Zalman entra em falência

[Winjer]

PC cooling specialist Zalman goes bankrupt due to fraud (http://www.geek.com/chips/pc-cooling-specialist-zalman-goes-bankrupt-due-to-fraud-1608736/)



If you’ve built your own PC at any point over the past 15 years, chances are you’ve either considered or used a cooling product made by Zalman (http://www.geek.com/tag/zalman/). The South Korean company has done a lot to progress the field of keeping our computer components cool while also keeping noise levels to an absolute minimum. However, they won’t be doing that anymore because Zalman has gone bankrupt.The reason for its bankruptcy isn’t anything to do with its own products or performance, in fact this news may even come as a shock to Zalman employees. The reason the company has collapsed is due to the actions of its parent company Moneual, and more specifically its CEO and vice presidents.
http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/zalman_04-590x330.jpg (http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/zalman_04.jpg)
Moneual CEO Harold Park, and vice presidents Scott Park and Won Duck-yeok, have apparently spent the last five years producing fraudulent documentation (http://www.tweaktown.com/news/40961/zalman-goes-bankrupt-in-an-epic-3-billion-fraud-conspiracy/index.html) relating to the sales performance of Zalman. These documents inflated sales figures and export data for Zalman’s products. The reason? Bank loans.
By increasing sales and exports Park and his associates were able to secure bank loans totaling $2.98 billion. Someone has finally realized what has been going on, though, triggering Zalman’s shares to be suspended on the stock market and the company filing for bankruptcy protection. The questions now turn to how this practice was allowed to continue unnoticed for so long and how the banks will go about getting their near $3 billion back?
http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/zalman_03-590x330.jpg (http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/zalman_03.jpg)
It seems unlikely Zalman will make it through what is sure to be a long process filled with lawsuits and prosecutions. However, the company does hold a number of patents relating to cooling (http://www.geek.com/tag/cooling/) and fan noise reduction technology. They will be worth something, and it seems likely a patent sale will happen eventually. Zalman’s competitors, including companies such as Cooler Master and Thermaltake will surely take an interest when that happens.

Mais um caso onde uma empresa vai ao fundo por causa de gestão danosa e agora muitos trabalhadores perdem o emprego.

[Jorge-Vieira]

É pena que uma empresa detas vá assim ao fundo por gestão danosa e chegue aqueles numeros assustadores.
Foi uma referencia nos coolers a ar e agora além disso tinha também excelentes produtos na relação preço/qualidade como as caixas de PC.
O que é vai acontecer com as patentes e o que vai acontecer à marca, mais uma a desaparecer do mapa como outras nestes tempos mais recentes?

[reiszink]

Já dizia o meu avô, anda meio mundo a f0der o outro meio.

[Winjer]

Diz antes que anda 1% a f0der o resto do mundo.

[Jorge-Vieira]

Zalman: não estamos na banca rota, apenas temos dificuldades financeiras.


Zalman USA, a private company that distributes coolers and other products by Zalman Tech in the U.S., on Friday issued a statement denyingbankruptcy of Zalman Tech (http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/anton-shilov/zalman-tech-files-for-bankruptcy/). The company promised to clarify the situation about the insolvency of its parent company as well as reveal more about the future of Zalman by the end of the month.“I know that recently various media and other vendors are spreading rumors regarding Zalman going bankrupt over the recent scandals in Korea by our parent company Moneual,” said a spokesperson for Zalman USA in a statement published by Tom’s Hardware (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/zalman-bankruptcy-rumor-moneual,28022.html). “I wanted to assure you that these rumors of Zalman HQ going bankrupt are completely false. While our HQ is having some financial difficulties due to the recent troubles experienced by Moneual, Zalman is not going bankrupt.”
The representative for Zalman USA stressed that the company would continue to fulfill warranty obligations and provide support to its customers and that “nothing would change for owners of existing products or warranties.” More details regarding the current situation with Zalman as well as future plans of the company are expected to be revealed late in November.
According to a disclosure that Zalman Tech Co., LTD made via Korea stock exchange (KOSDAQ (http://eng.krx.co.kr/)), the company filed an “application for commencement of company reorganization” on the 3rd of November, 2014. In accordance with the laws of South Korea (http://books.google.ee/books?id=Rg73sNOr08MC&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=Application+for+Commencement+of+Company+Reorgan ization&source=bl&ots=TgBnx8ELdD&sig=Ug_GrDr7oTTgn_evsqfeSBFYJCw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BkFdVL7OIIq-PNa7gPAE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Application%20for%20Commencement%20of%20Company% 20Reorganization&f=false%20), if the company cannot relay the debts that are due without incurring significant inconvenience to the continuation of the business, the company may apply to the court for the commencement of reorganization proceedings. This provision shall also apply in cases where there is a danger of bankruptcy in respect of the company.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/zalman_cooler_liquid.jpg (http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/zalman_cooler_liquid.jpg)
While formally Zalman Tech Co., LTD is not a bankrupt, there are chances that the court will pronounce it a bankrupt and will insist on appropriate proceedings. Still there are chances that Zalman will restructure itself and will continue operations.
Privately held Moneual, a company that is known for robotic vacuum cleaners outside of South Korea, acquired a 60 per cent stake in Zalman Tech back in 2011. Scott Park (Min-seok Park (http://kr.linkedin.com/pub/min-seok-park/9/200/588)), chief executive officer of Zalman Tech, is also a vice president of Moneual and a brother of Moneual CEO Harold Park (Hong-seok).

Ler a noticia completa:
http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/anton-shilov/zalman-we-are-not-bankrupt-we-only-have-financial-difficulties/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Zalman nega ir à falencia.


In the wake of Zalman's parent company Moneual getting in serious trouble over financial fraud, it was reported (http://www.techpowerup.com/206943/zalman-files-for-bankruptcy-for-major-financial-fraud-by-parent-company.html) that Zalman is filing for bankruptcy protection. Over the weekend, Zalman's US office issued a statement, denying this. A company spokesperson for Zalman issued the following statement to the press.
I know that recently various media and other vendors are spreading rumors regarding Zalman going bankrupt over the recent scandals in Korea by our parent company Moneual. I wanted to assure you that these rumors of Zalman HQ going bankrupt are completely false. While our HQ is having some financial difficulties due to the recent troubles experienced by Moneual, Zalman is not going bankrupt.

Noticia completa:
http://www.techpowerup.com/207061/zalman-denies-going-bankrupt.html

[Winjer]

Esperemos que seja assim. Se perdêssemos uma empresa tão grande significaria menos variedade de produtos e menos concorrência no mercado.

[MAXLD]

A OCZ também "só" estava com problemas financeiros e depois foi o que se viu. Só que essa tinha bastante valor e estava até em alta em termos da sua área (SSD).
Já a Zalman perdeu quase toda a sua relevância hoje em dia... ao ponto de usar tecnologia e fabrico de outros para um dos seus coolers (AIO).

[Jorge-Vieira]

Eu espero que a Zalman continue, não só pelos coolers como pelos restantes produtos, acho que têm bons produtos na relação qualidade/preço e se sairem do mercado é menos uma opção para os consumidores.
Agora só resta esperar para ver se a Zalman se aguenta no mercado.

[Jorge-Vieira]

Zalman USA claims bankruptcy rumors are completely false

News surfaced last week that silent PC cooling specialist Zalman had filed for bankruptcy (http://www.techspot.com/news/58719-pc-cooling-company-zalman-files-bankruptcy.html) due to multiple accounts of fraud but according to sources within Zalman USA, such claims simply aren’t true.
Legit Reviews (http://www.legitreviews.com/zalman-usa-denies-bankruptcy-claims_153006) recently reached out to their Zalman USA contact and learned the company actually isn’t going bankrupt. The informant said their headquarters was having some financial difficulties due to the recent troubled experienced by parent company Moneual but rumors of Zalman going bankrupt are completely false.
The contact said their product lineup remains intact and the company is still honoring warranties and offering tech support to its customers. Zalman will have an official statement on the matter by the end of the month, the person said.
http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2014-11-09-image-4.jpg
The South Korean company was founded in 1999 and quickly became one of the top providers of aftermarket PC cooling gear. Zalman was perhaps best known for its unique radial fin heatsink designs although they offered several other products over the years including PC cases, water cooling solutions, power supplies, fan controllers, solid state drives and video card coolers, just to name a few.



Noticia completa:
http://www.techspot.com/news/58756-zalman-bankruptcy-rumors-false.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

The Official Word: Zalman Lives, Survives $3 Billion Moneual Fraud

Rumors of Zalman's bankruptcy hit the web recently and proliferated rapidly. We reached out to the company and were told that the rumors were untrue -- although we weren't told anything else about Zalman's fate -- and that we'd receive an official statement soon.
Tonight, a company representative issued the final word: Zalman lives.
To be clear, Zalman stated that it was in no way involved in Moneual's fraudulent behavior. In fact, it was actually the most direct victim of that fraud. Even so, the company will not go bankrupt. It is instead undergoing a restructuring, which is being supervised by a South Korean court. All of the company's warranties will be honored, as will any and all promised post-purchase support.
You can read more about the background of this story here (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/zalman-bankruptcy-rumor-moneual,28022.html).
And you can read Zalman's official statement below:

Disclosure Statement on Zalman Bankruptcy and Connection with Moneual’s Fraudulent Activity

The purpose of this disclosure is to announce our official statement addressing the rumors on company bankruptcy and Zalman Tech's connection with the $3 Billion in financial fraud committed by parent company Moneual.


Recent rumors circulating through major tech news outlets, internet message board forums, and other websites regarding Zalman’s imminent bankruptcy and connection with Moneual’s fraud allegations are completely false. Zalman is currently restructuring the company under the oversight and jurisdiction of the court in South Korea.


We would like to emphasize that this will not be a mechanism for company liquidation (i.e. bankruptcy). The following are details in
addressing the rumors:

(1) Zalman Bankruptcy and Its Implication to Customers

While Zalman headquarters is experiencing financial hardship due to the recent troubles caused by Moneual, Zalman is not going bankrupt. Nothing will change for owners of existing Zalman products as they are still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty if applicable. Zalman
will always guarantee post-purchase support to our customers. Customer satisfaction has always been our top priority and we will continue towards that goal with superior product quality, innovative technologies, and outstanding customer service.


(2) $3 Billion Fraud Conspiracy

ZALMAN was not involved in any fraudulent activity of parent company Moneual, anything to the contrary are baseless allegations with no factual evidence. While everyone at Zalman is deeply saddened and disappointed with the actions of Moneual, we emphasize the fact that Zalman itself
was never a part of anything illegal, in actuality Zalman was one of the hardest hit victims by this recent scandal.



Noticia completa:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/zalman-survives-moneual-fraud,28100.html

[MR]

Hurrah!

[Winjer]

Ainda bem.
Agora é apanhar o gajo que andou a burlar a empresa mãe e pagar-lhe os "juros"........

[Jorge-Vieira]

Ainda bem mesmo, vamos continuar a ter excelente material deles no mercado, principalmente coolers e caixas.
Vamas lá ver se apanham o burlão...

[Jorge-Vieira]

Zalman clarifies its situation in official statement

At the start of November word rapidly spread that Zalman, a company well-known for its diverse array of cooling products, had gone bankrupt. That belief stemmed from the fact Zalman's parent company, Moneaul, was involved in multi-billion dollar fraud (http://www.anandtech.com/show/8697/corporate-fraud-drives-zalman-to-bankruptcy) which caused a major financial scandal in Korea. The initial shock surrounding Zalman's alleged bankruptcy was then followed by consumer concern about the situation regarding outstanding product warranties.
Thankfully, the situation is not as bleak as initially thought. Zalman recently released an official statement (http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/pipeline/zalman/Official%20Statement%20-%20Zalman%20Bankruptcy.pdf) which fully clarifies the company's standing. In an intriguing turn of events a Korean courthouse handed down a decision which absolves Zalman of the consequences of its fraudulent parent company's actions, allowing it to remain in business. Furthermore, Zalman's president, Min Park, claims that the turmoil will not affect product warranty coverage; all outstanding product warranties will be serviced by Zalman's customer support in the normal way.
http://img.hexus.net/ryan/images/news/zalman/financial/1a.jpg
All that sounds promising but Zalman is still on fragile ground. As part of the Korean courthouse ruling Zalman will be severed from its parent company, Moneaul, and will undergo court-supervised restructuring. Zalman's finances have also been hit hard by the debacle; most notably its stock value was virtually wiped out and pulled from trading (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/090120:KS) on the KOSDAQ. Intricate details about the company's financial situation are not known but for the sake of justice let's hope Zalman makes it through.



Link:
http://hexus.net/tech/news/cooling/77641-zalman-clarifies-situation-official-statement/

[Enzo]

Tive para comprar uma case Zalman 11 e do que tenho lido em inumeras reviews, o material deles andava quase sempre numa zona boa de qualidade-preço.

[Jorge-Vieira]

Zalman, Moneual, And Surviving A $3 Billion Fraudhttp://media.bestofmicro.com/7/U/404634/gallery/719px-Zalman_Logo.svg_w_195.png

I don’t remember which year it was -- 2008, maybe? -- when I was scurrying around the CES show floor in the Las Vegas Convention Center, locating companies I was meaning to talk to. I spotted Moneual’s booth towards the front of a hall, off to the side, in a corner. Moneual--yeah, I’ve heard of them, I should stop by. I wheeled around and made a quick detour to the booth.
No one was there. And there were few products -- two or three HTPC chassis, as I recall, and nothing else. I remember thinking how odd that whole scene looked, how strangely fake, like someone hastily threw the booth together, dropped a couple of products on the counter, and walked off. I left my card and was on my way.
Fast forward several years, and rumors were suddenly circulating that Zalman, a subsidiary of Moneual, was going bankrupt. No, wait, we learned, it’s not Zalman going under, it’s Moneual itself, and it’s due to a major $3 billion (USD) fraud.
Moneual reportedly filed false trade reports, over-reporting sales and profits, to secure loans from a number of banks in its home country of South Korea since 2007. Needless to say, it got caught.

At the time (just over a year ago), we reached out to our Zalman contacts to seek clarity on the issue, and representatives gave us the statement that we posted here (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/zalman-survives-moneual-fraud,28100.html). In short, it stated that Zalman was not involved in any way with Moneual’s fraudulent activity; that as a result of the Moneual fallout, Zalman would be undergoing a restructuring, supervised by a South Korean court, but would not go bankrupt; and that it would honor all existing product warranties and post-purchase customer support agreements.
Zalman didn’t have much else to say at that time, but clearly, there was a larger story to tell. Now, more than a year later, we queried Zalman about what happened, what’s gone on since then, and the outlook for the company going forward. Michael Park, Technical Marketing specialist at Zalman, gave us some answers.
A Hard Year Tom’s Hardware: When all of this first broke, the “story” was that Zalman itself was going bankrupt, which was of course not the case. How did the rumors of bankruptcy affect Zalman’s business?
Michael Park: Partnering manufacturers began to demand advance payment and were hesitant to supply the goods. Buyers throughout the world would delay the payments in fear of the future prospect, and product developments were significantly delayed. Consequently, there were shortages on the inventory, and sales sharply declined accordingly.
Incidentally, consumers assumed Zalman was going out of business and were worried about their existing warranties. A surge of emails and phone calls regarding the rumor flooded the support lines, as well. Such a chain reaction stemmed all from a malicious rumor with no factual evidence.
TH: Can you walk us through some of the restructuring process? Who was the group that conducted it? What was that like for everyone?
MP: The shock and fear was prevalent once the news about restructuring broke out. Many [employees] did not have any options, and those who had were suggested to seek employment elsewhere. The impact of the downsizing subsided within a few weeks, and the atmosphere quickly changed from chaotic and dismal to bustling and focused.
To many, though the workload increase was manifold, it was a great opportunity to backtrack to our original resolve to become a leader in innovation. Out of all the unfortunate events leading to this point, the most significant blessing in disguise was that we were able to reevaluate ourselves, as a company and as individual employees, and start with a fresh foundation.
TH: It must have been exceptionally difficult to maintain a workforce during the restructuring, both because of potential layoffs and because I imagine some people just didn’t want to risk it and found other work. How did Zalman manage that? Did people leave, and are people coming back?
MP: Shortly after filing for restructuring, immediate action was taken to shut down unprofitable businesses, and we channeled our resources to coolers, chassis, PSUs, and input devices only.
Then, in the absence of a CEO and directors, current CEO Keonwoong In took charge and downsized the employment number from 150 to 50 and formed a new board of directors during the shareholder meeting in November 2014. Production, sales, and marketing departments were minimally affected by the downsizing and continued to survey the market, strengthen the relationship with customers, and develop new products.
Though, currently an average employee is handling the equivalent of a three-person workload.
TH: You previously told me that your hardcore fans supported you through the tough times after the Moneual fraud came to light. What do you mean by that?
MP: Zalman has gained numerous loyal customers over the years, and those who loved our signature “flower” and “omega” heatsinks, cost-effective chassis, reliable PSUs, and innovative accessories continued to support our products despite the seemingly imminent demise of the company.
On forums, emails, and social media, they have openly sympathized with us and gave us tremendous encouragement in moving forward. So, we would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the rather unpleasant surprise and sincerely thank our customers for being awesome. We are working hard to return the favor.
TH: Tell us what’s next for Zalman. What is your core business now? Is the financial mess resolved? What can customers expect?
ZM: Since the downsizing, Zalman reached out to the founding members and veteran engineers who made Zalman the household name for PC components. If you were old enough to build a PC in the early 2000s, we are talking about the very people who made those CPU/VGA coolers.
They are anxious to rekindle the innovation that Zalman is known for, and consumers can expect great products in the upcoming years. Currently, Zalman’s core business is to provide gaming-orientated coolers, chassis, PSUs, and peripherals for mainstream consumers seeking cost-effective solutions, and we are also pursuing industrial thermoelectric cooler modules for enterprise consumers.
As for the financial situation, we are unable to disclose the details due to the ongoing legal case, but it is expected to be normalized in the foreseeable future.
In 2016, we are going back to our roots and launching five AIO CPU coolers, five chassis ranging from low- to high-tier, three PSUs, six gaming keyboards, five gaming mice (and a partridge in a pear tree).
And What Of Moneual? Although the above is enlightening, many questions about the whole saga remain. In our conversations with Zalman, we had numerous questions that, because of ongoing legal issues concerning Moneual, the company did not feel comfortable addressing.
In our own digging, we found only traces of Moneual. The U.S. website is offline, and a cached version (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://moneualusa.com/) (beware the chipper YouTube video that autoplays) reveals a whole lotta nothin’, if you’ll pardon the colloquialism. The listed contact number has been disconnected, and the Moneual USA Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MoneualUSA) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/MoneualUSA) accounts haven’t been updated since mid-October 2014 (shortly before the fraud came to light).
The company is apparently still active with its robot vacuum business in Europe (http://moneual-en.eveneu.com/#), and you can even find a couple of those products at online retailers such as Target (http://www.target.com/bp/moneual) and Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/b/Appliances-Vacuum-Cleaners-Floor-Care-Vacuums-Handheld-Vacuums/Moneual/N-5yc1vZbv7cZbxn). The Korean website is essentially blank (http://moneual.com/kor_webroot/src/cm/common/login2.aspx), although Moneual’s Chinese site (http://www.china-moneual.com/) appears to be up and running.
There has been significant fallout (http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150319000573) in South Korea’s financial sector over the past year as a result of Moneual’s fraud. According to reports, at least six of the banks that loaned Moneual money have sought to recoup the funds (http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150106000966) via insurance claims -- and were rebuffed (http://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2015&no=14290) by the Korea Export Insurance Corporation (KEIC, also known as K-sure). South Korea’s financial sector has tightened up its scrutiny (http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150416000791) of companies, too.
The chief perpetrator of the fraud, CEO Park Hong-seok, was indicted (along with two other executives) on fraud charges (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2015/01/25/0200000000AEN20150125001600315.html?input=www.twee ter.com), and in October he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for his crime and was ordered to repay (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2015/10/16/0200000000AEN20151016003800315.html) some $100 million won (around $84,000 USD).
Moving On At Tom’s Hardware, we never have a vested interest in the success or failure of any tech company. Our responsibility is to evaluate products based on their merits on behalf of our readers, and the chips can fall where they may. However -- in fact, because of that -- we hate to see any company struggle because of forces beyond its control.
In this case, Zalman’s fortunes were directly and significantly affected by fraud perpetrated by its parent company. One hundred people lost their jobs, and it sounds as though the remaining dozens are working feverishly to keep the company rolling. However, if Michael Park's prediction is true, the company will return to sound financial health soon.

Noticia:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/zalman-after-moneual,30740.html

[Enzo]

Bye bye Zalman:(

[Sardo]

Ou muito me engano ou a história não acaba por aqui.

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