Baumeister Goes Out of Business After 19 Years
Cash flow for well-known Chicago area integrator, which averaged $94,613 per installation in 2007, was halted by on-hold projects.
Baumeister Electronic Architects, a high-end Chicago area integrator that perennially cracks the CE Pro 100 list, has gone out of business after 19 years
By Tom LeBlanc
February 12, 2009
Baumeister Electronic Architects, a high-end Chicago area integrator that perennially cracks the CE Pro 100 list, has gone out of business after 19 years, former marketing director Paul Baumeister has confirmed.
"Long story short, John had to put the company into a receivership," he says.
John, Paul's brother, was president of the Niles, Ill.-based company that had 35 employees. John declined comment when contacted by CE Pro.
The main reasons for the downfall were "cash flow and most significantly the economy," according to Paul. "It really was a horrendous last quarter and lots of projects were put on hold."
Baumeister was well-known for its ultra-high-end installations, garnering a lot of coverage in luxury magazines such as CE Pro sister publication Electronic House and even Chicago TV news.
The fact that a company that caters to the top of the market fell victim to the suffering economy is telling, Paul says. "You think that being in the upper niche, you're recession proof, but that doesn't mean that your $20,000 projects aren't going to be put on hold. And that starts adding up."
Paul walked away from the company in late December after John told him things weren't going well. "I decided to move on sooner as opposed to later," Paul says.
Baumeister went out of business about a month later. As a result, Paul says he's not able to comment on a lot of what happened in the final days.
Paul says there is "some possibility that the company will be reinvented in some ways, but I don't have the inside track on that."
Baumeister reported custom revenues of $6,149,841 on 65 installations. That's $94,613 per installation, the 16th most on the CE Pro 100 list.
Return to full story:
http://www.cepro.com/article/baumeister_goes_out_of_business_after_19_years/
Cash flow for well-known Chicago area integrator, which averaged $94,613 per installation in 2007, was halted by on-hold projects.
Baumeister Electronic Architects, a high-end Chicago area integrator that perennially cracks the CE Pro 100 list, has gone out of business after 19 years
February 12, 2009
Baumeister Electronic Architects, a high-end Chicago area integrator that perennially cracks the CE Pro 100 list, has gone out of business after 19 years, former marketing director Paul Baumeister has confirmed.
"Long story short, John had to put the company into a receivership," he says.
John, Paul's brother, was president of the Niles, Ill.-based company that had 35 employees. John declined comment when contacted by CE Pro.
The main reasons for the downfall were "cash flow and most significantly the economy," according to Paul. "It really was a horrendous last quarter and lots of projects were put on hold."
Baumeister was well-known for its ultra-high-end installations, garnering a lot of coverage in luxury magazines such as CE Pro sister publication Electronic House and even Chicago TV news.
The fact that a company that caters to the top of the market fell victim to the suffering economy is telling, Paul says. "You think that being in the upper niche, you're recession proof, but that doesn't mean that your $20,000 projects aren't going to be put on hold. And that starts adding up."
Paul walked away from the company in late December after John told him things weren't going well. "I decided to move on sooner as opposed to later," Paul says.
Baumeister went out of business about a month later. As a result, Paul says he's not able to comment on a lot of what happened in the final days.
Paul says there is "some possibility that the company will be reinvented in some ways, but I don't have the inside track on that."
Baumeister reported custom revenues of $6,149,841 on 65 installations. That's $94,613 per installation, the 16th most on the CE Pro 100 list.
"Long story short, John had to put the company into a receivership," he says.
John, Paul's brother, was president of the Niles, Ill.-based company that had 35 employees. John declined comment when contacted by CE Pro.
The main reasons for the downfall were "cash flow and most significantly the economy," according to Paul. "It really was a horrendous last quarter and lots of projects were put on hold."
Baumeister was well-known for its ultra-high-end installations, garnering a lot of coverage in luxury magazines such as CE Pro sister publication Electronic House and even Chicago TV news.
The fact that a company that caters to the top of the market fell victim to the suffering economy is telling, Paul says. "You think that being in the upper niche, you're recession proof, but that doesn't mean that your $20,000 projects aren't going to be put on hold. And that starts adding up."
Paul walked away from the company in late December after John told him things weren't going well. "I decided to move on sooner as opposed to later," Paul says.
Baumeister went out of business about a month later. As a result, Paul says he's not able to comment on a lot of what happened in the final days.
Paul says there is "some possibility that the company will be reinvented in some ways, but I don't have the inside track on that."
Baumeister reported custom revenues of $6,149,841 on 65 installations. That's $94,613 per installation, the 16th most on the CE Pro 100 list.
Return to full story:
http://www.cepro.com/article/baumeister_goes_out_of_business_after_19_years/