HP Marketing Corp. will be part of MAC Group starting Feb 1, 2015

[Ken Lee]

HP Marketing Corp. has been a leader in the importation and wholesale marketing of fine photographic equipment For over 43 years! During all of those years HP Marketing Corp. has relied on the loyalty and support of their Reps their dealers and their consumer customers. Now, Gepe Holding, the owner of HP Marketing Corp. has agreed to sell HP Marketing Corp. to the MAC Group.

Effective Jan. 15, 2015 OmegaBrandess will take over the distribution of the following HP Marketing Corp. product lines:

Ansmann, Berlebach, Boblbee, Braun, BRNO, GepePro, Giottos, Linhof, Rodenstock, Tetenal, Vue-All and Wista.

After January 15th please direct all questions regarding any of these product lines to OmegaBrandess at customerservice@omegabrandess.com.

Please do give them a while to get acquainted with these product lines. Thank you for your past support.

As of Feb. 1, 2015 the MAC Group will take over the distribution of Gepe, Heliopan, Kaiser and Novoflex from HP Marketing Corp. and will then become the new owner of HP Marketing Corp.

[Sal Santamaura]

Bob! Are you retiring or going to OmegaBrandess / MAC Group with the product lines?

[Bob Salomon]

Bob! Are you retiring or going to OmegaBrandess / MAC Group with the product lines?

Once we close I will see what I want to do. At 73, actually only 2 months to the day from 74 there is not a large job market out there.

On the other hand we are getting tired of snow and cold, my wife is from Miami Beach, my kids are in Atlanta and St. Pete and maybe we move back south and I can concentrate on my fishing again!

Time will tell.

Should point out though that the heading is not quite right. MAC Group owns us in two weeks, not yet.

[Sal Santamaura]

...At 73, actually only 2 months to the day from 74 there is not a large job market out there...Even if you were 20 years younger there wouldn't be much of a market today.


...On the other hand we are getting tired of snow and cold, my wife is from Miami Beach, my kids are in Atlanta and St. Pete and maybe we move back south and I can concentrate on my fishing again!...I'm a dozen years your junior and was (willingly) laid off into retirement almost four years ago. Unless you're one of those people who defines themselves by their job, go for the fishing. I heartily recommend leaving hassles behind. :)

[Jac@stafford.net]

Once we close I will see what I want to do. At 73, actually only 2 months to the day from 74 there is not a large job market out there.

Bob, you have worked for close to sixty years. Enjoy retirement. I certainly do... and yes, it would be better to be in Florida.
.

[Ken Lee]

Should point out though that the heading is not quite right. MAC Group owns us in two weeks, not yet.

Title changed.

[Bob Salomon]

Title changed.

Thanks.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, you have worked for close to sixty years. Enjoy retirement. I certainly do... and yes, it would be better to be in Florida.
.

Seems a lot longer then that. But I guess you are right. I started selling cameras at retail when I was 16!

[Drew Wiley]

Gosh, Bob, you're expertise will be missed. But I guess you're already aware how buyouts tend to go these days. They'll want some kid to replace you, who can't
even tie his own shoelaces yet, and will be happy with 75 cents an hour for pay. My routine joke about corporate positions these days is that they always give the
applicant a literacy test first : if they can spell the word "benefits", the application is immediately thrown in the trashcan.

[David Karp]

Bob, don't retire from us!

[Old-N-Feeble]

Bob... If you retire (highly recommended so you can have more fun) then please remain active on the forums!! :)

[Bob Salomon]

Gosh, Bob, you're expertise will be missed. But I guess you're already aware how buyouts tend to go these days. They'll want some kid to replace you, who can't
even tie his own shoelaces yet, and will be happy with 75 cents an hour for pay. My routine joke about corporate positions these days is that they always give the
applicant a literacy test first : if they can spell the word "benefits", the application is immediately thrown in the trashcan.

In a way you are right. But we are being bought by an existing company in the industry, not a venture group. So every position that we have in our company today they already have people doing the same thing, and sometimes more then one person. So it isn't a cost savings necessarily for them. In fact, it might be cheaper in some cases to use us instead of their people. But then there is the question of commuting and that would include a high daily toll on the Tappen Zee not to mention the miles and the traffic.

And then, we can spell benefits!

[Bob Salomon]

Bob... If you retire (highly recommended so you can have more fun) then please remain active on the forums!! :)

Plan to. But not nearly as frequently probably.

[dsphotog]

I hear that Tarpon are fun fishing...

[Bob Salomon]

I hear that Tarpon are fun fishing...

Haven't tried Tarpon, did catch a large Pacific sailfish though. 8' 8" and 120 pounds.

[Drew Wiley]

That's a large format fish !

[Luis-F-S]

Won't be the same without Bob and his knowledge. Who else can answer some of the questions that only he can?

[cowanw]

Bob I have been reading you, in a bunch of 1980's darkroom magazines. you have performed a great role then and now. Congratulations.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob I have been reading you, in a bunch of 1980's darkroom magazines. you have performed a great role then and now. Congratulations.

Thanks. Actually one magazine has asked me to write so you may not have heard the last from me.

[Bob Salomon]

That's a large format fish !

Biggest I ever caught! And fun too.

128113

And yes, that was a Linhof T shirt!

[Jac@stafford.net]

Haven't tried Tarpon, did catch a large Pacific sailfish though. 8' 8" and 120 pounds.

I fished off the Florida coast only once and caught a shark. :(
.

[Daniel Stone]

Bob, where can I get a Linhof T-shirt :)?

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, where can I get a Linhof T-shirt :)?

Don't know anymore. They were available in the 70s and 80s and have been gone since then.

[Daniel Stone]

Don't know anymore. They were available in the 70s and 80s and have been gone since then.

:(

[Jac@stafford.net]

Bob, where can I get a Linhof T-shirt :)?

This one (http://axistshirts.com/detail/linhof_black) is certainly not what Linhof would design. No crest!

[Tin Can]

Fishing is a good retirement plan. You can catch and eat, or fish all day and have steak.

It is an adjustment, I was unhappily put to pasture at age 58. Now I love it and I have no idea how I had time to work!

Have a great life!

[David A. Goldfarb]

Biggest I ever caught! And fun too.

128113

And yes, that was a Linhof T shirt!

But did Linhof make you an overbuilt precision reel?

Good luck, whatever your next move, and thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience on the forum. I've certainly learned a lot.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Bob, this old photo really rings bells with me.
Remember it?

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[AtlantaTerry]

Bob, where can I get a Linhof T-shirt :)?
There are firms that make one-off T-shirts. If you have the design, they will crank them out in colors you want in the sizes you need and mail them to you.

Google is your friend.

[Daniel Stone]

There are firms that make one-off T-shirts. If you have the design, they will crank them out in colors you want in the sizes you need and mail them to you.

Google is your friend.

I'm aware of such. But I was after an authentic "factory" shirt, so to speak. Especially on that had that wonderful crest of theirs ;)

[Bob Salomon]

I'm aware of such. But I was after an authentic "factory" shirt, so to speak. Especially on that had that wonderful crest of theirs ;)

Actually the shirts that we had were not an authentic factory shirt. We were the distributor for Linhof in the mid 70s and they were made by us as a novelty when we began Linhof distribution for trade shows and dealer demos.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, this old photo really rings bells with me.
Remember it?

128139

I went to the USAF Photo School at Lowry AFB in the early 60's but what a difference!

We were issued a 45 Graphic and no tripod to wander around the base and get some shots. Never had to line up like that!
An 810 Deardorff to each pair with a wood tripod and a convertible lens set and again had us wander around.

And grungy old black dark cloths!

And our instructor was a civilian

[jbenedict]

I'm aware of such. But I was after an authentic "factory" shirt, so to speak. Especially on that had that wonderful crest of theirs ;)

I guess it depends on how much money you have to spend. You could get a knock-off custom made but not factory for $25-35 or so or....

You could find one of the official Linhof shirts, with a proper Linhof crest on the pocket, made from hand-woven cotton, dyed in batches of no more than 5, genuine pearl buttons, lined with finest light Chinese silk. A truly magnificent shirt, very much deserving the Linhof name. $2500/ea.

[David A. Goldfarb]

You could find one of the official Linhof shirts, with a proper Linhof crest on the pocket, made from hand-woven cotton, dyed in batches of no more than 5, genuine pearl buttons, lined with finest light Chinese silk. A truly magnificent shirt, very much deserving the Linhof name. $2500/ea.

Now I'd have expected an authentic Linhof t-shirt to do double duty as a parka suitable for arctic conditions.

[Jim Andrada]

And usable as a dark cloth to boot.

Just want to add my thanks to you, Bob.

[Rick Rosen]

I just saw this thread. Best of luck to you Bob in whatever road you take.

[Bob Salomon]

I just saw this thread. Best of luck to you Bob in whatever road you take.

Thanks

[Sal Santamaura]

Bob! Are you retiring or going to OmegaBrandess / MAC Group with the product lines?


Once we close I will see what I want to do....Time will tell...


I just saw this thread. Best of luck to you Bob in whatever road you take.


ThanksYes, but have you decided which road that is yet? :)

[Bob Salomon]

Yes, but have you decided which road that is yet? :)

Actually, MAC did not end up buying HP. At the end they decided not to. They simply ended up taking over 4 of the lines and will have to pay a fee to Gepe for a while.

So far I will be doing some free lance work for some companies. But have not strated doing that yet.

[Sal Santamaura]

Actually, MAC did not end up buying HP. At the end they decided not to. They simply ended up taking over 4 of the lines and will have to pay a fee to Gepe for a while...Does this mean Gepe owns HP Marketing, which is still a business entity collecting that fee from MAC?


...So far I will be doing some free lance work for some companies. But have not strated doing that yet.Enjoy your respite!

[Bob Salomon]

Does this mean Gepe owns HP Marketing, which is still a business entity collecting that fee from MAC?

Enjoy your respite!

Gepe is closing HP in a short while.

[Luis-F-S]

Shame!