Re-ramping up an operation like the one SEMROC had going is certainly not a simple undertaking, and I'm sure everyone here is wishing the new SEMROC personnel the very best of luck in getting things going again.

That said, yes, parts, parts, parts is what I'd be looking for primarily, but there are (were) SEMROC kits that I really wanted to have and those were the Centuri MiniMax (SLS) kits that I had bought over the years (oddly enough rounded out the last of the SLS purchases about a week before SEMROC announced their closing last year).

But as far as a 'grand' re-rollout of SEMROC, it might be a good 'hook' to be able to announce the return (early on) of at least one of their more flagship kits, like the Saturn 1b, Mars Lander, etc., to get people to see from the get-go that "Hey, the new SEMROC guys mean business!".


Earl

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Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Patience is the word here. The new owner will need the time to learn the equipment, integrate it into his own operation, and build up an inventory. I wouldn't mind seeing the re-launch offer a smaller selection of kits and a limited range of parts. Then, as we flood the new owner with orders, hopefully more kits and more parts will appear. Semroc had an enormous inventory of kits and an unheard of inventory of parts. It will be difficult to match that right away.
I wouldn't expect an operation identical to Semroc. The new owner will put his own stamp on the company and it may be even better! Patience, patience ...
timmwood

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NAR 60014, Level 1, SAM 124

Tim is correct. Randy will have to learn how to use the various equipment, thus starting out with simpler kits (that's how we started). Carl and Bruce went to their first NARAM with 5 kits. Our inventory grew only because Carl listened to what people wanted for kits and needed for parts. We just kept adding to the inventory.

Look at the sales data for the last year of operation and introduce those items with the greatest sales. As far as personal preference is concerned, bring back the parts!

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Gravity is a harsh mistress
SAM 002
NAR 91005
"The complexity of living is eminently favored to the simplicity of not."

Another trick is to start with kits with a high degree of nose cone commonality. Last year we did production runs of more of our 330 kits in one year than ever. We typically suffer from adequate nose cones for some kits from vendors that died or went to sleep. Always open to hear from mass nose cone vendors, particularly for plastic, fiberglass and large wood. For example the new Estes 4" nose cone seems like a good substitute for the Ace PNC-39, but they don't seem to offer it in bulk as a separate part.

Another example is that German company was buying pads and controllers from Quest but can no longer get them since the Aerotech purchase, so had to mold their own. Also Quest had a nice BT-11 cone (30mm) which no longer is offered since the AT/Quest merger. I liked those.

The days of kit manufacturers cooperating with each other on parts seems to be diminishing with increasingly proprietary closed systems at Estes and Aerotech, even though third party kits sell almost entirely their motors. Silly.

Has anyone ordered parts from Semroc in the last few weeks? How is delivery speed?

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Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Agreed. Parts, parts, parts!

Also, don't be a stranger to the forums! Stay in touch with the community directly, and chime in often. This is where you find out what we want, by talking to us here. Instant information (virtually).

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Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
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BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

Thanks Mike for starting this conversation, I appreciate it.

Thanks everyone for all of the thoughts. I believe I am think much the way you are.

Parts are the current priority. We are going to sell all of the parts of the old Semroc. We are just weeks away from having almost everything available.

All parts will be sold off of the eRockets.biz web site. Most of the parts are set up and are waiting for us to update the quantities to start sales.

We are breaking Kit production into 3 phases. Phase 1 will be simple kits where we have plenty of parts available. Phase 2 will be kits where we had to acquire parts to build. Our largest issue is balsa, we do not have a large supply in stock and need to start a flow from scratch. Phase 3 will be kits that have a large degree of difficulty to kit. Unfortunately, the Saturn 1B and Mars Lander are in this group. We hope to be in phase 3 by Christmas.

It is possible that some of the 3 fins and nose cone kits may not be immediately released. Or they could be rotated in and out. There are just too many choices in the line.

The Semroc web page has been a major issue for us. I think we have been down more that we have been up. Our intent is to sell the kits as much as possible through our retailers rather than through the Semroc page. eRockets.biz will have the parts so we will not be selling them on the Semroc page. The page is there because there is a lot of reference material that we all use. When time permits we will migrate all of the information onto a new platform that will be more stable and easier to update.

Thank you everyone for your support! We will not fail you...

Randy Boadway
Semroc

Thanks for the update, Randy! I look forward to the parts becoming available again.

I imagine a lot of folks are already imagining new projects and making up lists . . .

You probably saw the suggestion up-thread, but I'll repeat it:

I think people would be willing to fund the re-release of complex big kits (Saturn 1b, Mars Lander) and brand new kits (Little Joe II) using Kickstarter.

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NAR #27085 - Oregon Rocketry - SAM

Yes, Randy, thanks much for this update. Good information to hear! You no doubt have a big chore in front of you and we are all certainly pulling for you and your 'team' as you get the SEMROC 'engine' cranked up again.

As time permits, keep in touch with us here to let us know how things are going and what we can do to help.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970