Teknatool files for bankruptcy?

[cooch366]

I just saw this on My Growth Rings (hope you don’t mind Scott’s) and did not see it posted here. Not sure what this will mean for the Mothership, but as a Gen 1 owner I am concerned.


Posted From Scott Markwood:
Scott Hampton, over on the Shopsmith Owners Facebook group has reported the following bad news fro Shopsmith:
Teknatool, the company that creates the electronics and motors for the Shopsmith Power Pro, filed for bankruptcy this past week and will cease operations, including any future manufacturing of parts. All of their electronics are custom made by them, with no other compatible parts made by other companies. I'm wondering how this will effect Shopsmith going forward. They will also cease the manufacturing of their lathes and woodturning accessories, including Nova lathes and chucks, jaws, etc. Once supplies are gone, they're gone. Woodcraft, Grizzly, and other woodworking suppliers have now discounted their inventories of Teknatool products. https://www.pacermonitor.com/.../570490 ... l_USA,_Inc

[RFGuy]

WOW!!! Thanks for posting this. I wonder if the other Teknatool DVR related products had similar quality/reliability issues like the PowerPro has had. It might explain why Teknatool is going bankrupt. Of course, it could simply be a matter of low demand for the NOVA product line of drill presses and lathes. Also, wonder how it may impact the rest of their business. My lathe chuck is a Nova G3, which is under Teknatool. I think I have all of the accessories that I need for it, but if anyone else has NOVA related chucks, etc. better take a look to see how this impacts you.

I do believe this will be the end of Shopsmith if Teknatool really does go under, i.e. if they can't come out of bankruptcy restructured. Sad.

They should have focused on the conventional headstock instead...that "smart" motor isn't looking so smart.

[jpdalton]

To paraphrase a misquote of Mark Twain, the reports of their death are greatly exaggerated…

Teknatool filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy:

https://bkdata.com/business-bankruptcie ... -usa-01248

“Chapter 11 bankruptcy is used by businesses to restructure debts and assets. The company continues operating and repaying creditors, typically without supervision by a trustee.”

Doesn’t mean they’ll survive, but not currently ceasing operations either. Worth keeping an eye on, however.

[RFGuy]

To paraphrase a misquote of Mark Twain, the reports of their death are greatly exaggerated…

Teknatool filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy:

https://bkdata.com/business-bankruptcie ... -usa-01248

“Chapter 11 bankruptcy is used by businesses to restructure debts and assets. The company continues operating and repaying creditors, typically without supervision by a trustee.”

Doesn’t mean they’ll survive, but not currently ceasing operations either. Worth keeping an eye on, however.

Yes, anything is possible, BUT...the few online posts I have seen from NOVA customers who contacted them with issues recently were informed of the Chapter 11 filing and told that most of the employees had been let go at the company. Based on this and Scott's comments in the first post above would indicate that no new manufacturing is taking place so any sales are limited to existing stock. The filing showed outstanding debt equal to assets they have. I do believe that this explains the so called supply chain logistic challenges that Nick reported near the end of last year. At this point, I would have to assume, based on all of this, that Shopsmith L.P. is NOT receiving new inventory of PowerPro related components from Teknatool. Sure, someone could swoop in and purchase Teknatool and resuscitate it, but I don't deem that as probable. Also possible that some agreement is worked out to restructure and have Teknatool continue to operate in the future, but that could take months or worse years to put a plan in place that the debtors and courts will agree to. During this time, I do believe operations are ceased and they are having a fire sale on whatever inventory is still there. Any production stop or delay in receiving PowerPro components is going to be a major issue for Shopsmith L.P. IMHO. For the sake of Shopsmith customers, I sincerely hope that my assessment is wrong, but I call them like I see them.

[JPG]

Thanks for the heads up! I got some replacement parts ordered in time.

[thedovetailjoint]

All I can say is that I hope that Shopsmith held onto the tooling for the mechanical “smart motor“!

[RFGuy]

All I can say is that I hope that Shopsmith held onto the tooling for the mechanical “smart motor“!

+1

[algale]

For the moment this a reorganization under Chapter 11, meaning the company expects to emerge on the other side and continue in business; but that doesn't mean they will continue manufacturing/supporting all prior product lines or the DVR motor. And some Chapter 11s get converted into Chapter 7 liquidations. Best case scenario, this negatively impacts Shopsmith's ability to sell Mark 7s for some period of time. Worst case scenario, it is the end of the Mark 7 as it currently exists. Whether Shopsmith could survive that and just sell 520s is a question for someone else. Tbd.

[jhall2]

I don't believe this will impact Shopsmith. Yes, Teknatool filed for bankruptcy, but they are not the makers of the DVR motor that Shopsmith uses. I believe that a company called Striatech is the maker of the motor. Teknatool, like Shopsmith, manufactures woodworking equipment (such as lathes and drill presses) but purchases the motor from Striatech. I don't think Striatech is in bankruptcy. I could be wrong but this is the way I understand it.

[RFGuy]

For reference and because this a high profile one in the news, Joann's, the fabric and crafting store, filed chapter 11 back in January 2025. They started closing over half of their stores as part of this chapter 11. Then a month later, they moved to close all of their stores and liquidate everything. No chapter 7 conversion needed. Companies that file chapter 11, only have a proposed plan for staying in business, but sometimes that is wishful thinking, as was the case with Joann's. It sucks for Joann's, as my family enjoyed shopping there and there really isn't a suitable replacement, at least where we live. Time will tell for Teknatool, but the fact that most of their employees have already been let go, according to online reports, it is NOT a good sign. I had hoped to get a NOVA DVR drill press one day if I could figure out a way to fit it into my shop, so I am sad to see Teknatool (NOVA) go under. Also sad that Shopsmith L.P. put all of their eggs in one basket with their sales direction with the PowerPro.