It is gross malpractice, misrepresentation, omission of material facts and perspective, and allowing others to present opinion as if it were fact. I could never vote for a man who would allow such a thing - and he is keeping it on his site. Reprehensible.
FACTS LEFT OUT:
Romney wasn't even at Bain during Ampad's acquisition of the Smith-Corona business, much less for the strike at the Marion plant.
Randy Johnson was the union president who led the strike that forced Ampad to close the plant, due to a suicide pact-union contract. (As Ampad's president, Charles Hanson, explained at the time, the company had "sustained severe economic damage as a result of our inability to manufacture products at our Marion plant.")
AMPAD prospered under Bain. Bain built up the company, added other companies to it (fnanced through reasonable borrowing), turned it into a "profitable competitor" that paid handsome dividends for a few years.
Bain's control of Ampad ended in 1996, fully four years before (in 2000) it encountered financial difficulties because of circumstances beyond their control in the markets. See below.
AMPAD still exists today. (Ampad, which has its headquarters in Richardson, Texas develops, manufactures and markets innovative and high quality products in four major categories of writing, filing, envelopes and designer paper. It was acquired in 2010 by Esselte.
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THIS LEVEL OF "MISTRUTHS" AND "MISREPRESENTATIONS" SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED IN ANY PRESIDENT.
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"Despite political attacks that emphasize the few companies that have struggled, the facts are that during Bain Capital’s ownership, revenues grew in 80 percent of the more than 350 companies in which we have invested.
AMPAD ACTUAL FACTS
Acquired in 1992 .
Used debt to financed acquisitions
1994 Ampad acquired Marion, Ind. office products factory (SCM)
Everybody had to reapply for a job, as costs had to be reduced for financial viability.
"It is beyond journalistic malpractice for media outlets showcasing the bitter and lying Johnson to neglect to mention that he was the union president who led the strike that forced Ampad to close the plant."
Bain's Ampad sought to renegotiate a suicide pact-union contract at the Marion plant. But instead of renegotiating, union president Randy Johnson thought it would be a great idea to immediately go on strike.
Romney wasn't even at Bain during Ampad's acquisition of the Smith-Corona business, much less for the strike at the Marion plant.
As Ampad's president, Charles Hanson, explained at the time, the company had "sustained severe economic damage as a result of our inability to manufacture products at our Marion plant."
"Our control of Ampad ended in 1996, fully four years before it encountered financial difficulties due to overwhelming pressure from ‘big box”’ retailers, declines in paper demand, and intense foreign price pressures." Combined with the debt that was used to finance acquisitions, the undercutting by Asian suppliers so undercut the prices that AMPAD had to seek protection under the bankruptcy laws.
2000 Went through bankruptcy.
AMPAD still exists today. You've probably bought one of their writing pads.
More detail:
AMPAD - Alive and prospering
It was labor trouble at the Marion plant of a Bain-acquired company, Ampad, that formed the basis of Teddy Kennedy's desperate 11th-hour attack on Romney in their 1994 Senate competition. Plant worker Randy Johnson was featured in Kennedy campaign commercials against Romney and disgruntled workers were lavished with Dickensian lachrymosity in The Boston Globe. "It is beyond journalistic malpractice for media outlets showcasing the bitter and lying Johnson to neglect to mention that he was the union president who led the strike that forced Ampad to close the plant."
"This would be as if a judge excluded the fact that the defense's principal witness is the defendant's mother."
Bain's Ampad sought to renegotiate a suicide pact-union contract at the Marion plant. But instead of renegotiating, union president Randy Johnson thought it would be a great idea to immediately go on strike.
Romney wasn't even at Bain during Ampad's acquisition of the Smith-Corona business, much less for the strike at the Marion plant. He was on a leave of absence from Bain to run against Sen. Ted Kennedy. About six months later, Ampad closed the Marion plant for good. As Ampad's president, Charles Hanson, explained at the time, the company had "sustained severe economic damage as a result of our inability to manufacture products at our Marion plant." Apparently, the only thing this ruthless capitalist lackey cared about was that the factory actually produce a product!
In any event, it's highly unlikely that Bain would have anything to do with a day-to-day management decision to close a plant, anyway.
Bain led Ampad to thrive over the next few years, buying up more companies in 1995, hiring more workers and making investors nearly $100 million. By 1996, Ampad was being described in Chief Executive magazine as "a stronger, profitable competitor in a consolidating -- and reviving -- domestic industry."
Alas, people kept using those damn computers and shopping for discount paper at Staples and similar stores, and in 1999, Ampad had to file for bankruptcy protection.
Contrary to every single news report on Bain's involvement with Ampad, Bain did not drive the company to bankruptcy by looting it. To the contrary, Bain built up the company, added other companies to it, turned it into a "profitable competitor" that paid handsome dividends for a few years. (And by the way, the company would have gone bankrupt a lot sooner if it hadn't closed down the non-producing Marion plant.)
AND, HERE'S THE CLINCHER!
AMPAD was taken from 106.7 million in revenues in 1992 to $583.9 in 1996, at which time it was newly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, at that time Bain became a minority shareholder and did not control the company.
