WINSON & MODELWORKS NEWS - As it happened (or was discovered!)...
14th July 2002
Today we all had a fantastic time at the Winson & ModelWorks Owners Rally at
Ruddington. Full report here.
21st March 2002
Although I have not received a reply from my enquiry to Mark Watkins to
confirm it, it seems that Jon Spalding is indeed the man behind Armortek.
15th March 2002
We have had a report
from a model engineer to say that he has been burgled and that the following
items had been stolen:
Please keep a good look out for these and if you have any information please contact Didcot Police on +44 (0)1235 512929, Crime reference No. 1248.
19th February 2002
I have just heard about a new company with a strangely familiar address -
Armortek (see the web site at www.armortek.co.uk)
who are based at Geotek's offices in Daventry. It would appear that Mr
Watkins is setting himself up as a tank manufacturer. He alludes to this
in his answer to question 13 below.
8th February 2002
Following the publication of the article below (6th February 2002) I have been
contacted by Mark Watkins who felt that his point of view had not been made
clear and in an effort to be fair to him, I offered him the right to reply to
the article below. I ended up sending him a list of questions to which he
has replied...
6. Do Geotek still own what is left of the models that were bought for £100,000.
If not, who does?
Yes
7. Why were we told by Jon Spalding at the Creditors' Meeting that "the
display models had been bought for £100,000" and not that this was by far
the smaller part of the purchase, the greater being the rest of the 44 models
and kits?
This not really fair. Jon was ask what had happened to the display models and answered that they had been sold to Geotek for £100,000.
KPB stated that they had checked the transaction and felt it was fair and reasonable. I am sorry if you feel you were misled. The detailed list was available at the time.
(KBP = Kroll Buchler Philips - the administrators
appointed following the demise of Winson)
8. In your opinion, what is the current value of the models that were bought
for £100,000?
In my opinion the valuation was about correct. In order to get the models ready for sale, Geotek have employed, full time, an ex-WMT employee. We have
estimated the costs involved in carrying out the work. Some are viable some are not. In some cases it depends what people want to buy.
9. You have sold some of these models - how many have been sold and how much
did you get for them?
(I have omitted details of the buyers here) A 57xx and Panther
(Tank) were sold for about £7000 plus vat and a Britannia
was sold for £5,500 plus vat. I have an offer on the 9F for £5,200 plus VAT.
10. Why did you not make it clear in your advert that you were in fact
selling a lot more than just the three locos that were advertised?
I have only three models that have been checked, completed and are ready to offer for sale. The others will be advertised when they are ready. When visitors
come in and asked to buy part completed models I offer a pro rata price.
11. Would you be prepared to sell the remaining stock for the total value
less the sums received for those you have now sold?
Absolutely yes. When my brother-in-law purchased these models, the objective was to release desperately needed cash to help WMT. He does not want them, I don't want them.
I gave him my word that I would do everything I could to ensure he got his original money back, that's why I'm advertising and selling them.
12. How do you respond to the opinion held by some that there is a
possibility that you may own some models which had already been paid for by your
former customers? Are you in a position to show that this could not have
happened?
I'm disappointed, but not surprised. In these situations people feel they need someone to blame rather than find out the facts. I do not have any models which have already been
paid for by former customers or anyone else. I can demonstrate the origins of every model that I have or that has been sold. (please note
they are not mine)
13. Are you planning to get going again as a model kit manufacturer or any
other form of model engineering?
I am planning to develop my new business in several areas, I don't ever want to get into the WMT situation again. However bad those customers who have lost money may have
suffered it does not compare to my experience of the last year. If I do get involved in model engineering again it will be with a different type of product offered on a cash for goods direct exchange basis.
14. If yes, how do you think the modelling fraternity will view your re-entry
into the market?
To be absolutely honest I really don't care. There are a lot of people with a lot of opinions in model engineering, some will try to make trouble some will be pleased
to see a new product, who knows. If they want what I offer, they will buy it, if they don't, they won't.
If my maths is correct Mr Watkins has 40 Winson models for sale for around £82,000 - that's an average of just over £2,000 per kit and includes four complete models. Any offers?
6th February 2002
In the past I have tried to steer the course of this web site away from any form
of controversy but over the last week or so, information has been coming in to
me from various correspondents which I feel should be in the public
domain. It all started when one of my correspondents drew my attention to
an advert which appears in the back of 'Model Engineer' magazine (Vol.187,
No.4161) in which three "new model steam locos" were offered for sale,
namely a 5" 9F and a 1400 and Baldwin both in 7.25" gauge.
The e-mail address given on the advert was mark@geotek.co.uk. My correspondent told me that he had called this person who turned out to be Mark Watkins, one of the former directors of Winson Model Technology.
I was not surprised to hear that these models were for sale as I had attended the creditors' meeting in Daventry on 15th August 2001 (see that date below) and we were informed there by Jon Spalding (another of Winson's former directors) that a relative of Mark Watkins who was connected with Geotek, a Daventry-based company, had bought the display locomotives for £100,000 in order to help the company continue to operate. I had been to Winson's showrooms and seen their display models several times. At the time I considered the deal to be a reasonable one and none of those attending the Creditors Meeting took the matter further. However, it seems that this was not the whole story. During the call, my correspondent was told by Mr Watkins that he has much more Winson product in his possession than just the display models and that there were in fact a total of over 40 models for sale (some completed and some in kit form) and that these had been bought as part of the £100,000 deal. I can report that he certainly has a large selection of models in various stages of completion although I cannot personally confirm to you the exact number.
At any rate, if Mr Watkins has indeed got over 40 models to sell, then the deal secured by his relative moves from being a reasonable one to one in which he stood to make a quite remarkable profit - on average each model would be costing him just over £2,000, less than half the retail price. I happen to know that he has recently sold a Britannia for £6,500 and if he were able to secure a similar deal on all the models, he would stand to make a profit of over £150,000. If such a clear profit can be made on the assets which were bought by Mr Watkins' relative then this seems to show that they could have been sold for more to someone else.
Furthermore, if it turns out that one of Winson's former directors had indeed sold himself (albeit via a relative) a large quantity of the company's assets 'on the cheap' immediately before its collapse, then this might easily be viewed rather badly by those who had already paid for kits. I am led to wonder whether or not Mr Watkins can demonstrate that none of these models or kits are ones which belong(ed) to customers of Winson.
I have various reports (and written records) from other people who have been in a position to describe the exact numbers and condition of kits that Mr Watkins has on offer as well as other components, but I feel unable to publish these without first-hand or photographic proof. In any event, I leave it to you to decide whether you believe Mr Watkins is guilty of any wrong-doing - I will keep my opinions to myself!
3rd February 2002
Today I received a very kind invitation from Nick Harrison of the Nottingham
Society of Model Engineers based at Ruddington to see if we would like to go to
Ruddington (on a date to be decided) for a Winson & ModelWorks Owners'
rally. Those of you that went last year will remember that the NSMEE very
kindly offered to allow us to come along to their track near Nottingham as an
alternative to the cancelled Winson event at Barrow Hill. Although only a
few could attend at the very short notice that we had, we were very well looked
after and all had a great time (see more of the 2001 event here).
Anyway, I will discuss this idea with ModelWorks and then e-mail those of you
registered with me so that I can gauge the support for this idea. In the
meantime, many thanks to the NSMEE for their very kind offer.
29th January 2002
The Wembley Show is now over and a great time was had by all. I won't
write a lot about it here - take a look at the show report by clicking here.
25th January 2002
The first day of the Wembley Show and ModelWorks announce their new range of
products. See the 'Show Report' (available soon) for full information.
1st January 2002
Several people who visited the Model Engineering Exhibition at Sandown report
that it has become more biased towards the trade side of the hobby and that
there were less models on display. Nevertheless, I understand that there
was a good turnout.
5th December 2001
It is clear to me from the number of e-mails that I have received over the last
few weeks containing the 'Badtrans' worm, that many people who access this site
are not properly protected against computer viruses. I cannot advise you
strongly enough to ensure that you are running a good anti-virus package and
keep it regularly updated (which costs nothing except possibly a bit of Internet
access time). My own recommendation is Norton Anti-Virus which can be
obtained from Symantec for
$49.95 and can be downloaded from the Internet. Please protect your system
now before it's too late!
20th November 2001
Today I received a very enthusiastic letter from Kate York (Winson's former
Event Co-ordinator) which, from its content, I guess is addressed to all of the
Winson/ModelWorks clan so I attach it below. Take note of the Barrow Hill
event in July next year...
"Dear Nigel,
Well I must say how groovy your website is. I’ve not really had much chance with all the chaos over the last 6 months to take a look at what’s going on, although I know there’s an active presence of Winson customers on the web. I’m very impressed!
I just wanted to touch base with all you steam buffs (oops, and military ones too) and say hello. It's nice to know that something positive and a sense of community has sprung from the dreadful events since May.
I am also very pleased with the recent events at ModelWorks International. Might sound slightly callous, and I really don’t mean it that way, but I think for the sake of all of you the company needed a new lease of life. Its very difficult to carry on when everyone is so very aware of what happened previously. I wish ModelWorks every success with their future, and I’m sure everyone must by now be familiar with my family connection there – my mum Gill is now one of the team in Customer Services (tho I guess you can’t tell from the photo on the website!!!).
I am still a nutter for steam. My second reason for writing is to remind you all that the ‘Winson in Steam’ event at Barrow Hill is still very much alive. OBVIOUSLY the Winson connection is gone, but those lovely lads at Barrow Hill Roundhouse asked me to run the event for them independently this year and I did just that (got to play on the B12 and watch David Shepherd’s Black Prince 92203 in all her glory). It didn’t attract the huge numbers that Donington does (!) but it’s a great little event, and its planned again for July 21st & 22nd next year. I would love to have some of you folk come along and play miniature choo-choo’s with me. We should have a great line up of full size steam again next year, and I’ll keep you informed about that too. If anyone wants more information or wants to get involved, my email is gingerhoof@hotmail.com or look up www.barrowhill.org.uk for more info.
In the meantime, may I wish you all the best. I now live in sunny Sheffield and it’s great, I just got myself a smashing new job with a great company. Nothing to do with model engines I might add, but that doesn’t stop me sorting out the model engineering show at Barrow Hill! It’s nice to keep in touch with it all. Of course, as Jacqui ‘Pretty Girl’ McEwan mentioned in her letter, I’m in touch with her too!!!
All the very best to all of you who know me. I’ll keep everyone informed of events at Barrow Hill, and if I don’t see you at any shows before that then I hope to see you all there.
With kindest regards,
Kate York"
13th November 2001
Today we heard that ModelWorks' new web site was at last up and running - take a
look at it at www.modelworks-int.com.
The latest news page on their web site said... "ModelWorks would like to advise all it’s customers that there have been some organisational changes this past week. Previous Winson Directors Jon Spalding, Gill and Mark Watkins have left the company to pursue other interests. For the past two months, we have had Alan Ryden, an experienced financial and management consultant, helping us to put in place the necessary organisational systems and controls to enable the company to function properly. We are delighted to announce that with immediate effect, Alan will assume the role of General Manager. Tony Trim, who has also been working with us for some time, remains acting as our Production Engineering Consultant, working with our Production Manager, Dean Rodgers, who stalks the factory floor frequently with critical eye, committed to raising quality standards. Tony has many years of engineering management experience having successfully run, and recently sold, his own engineering company. In addition, Ian Adkins will be responsible for technical service and support on current and future model ranges.
Dean, Tony and Ian have shown tremendous commitment to the formation of ModelWorks and getting the company into production. Their efforts are continually appreciated in view of the challenges we have faced.".
10th November 2001
At the Donington show I asked the Chairman of ModelWorks, Ken Burrough, whether he would have time to answer some questions about the new company. I am pleased to report that today I had a pleasant meeting with him and
his partner at the firm, Bob Jones. They were able to tell me about how they have got on as well as some of the changes they have made. On a
personal note, I established that neither Ken nor Bob are model engineers but they do have an engineering background. They have a range of business
interests and it was the advert for Winson placed by the administrators in the Financial Times that caught their attention.
Perhaps the most interesting fact that I gleaned was that Jon Spalding, Mark Watkins and his wife Gillian are no longer part of the company.
Until recently they had been employed by ModelWorks but in the last few days the three former-Winson
directors have parted company with the new firm. I was unable to find out what they will be doing in the future.
However, a new General manager, Alan Ryden, has been appointed and has already
started work. Alan, whose background is finance, general management and venture capital,
has been involved as a consultant to ModelWorks, setting up the accounting, control and
management procedures necessary to enable the company to move forward.
Talking to Ken and Bob it became clear that getting the company up and running has not
been easy. The first thing they had to do was to find a new factory which proved a rather drawn out affair. Then there was the stock and machinery
to organise and sort out. Finally, all the customers had to be contacted to establish exactly what the state of play was. If you are a Winson
owner, some time ago you should have received a questionnaire asking about the state of kits deliveries etc. and it is worth noting that their
records are based on the feedback that they received from this survey. If you haven't returned the form, they won't know that you are and active
customer.
As you probably know, their strategy has been to fulfil any orders that were previously held with Winson, albeit with an uplift to the price to
enable them to cover some part of the costs. They are now in full production at the new
factory in Daventry and Ken expressed satisfaction at the level of quality which he says is much improved. I asked about the
service that former Winson customers could expect and he said that there would be an advice line open and they would be happy to help as much as
they can. However, it is clear that they feel unable to provide free replacement parts as one might have expected Winson to do. There is one
bit of good news though which is that they have a large number of assorted spares for various locos which they will, where possible, be able to sell
on to Winson customers if appropriate. Considering that they don't have any responsibility whatsoever for Winson affairs, this seems very
reasonable.
Finally, I asked them if we were likely to see them at a show in the near future. Although they haven't finally decided their marketing strategy,
they are considering attending one of the London shows early next year, possibly with new products for people to see. Their web site is also on
the brink of being launched so we wait with anticipation to see what they have to offer!
6th November 2001
Today we received the news that Jon Spalding, Mark Watkins and his wife Gillian
are no longer part of ModelWorks. More details soon...
25th October 2001
Today I received a very nice letter from Jacqui McEwan (former Customer Services
Manager at Winson) which is really intended
for all of you so here it is...
*From:* Jacqui McEwan <jacqui_mcewan@checkmate.co.uk>
Dear Nigel,
I do hope that you do not mind me contacting you - I have just found your site and what a fantastic site it is
too. You must have really helped a lot of Winson customers 'keep it together' having such a great forum for
them.
I just wanted to say "hi" to everyone. I have thought about each and every
one of you since that fateful day, and would love to know how everyone is. How are the kits coming along?
Are people now having deliveries?
Since leaving the premises on the Friday 4th May, I have not seen or heard anything from
Winson other than a copy of the administrators report (and local paper reports) . Very ,
very sad. I was there for 4 years, and only live 1/2 mile away, but nothing.
I have a great job now for an IT company in Leicester so I believe I was meant to move, but oh how I wish it was better
circumstances. and oh how I miss you 'chuffer nutters'!!!! I never thought I would get so involved with
the locos or the people but I find myself watching all the model programmes on SKY and watching for names
I recognise!
Kate York and I have kept in constant touch - she has now moved to Sheffield and is working
there but keeping her hands dirty with locos at the Barrow Hill Roundhouse!
I'd love you to pass on my warmest regards to all the Winson customers who visit your
site and please feel free to pass my e-mail address on to anyone who may wish to contact me. (I am NOTHING to do with Winson now).
My best regards
Jacqui XXX
21st October 2001
Today was the day that some of the Winson Owner fraternity met up at the
Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition. Read
all about it here.
20th October 2001
Today, Bob Jones of ModelWorks sent out an e-mail to their customers saying
the following:
"You should begin to receive letters regarding the commencement of deliveries.
If there are any differences between the delivery information quoted in the letter and what you are expecting, please let us know asap. The factory is up
and running now, if a little understaffed and we think we can see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel...
I've attached the first of a possible series of offers that have been possible as a result of the post move
stock take. If you have any questions, again, please contact us. There should be some more to follow, including
various part built sub-assemblies etc, after we've addressed missing and replacement parts issues.
best regards,
ModelWorks International Ltd
3, Riley Close,
Royal Oak,
Daventry
Northants NN11 5QT
Tel: 01327 301030"
19th October 2001
I have now heard from quite a few people who will be at Donington on
Sunday. I look forward to saying hello to you all. Also, sorry I'm
late with this (this is old news I'm afraid for those of you 'in the know' -
i.e. not me) but Dave Hill has just provided us with the contact details for
ModelWorks which are as follows:
General Account Enquiries (payments , deliveries)
01327 301030
Open hours 0930- 1630 Mon - Friday
Technical Customer Services 01327 300284
Open hours 1000-1200 then 1400-1600 hrs Mon- Fri (this
service starts on 5th November 2001)
Still no web site for ModelWorks!
1st October 2001
I believe that this e-mail was sent out a few days ago. Anyway, this is
the latest from Modelworks...
"Ladies and Gentlemen,
Sorry if you have already received this - there were some email issues at the
weekend:
The move continues to go well, we are looking (slightly) more organised each day
now. The machine tools are now all physically in place and powered up. The
service company's engineers have just now started working to commission
these. The mezzanine flooring has been installed and we now begin trying
to sort out materials and other stock prior to resuming production. Most of the
building has been rewired with the final work due to be completed this coming
week. We are up to some 10 staff with others joining during October and we are
hoping to be in a position to commence (limited, at least) production during the latter
half of October.
Now that the computer system is up, we've had an accounting specialist in to
implement new accounting software. Mark Watkins is collating your questionnaire
replies, building a new customer database and addressing the missing parts issues to see how we can help with those. I confess we are holding
off on phone lines for the moment - we do have just two and if we publicise
these we fear we will be swamped with calls diverting everyone from the crucial task of getting the "show" back up and running.
I also have some further good news for the company - we have an additional new
investor, Mr. David Draper, who is also a customer, having recently completed a
Ruston tractor. David is an retired businessman who lives locally and whose
knowledge and experience we believe will be of great value to the company. Among
other things, David is going to address the formation and running of a customer
user group. In addition, I am finalising discussions with a Hong Kong based (
but Scottish born ) businessman who has made a commitment to invest and who,
during the coming year as we introduce new products, will actively help
expansion into the Asia/Pacific marketplace.
I'm constantly aware of the need for us here at ModelWorks to regain your
confidence in what we are doing as we continue to build the organisation. By
bringing in this, and potentially other outside investment I hope we can
also demonstrate our commitment to securing the long term financial security of the
company for the benefit of customers, shareholders and employees alike. It's
very encouraging for me that independent investors can also see our strong value
proposition.
Last week:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As of today, most of the physical move is complete. The office has moved
and is being set up, PC's and phone lines will soon be installed. Raw materials,
stock, equipment and everything else is lying around everywhere.... The
mezzanine floor is being assembled, there are fork lift trucks, pallets and
containers as far as you can see. The production machinery, lathes, CNC
machines etc are in the new building but not yet commissioned - we're in the
hands of the moving guys here.
The new address will be as follows:
ModelWorks International Ltd,
3, Riley Close
Royal Oak Industrial Estate
Daventry NN11 5QT
There will hopefully be phone / fax numbers soon
best regards,
Ken Burrough ( Chairman, ModelWorks International )"
2nd September 2001
First of, apologies to anyone who has noticed that this site was down at some
time over the weekend...the ISP has been spoken to...!
Second, a note to say that I have received a brief update from ModelWorks which goes as follows:
"We complete the purchase of the new Factory building on Tuesday next week. We have also secured most of the machinery we want to enable production to begin when we have moved.
As soon as possible after that, we will have telephone numbers and the basic first release of the new web site. Being unable to publish a telephone number has obviously been a problem for us. By the good grace of the landlord, we have remained based in what was Winson's old building while we found a permanent home for the new company. With the demise of Winson, there are no telephone lines there and we are unable to install new lines so we have been operating with mobile phones, which has been most unsatisfactory for all concerned. Any emails for the new company come to, and are answered by, me personally.
We have now almost completed a survey of Winson customers. Whilst clearly, there are understandable concerns about us and a thankfully small number of customers who suffered particularly badly with Winson's demise,
generally the response has been encouraging".
30th August 2001
Today I received (rather late I suspect) a copy of the Administrators' report of
the meeting of creditors of Winson Model Technology Limited. This confirms
that the administrators, following unanimous agreement of the creditors at the
creditors' meeting, will petition for a Compulsory Winding Up Order to be made on
the company. Other information given included the facts that the administrators
were first approached on week commencing 23 April 2001, that the total debts
amounted to £1,495,097 (a slight amendment from the original figure) and that a
report would be presented to the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI)
covering various matters "...including wrongful trading. The DTI will
consider if further investigations and actions are necessary.". Any
customer or creditor who has not received a copy of this document should write
to Kroll Buchler Phillips at Aspect Court, 4 Temple Row, Birmingham B2 5HG.
19th August 2001
Nothing to do with Winson really but something you might be interested in...If
you want a full-featured, two-dimensional CAD (Computer Aided Design) package
for your PC, you can download a copy of TurboCAD version 6.5 completely FREE
from their web site at www.turbocad.com.
This has similar capabilities to Autodesk's QuickCAD (you may have seen this
advertised in Model Engineer magazine) and can use the same files. The
size of the file you have to download is just under 8 megabytes. Have fun!
18th August 2001
Quite a few people have said that the Winson owners should meet up for a natter,
etc. However, ModelWorks will not be 'officially' attending a show this
year so it remains for us to organise something ourselves. After chatting
to various people, I have taken the plunge and organised an informal meet up at
the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition at Donnington on Sunday 21st
October. The old maxim 'the more the merrier' always holds true so please
come along - my guess is that you will find it worth while. For full
details, please click
here (removed).
15th August 2001
Today the meeting of Winson's creditors took place at the Hanover Hotel in
Daventry. Essentially, nothing surprising came out of this meeting which
was attended by only about 15-20 of the creditors. It was agreed that the
company would be compulsorily would up and that the administrators would recover
what costs they could. Jon Spalding and Gilliam Watkins, both former
directors of Winson Model Technology, were present. For a full report, click
here.
14th August 2001
It seems that the boiler failure that Dave James reported yesterday was a
result of driver error. Apparently, the individual concerned allowed the water level to drop
sufficiently to allow the crown of the firebox to be uncovered. However,
this does not negate the importance of checking the boiler thoroughly. For
instance...
ANOTHER WARNING! Doug
Hewson has added the following comments regarding boiler safety "We recently tested three Britannia boilers. One was for the first one
which we are building, the second was for a club member and the third was for a friend who's loco we are going to complete. Two were
absolutely fine and held 200 lbs for 20 mins without a drop in pressure. However, when we came to fill the third one
it would not hold water, let alone any pressure. One of the boiler stays had not been
silver soldered but the boiler was nevertheless delivered with a valid boiler certificate to say that it had passed the hydraulic test.
We rang Winson to report the problem and it was something which we could have fixed on the day but they insisted on having the boiler back
at the works to repair and it was dealt with satisfactorily very quickly. The warning is obvious, don't believe your certificate and make sure the
boiler is tested by your local Society or yourself BEFORE you assemble the loco. Imagine if the loco had been completed and professionally
painted and then a fire lit in it! Need I say more."
The recent explosion of a full size boiler at the Medina Fairground in Ohio serves to illustrate the enormous importance of checking your boiler thoroughly. Being inexperienced with this area of model engineering, I took a club member to Winson to see the boiler being checked myself and it will receive another test at the clubhouse before it runs.
13th August 2001
WARNING! Dave
James has just posted the following message on one of the bulletin
boards..."I have just heard of a failure which occurred this weekend with a Winson
Ruston boiler. Apparently, as the owner was raising steam he noticed a great
deal of water and steam coming from inside the firebox. Upon investigation
the top of the tube plate had cracked and the tubes had distorted. The reason for this failure is being
investigated and I will inform you of the details as soon as I find out. As a footnote the boiler had been passed by a club boiler inspector (both
hyd. & steam test) and also approved by the national traction engine trust."
I will post any further news on this matter as I receive it. <see 14th
August for a follow-up to this story>
If anyone is interested in learning to drive a loco, you may be interested in a course being run by Lindsey Model Society. For more details, click here.
9th August 2001
I forgot to mention that a few days ago, I asked ModelWorks if they were
thinking of attending any shows this year - a number of people have asked me if
I had considered organising some sort of get-together and synchronising such an
event with the new company seemed like a good idea. Anyway, the official
line is that ModelWorks probably won't be able to attend any public events this
year but there is a possibility that they might organise an open day at their
new offices once they have got themselves sorted out.
6th August 2001
Nothing much to report over the last few days other than the fact that several
Winson owners have been experiencing problems with computer viruses. As
software has become more sophisticated, so have the viruses which means that
constant vigilance is essential. Please make sure that you have installed
a good virus checking program on your PC (e.g. Norton
Antivirus) and keep its virus database updated frequently (this can usually
be done automatically over the web). Believe me, the relatively small cost
of one of these applications can save you a lot of heartache!
30th July 2001
Ken Burrough has now answered the questions that I put to him. You can see
his answers by clicking here.
Please also note that the e-mail address given below is not working at the
moment - instead you can use Modworksint@aol.com.
28th July 2001
About now you should receive a copy of the first letter from ModelWorks (previously
published here) which included their new logo (see below). The new company
can now be contacted on e-mail at info@modelworks-int.com
(see later notes above).
27th July 2001
Kroll Buchler Philips are sending out details of a creditors meeting to be held
at 11:00am on 15th August 2001 at The Hanover Hotel, Sedgemoor Way, Daventry,
Northampton, NN11 5SG. The purpose of the meeting will be to consider the
Joint Administrators proposals under Section 23(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986,
to consider the establishment of a creditors' committee and to approve the
administrators' remuneration. After a cursory glance at the documentation,
it seems that there is little in the way of funds to remunerate creditors.
In any case, I will be at this meeting and will be reporting back on its
conclusions. (PS I would be delighted to meet any Winson owners who
attend the meeting.)
26th July 2001
After some thought, it was my original plan to make all the documentation from
the court hearing on July 16th available to everyone
registered with me as a Winson owner. Both the court and Irwin Mitchell Solicitors
have confirmed to me
that these documents are now in the public domain. However, the
fact that they contain the new company's business plan made me hesitate to
publish them in an place where they could so easily be viewed by their
competitors. I therefore decided only to make them available to the
restricted group. Just as I was sending an e-mail informing the Winson
owners where to find them, I received an e-mail from and then spoke to Jon
Spalding (former Managing Director of Winson and current employee of ModelWorks)
who expressed great surprise that I had these documents. I had a long
discussion with him, emphasising the fact that ModelWorks had not answered any
of the questions put to them regarding their future intentions and challenging
him about issues such as the cashing of cheques in the run-up to the closure of
the company (which he categorically denied) and the fact that they are busily
engaged in contacting people from whom they can easily extract money.
Unfortunately, he was not able to specify a time when these questions would be
answered. Regarding the court documentation, I have asked him to confirm
that these are in the public domain - a fact that he seems keen to
establish himself. As usual, I will let you know what happens...
25th July 2001
I have obtained and will shortly be publishing a copy of the full report which
was made by Kroll Buchler Philips to the court on 16th July. This report
includes a progress report by KBP, the formal offers* that were made for the
company, Jon Spalding's business plan for ModelWorks and the agreement that was
made for the sale of Winson Model Technology to ModelWorks. Watch this
space...
*As a matter of courtesy, I will not publish the offers
that were made by other companies - this seems the polite thing to do.
17th July 2001
I'm sure that many people were keen to see the answers to the questions that I
posed to the directors of ModelWorks and which they had originally planned to
answer today. However, I am sorry to say that I was contacted this
afternoon by Ken Burrough who said that they were not yet in a position to give
out this information. He did however say that they now have a web site
address for the new company which is www.modelworks-int.com
although this doesn't work yet as it is yet to be set up.
14th July 2001
Today I received a letter from the directors of Winson Model Technology
explaining, in their own words, what went wrong with the company. To see
the letter, follow this Link.
In return I sent them a series of questions about the new company which they have
agreed to answer on Tuesday. When I get the answers back I will post them
here.
13th July 2001
As at 07:30pm: I have just received a letter from the new Chairman
of the new company telling me that Trentmere has been renamed 'ModelWorks
International Limited'. He also gives an outline of the company's
intentions. To see the letter, follow this Link.
As at 11:30am: At last it has been officially announced that Winson has been bought by a company called Trentmere Limited, a private consortium of individuals including Jon Spalding, the former managing director. I have placed the official statement and a Q&A from the administrators on a separate page. To see them, follow this Link. I tried ringing the old company number and it doesn't work any more. However, I rang Cleo who is now working for the new organisation and she filled me in with a few more facts. Essentially, Trentmere have bought the assets of the company and not taken it on as a going concern This means that if you paid by credit card, you should definitely try to claim your money back. Trentmere does not intend to keep Winson at the old Daventry plant but intends to move the manufacturing plant to somewhere in the area. It is intended that manufacturing will re-commence in September. All customers will be receiving a letter informing them of the company's intentions. Customers with part-built kits will be offered a deal in which, for a cost of 25% extra, their orders will be fulfilled. This will apply to all models. I have asked the company to let me know of any 'frequently asked questions' so that I can publish them here. More details as they emerge.
12th July 2001
An issue has come to light over the last few days which I find rather worrying
and therefore I will publish it here in the hope that no one is 'caught
out'. Several Winson owners have been contacted by a person calling from a
mobile phone who claims to be from a company "which has bought
Winson". This person has offered to fulfil the remaining kits in
their orders if the owner pays a further 20% for the parts. There are
several concerns about this. First of all, today I contacted Winson's
administrators Kroll Buchler Philips and they flatly deny that the company has
been sold. They also stated that there are no Winson employees engaged in
any form of trading at the moment. (Having said this, KBP will not confirm
or deny that the company in question is in negotiations with them so it is
difficult to clear the matter up.) In any case, please be extremely
careful before dealing with anyone claiming to own Winson. At the moment,
before any official statement has been made, I would advise that you gain
confirmation from the administrators that any vendor that you are dealing with
is bona fide.
Note: Regarding the above, it seems that the calls that people received were from Trentmere (see 13th July above).
6th July 2001
Nope, still no news.
5th July 2001
First of all, WATCH THIS SPACE. A 'little bird' tells me that I will have
some news for you very soon regarding the Winson saga, possibly tomorrow...(I
know, I know, don't hold your breath!)
Secondly, today I found out an interesting fact which I guess has been public domain for some time but which no one seems to have spoken about so far. At Birmingham District Registry (Chancery Division) on 16th July at 10:30am, Kroll Buchler Phillips (KBP) will be reporting progress to the court (His Honour Judge Boggis QC presiding). Taking place about 2 months after they had been appointed as administrators of Winson Model Technology Limited, KBP are apparently duty bound to report progress of the order. I rang the court to confirm this (the telephone number is 0121 681 3032) and apparently one of three things will probably happen. KBP will either a) ask for an extension to the administration order, b) announce that they are in a position to sell the company or c) apply to wind up the company (apparently they will require a further order to do this). Furthermore, I understand from the court that Stephen George of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors (telephone number 0121 212 1828) will be acting on behalf of the three directors of Winson Model Technology Limited, namely Jonathan Spalding, Gillian Watkins and Mark Leslie Watkins. I have two reference numbers for the case '653 of 2001' and 'SGEAH605607-10(LB)'. Please bear in mind that I am not a legal expert and that the above is what I have gleaned from my conversation with the court.
4th July 2001
Still no news I'm afraid although Carol Mulloy at KBP said today that they
were getting "very close" to a final agreement with the potential
purchasers of Winson. I hope to have some news for you within the next few
days.
27th June 2001
Unfortunately we still have no firm news as of today regarding the potential new owners of Winson. According to KBP, they are still in negotiations with the party and are hopeful that they will buy the whole company including the order book, stores, etc. However, there is still no news about whether they would take on the obligations to Winson's customers. One thing they did say was that the administrators would not be writing to tell customers the outcome of the sale and therefore it seems that this site will be the only source of breaking news for the time being.
20th June 2001
In a brief statement today, Winson's administrators Kroll Buchler Phillips (KBP) said that they had completed the initial proceedings for the sale of the business and that they were now in discussions with one of the bidders. Unfortunately however, they were unable to give us any details of the potential buyer or under what terms the sale was likely to take place. KBP added that further details were unlikely to emerge until the middle of next week.
14th June 2001
Someone has just pointed out to me that Kroll Buchler Phillips have an ad for
the sale of Winson on the web at http://www.insolvency.co.uk/sales/0521krol.htm. To view
a copy of it (it may get deleted), follow this link.
13th June 2001
There has been precious little to report recently because Winson's
administrators have been waiting for the last bids to come in. In theory,
even the new owners cannot know that their bid has been successful until
Saturday morning at the very earliest. I know that this has been very
frustrating for everyone but hopefully we will be put out of our misery soon. As
a point of interest, over the last couple of weeks I have been contacted by
several potential owners who were seeking general information about the company
- a healthy sign I think and confirmation of the high level of interest.
Anyway, I am sure that I will have something to report by the end of next week
(Friday 22nd) - keep an eye on this page!
On a different note, I hope soon to be able to publish some building notes for one or two of the Winson locos. However, I am completely dependent upon you for this sort of article so, if you have built/are in the process of building a Winson loco, please consider writing up your experiences - other owners find this sort of information very helpful.
8th June 2001
Yesterday, Kroll Buchler Phillips said that they had a number of parties
interested in Winson Model Technology and that they would be closing the bidding
for the company at 12.00pm on Friday 15th June 2001.
7th June 2001
More news about news...in its latest edition, Heritage Railway Magazine carries
an article about Winson laying off staff (No.26, June 2001, May 22 - June 21,
Page 8).
4th June 2001
Model Engineer announced the Winson problems in its 18th May issue (Vol. 186
No. 4146) but made no editorial comment.
Just for fun I have added a small 'Winson Literature' gallery. You can see
it by following this link -> Winson
Gallery If you have any bits of literature to add, please send
them to me (in .JPG form) and I'll be happy to add them.
31 May 2001
Just in case you missed it, there is an article in 'Steam Railway' magazine
(May 25-June 21, Page 10) about the Winson story.
29th May 2001
For any of you who are building a Britannia, I am pleased to announce a
handy photographic resource, the Britannia Photo Album - a series of 107
detailed digital photographs taken at Crewe. Hopefully this will help
anyone building a Britannia to get information on constructional details that
might be difficult to find elsewhere. To see the album, follow this link
-> Britannia
Photo Album
One little snippet of information that I think will be of interest to some people regards the ownership of the designs for the models. Today I spoke to Carol Mulloy of Kroll Buchler Phillips who confirmed to me that the designs for the models were in fact owned by Winson Model Technologies and not, as had been rumored, by Winson Design. I'm not sure if this is good or bad news but it certainly gives some clarity to the intellectual property rights issue.
If you have anything to offer or want anything for your Winson kit, let me know and I'll post it on this Notice Board
28th May 2001
Today some of us attended the Bank Holiday event at Ruddington. For a
report, follow this link - Ruddington
Report
25th May 2001
Today I received the standard letter that has gone out from the joint
administrators to all Winson's customers. If you haven't seen it yet,
follow this link (305kb) -> Letter.
24th May 2001
Do you want to come Ruddington this Bank Holiday Monday? Details for
this event are now
available. Click here -> Ruddington
Meet for details.
Today I spoke to Ian Hamer at BRG Couriers. This is a company that
Winson used to distribute their kits to customers. This company currently
has around 70 kits waiting for despatch but it cannot send them out until they
have received payment for the delivery. Ian says that any owners who
believe that BRG may have one of their kits waiting for delivery should contact
them on 01327 300517 (or fax on 01327 706953) and for the sum of £11.75 (UK
only) they are prepared to fulfil the order. (You may feel that you have
already paid for the delivery and that it should be done FOC however, please
bear in mind that BRG are waiting for payment for over 2,500 shipments from
Winson as are feeling rather out of pocket at the moment). This is a
fantastic opportunity for the 70 kit owners that it concerns and I strongly urge
you to contact them. Owners outside the UK mainland who are waiting for
the despatch of kits may have to pay extra.
23rd May 2001
Today I have spoken to a number of owners regarding the show at Ruddington this
weekend. This was to have been a follow-up to the 'Winson in Steam'
weekend that was held last year. I would like to suggest that, if it is
agreeable to all, that we agree to meet there on Monday 28th May 2001.
Sorry for the short notice. I'm not sure what this will achieve other than
to give us the chance to have a chat and to discuss the Winson situation.
I am also informed that Winson owners will be given the opportunity to run their
locomotives at the event but I have yet to confirm this with the
organisers. More info (including full details of the event) tomorrow
night. (see above)
And also...today I spoke to Ian Kitts (the PR man for the administrators) who told me that there has been considerable interest in the Winson sale and that until negotiations with prospective buyers are complete, there is unlikely to be any further 'official' news. In passing I said that I had heard that there may be a meeting of creditors and asked if I might be allowed to attend so that I could report on the proceedings. If and when I'm allowed to go I will report back.
18th May 2001
Following a very helpful conversation with representatives of Kroll Buchler
Phillips on the 18th May I was given the following statement to place on this
web site -> Statement.
In addition, I was given some explanatory notes which may help those who (like
me) are unfamiliar with legal matters. They can be found here -> Notes.
17th May 2001
The first message was changed on the 17th May and can be heard by
following this link (550kb) -> Second
Message. This one says that "W J Kelly and G S Johal were
appointed joint administrators of Winson Model Technology Limited by the High
Court of Justice on 16th May 2001. Any queries should be directed to Kroll
Buchler Phillips
on 0121 212 4999. Thank you."
15th May 2001
The automated message given when I
rang the factory on the 15th can be heard by following this link (650kb) -> First
Message
and said that they have "...petitioned for an administration order and that
our premises will remain closed until discussions on restructuring and sale of
the business have been concluded. It is intended to seek a continuation of
the business at the soonest opportunity - all customers will be written to
shortly with further information as to the status of their kit delivery."
11th May 2001
As you may be aware Winson Model Technologies Limited (Company
Profile), manufacturers of miniature
steam engine kits as well as more recently model WW2 tank kits, has experienced
business difficulties and is, at the time of writing, closed until
satisfactory arrangements can be made for the disposal or sale of the business.
