Franke Exchange Exclusive & Confirmed
Submitted by advisor on Wed, 06/11/2008 - 12:53pm.
June 11, 2008
Franke North America President Michael Babula left the company on Monday June 9, and may have been shown the door.
Sources tell us that Mr. Babula was brought in from Baldwin Brass by his predecessor, president Helmut Brockelmans. Mr. Babula replaced key Franke-North America managers with more Baldwin Brass people. The Baldwin team tried to merge Kindred and Franke brands together with disastrous results in sales for both lines. Franke North America then tried to force its distributors to take on a new Franke branded hood line or else lose the sink and faucet lines. Dealers and distributors are peeved over deliveries since Mr. Babula moved the Franke brand sinks from the Hatfield, PA headquarters warehouse to the Ruston, LA manufacturing sink plant & warehouse. Sales have plummeted.
The next president has a hell of a mess to clean up.
No replacement has been named.
