due to any outside factor as has been suggested. His first four months this year were among the best sales he ever experienced. He also said he will continue to support his customers as he always has with excellent customer service. The ClearVue forum and photo gallery will stay up and operational through at least next summer. As he said, he is looking forward to getting back into his shop and making sawdust -- in his case, it is the "instantly disappearing" kind! Many of us that own a ClearVue cyclone (or two) hope that the company reopens under new ownership to provide others an opportunity to own one of these excellent dust collectors.

[Paul Wunder]

Robert,

Your posting today is just another reminder of the kind of stand-up guy that Ed Morgano is. I share your hope that the business is carried on. Also, a personal (public!) thank you to you for your postings on the Clearvue forums that helped me and, I'm certain, many others in how to install and best utilize Ed's cyclones.

Paul

[Joe A Faulkner]

Bill Pentz's son, who is now in college, is selling cyclone kits to help out the wood working community. Sounds as if this will discontinue if Clear Vue is sold to someone who Bill allows to use his design for commercial gain. In the mean time, if you want a Bill Pentz cylone but don't want to build all of the components from scratch, this may be an option to consider.

Let's all hope that the Clear Vue product line continues as an option.

[Jim O'Dell]

It would be great to have both options. I checked on the kits from Bill 6 years ago as an option when I was looking for my cyclone. His son had just quit making the kits. Ed came around just after that. Jim.

[Ed Morgano]

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to everyone who has posted kind words and good wishes for my retirement. So far it’s been busy. Matt and I worked for about three weeks finishing up orders. I also have a ton of paperwork to do in order to make the closing official so I’m getting through that slow but sure. Since posting our closing on our website, I have had quite a few serious inquiries from people interested in buying the business so I’m feeling very positive about the future of Clear Vue Cyclones. After spending close to 6 years of my life building the business I hated to see it close more than anyone and I’ll be extremely pleased if someone takes it over and continues what I started. Again, thank you for all your kind words.

Sincerely,

Ed Morgano

P.S. As I get more into woodworking I promise to post some pictures of my projects. I’ve avoided posting much on the forums because of my involvement with the business but now that I’m just a regular OLD woodworker I hope to have more time to stay in touch.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Ed, it is good to hear from you. I for one, hope your transition to full time retirement goes well. I look forward to seeing some of your builds and other contributions here at the creek. Best of Luck with getting Clear Vue into the hands of someone who will carry on the business.

[Ed Morgano]

Hi Again,
I'm very happy to report that we have sold Clear Vue Cyclones and they are open again. The new owners are three brothers, James, Paul and Charles Bushey Jr. A brief description is on the Clear Vue website. What I can say is that all three brothers are avid woodworkers. James bought one of the last Clearvues that we made. After he hooked it up and tested it he contacted me with a brief e-mail. It said: Ed, I just got my clearvue hooked up over the weekend and it works great. I'm interested in buying your company. Long story short, a week later all three brothers came for a visit and we closed the deal with a hand shake. They have been very straight up with me in our dealings and are very much looking forward to carrying on the positive customer experience.

Regards,

Ed

P.S. I've been busy building stuff in my shop and have posted some pictrues on the clearvue photo gallery. I like to take a lot of pictures and I didn't think this would be the right place to post them.

[Jim O'Dell]

Ed, thanks for the update! Glad things are working out for all involved.
So start a thread on the general woodworking pages and post us some pictures!!! :D Jim.

[Leigh Betsch]

:D:D:DHappy to see there is a ClearVue option again. The new guys have some big shoes to fill in regards to customer service but at least us wood workers have another option when looking for dust collection.

P.S. my cv1800 still sucks, like it ought to.

[Robert Malone]

Ed, sorry I never got over your way to meet you, but you enjoy your retirement.