Madrigal Mark Levinson out of business.


This sucks. Dunlavy now Madrigal.

Madrigal shuts doors

By JIM HICKEY , Middletown Press Staff 07/02/2003

MIDDLETOWN -- Madrigal Audio Laboratories, a producer of high-end audio and video equipment that has been based in this city for several years, announced Tuesday that it will be going out of business.

A spokesman for Madrigal declined to comment on Tuesday, stating that there was nobody at the South Main Street offices who could handle media inquiries.

However, the city has received a letter indicating that the company will be shutting down for good on Aug. 30, according to Mayor Domenique Thornton.

A source close to Madrigal, who asked not to be identified, told The Press that employees showed up for work Tuesday morning as usual, and were told that they had been laid off.

They were then toldto collect their belongings and leave the building, according to the source.

Madrigal manufactures high-performance audio and video components under the brands: Audioaccess, Mark Levinson, Proceed, Madrigal, Imaging, and Revel.

The company is a subsidiary of Harman International Industries, a manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio and video products based our of Bedford, Mass.

According to the company’s Web site, Harman International was formed in 2002, and manufacturers products for the consumer and professional market. The company’s stock is traded on the New York stock exchange.

A public relations official for Harman declined to return a phone message on Tuesday.

A receptionist at Harman’s Bedford, Mass., office said that several of the company’s department heads "were in meetings" on Tuesday, and would not be able to comment on Madrigal closing.

Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh said the chamber been told earlier this week that Madrigal would be shutting down. He also said that he had heard employees had been laid off.

Although Madrigal or Harman were unable to confirm the total number of employees, McHugh estimated that the company employed around 100 workers.

"It’s a real blow. We’re not talking about a company that employees four or five people here. They employ a substantial number of residents from Middlesex County," McHugh said.

McHugh said he was surprised that officials for Madrigal or Harman hadn’t given more notice that the company would be closing down, especially since Madrigal is a member of the chamber.

"Usually we receive more notice when a company plans on shutting down or leaving. It allows us to work to lessen the blow on the employees, and the community," said McHugh.

The mayor said she had already contacted the state Department of Labor about establishing a crisis career center for laid-off employees to help them transition into new jobs.

The center will be established in conjunction with the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, and would be similar to the one established last year after the Old Saybrook manufacturing division of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. closed down and laid off about 500 employees.

A federal program established in 1998 called the Workforce Investment Act will also help unemployed workers find jobs. Through a program called the One Stop System, employees can have their skills and educational level assessed to help them find jobs.

Thornton said she planned on contacting U.S. representatives Rosa L. Delauro and John B. Larson about the availability of federal grants to help laid-off workers find jobs.

"We want to act as quickly possible to implement any programs that will help these people as they search for new jobs," said Thornton.

To contact Jim Hickey, call (860)347-3331 ext. 221 or email him at jhickey@middletownpress.com.
twilo
There are some interesting and amusing comments here.

Several of you are critical of Harman for moving their repair facility. Some of the criticism is based on comments from a newspaper story. The article appears to indicate that workers were layed off upon reporting for work on Monday morning. This is only one side of the story. There are no comments or responses from Harman. Lack of a response does imply guilt or that the story presented by the "workers" is correct. It simply means that Harman has chosen not to address this issue.

Some of you are mad at Harman for letting the people at the facility go. I suspect that some people were hired at the new facility to handle the additional backlog. I congratulate those people for bettering their position or successfully re-entering the work force.

I'm not defending Harman. I agree that the move from Bridgeport may have been handled better. I will also not pass judgement. As long as the products continue to be among the best sounding, best produced that is good enough for me.

Oh...and.....by the way.....Jaguar was in bad shape about 15 years ago. The Ford Motor Company purchase of that auto manfacturer has made a dramatic improvement in quality and sales.
By the way, as a former Ford owner, eventhough it might have done a great job at resurrecting and getting a pedigree manufacturer such as Jaguar, they could not even get their factory trained technicians to do a simply job with my 1996 Ford Escort Wagon...Switched to another brand, imported, and I will never look back at a Ford again.
Harman International has done a sloppy job at keeping spare parts for their other stereo/loudspeaker lines. Would you trust it to do a better job with a esoteric company such as Mark Levinson? Keep me posted.

PAUL

PS: Change cannot be stopped, but then, we can always choose to change at a slower pace when promoting the products to smaller manufacturers.
The Ford example makes my point pretty well. I drove an early 70's E-type and a recent XK8, and I can tell you that the only resemblance is the hood ornament. The new car is just a better Mustang. I also owned an early 70's 911 and a drove a recent Boxster S (I have some rich friends), and I would say Porsche is just fine. And not co-incidentally independent. Jag was also broke, having lost their way, whereas as far I know Proceed was making good and desirable products. So good, in fact, that HK probably killed them out of fear that the better-value Proceed gear was canabalizing ML sales.
Maybe some bright, anonymous minds behind ML while in CT would follow the example of other now, defunct High end manufactures, to break away and make their own ML refurbishing and revamping business and make themselves a handsome profit, as well as making the owners of quite of few ML pieces very, very happy. Long line free enterprise and perhaps, this was a move that really started something exciting. Maybe all owners of ML gear should begin to activelly participate in such venture.

PAUL
helo dear i am froom israel i am a freak of mark levinson i have mark levinson number 40 the video box is total lost i tray to contact mark levinson long time but thay no give support what i want is use onlt the audio box alone whit out the video box do you have any conection whit them or you know some body cn help me whit that becuse paid alot of mony for this bulsit and i cant use it i will be very happy if you have any idea
thank you for help ilan zelekt