DSCF3461
612 Northland Avenue - Buffalo NY
The former Houdaille manufacturing site at 612 Northland Avenue will reopen tomorrow night - January 17, 2020 - as the Albright Knox’s new event, performance and project space, see event details.
Fifteen years ago - Houdaille was a favorite stop on the urbex trail, a photographer's playground. I used to poke around and guide photographers from all over the world thru the fence cuts, doors, and broken windows.
Founded in 1925, Houdaille quickly became one of the country’s leading automobile parts manufacturers. In 1948 George Salterelli - a 1938 University at Buffalo Law School grad - became the growing conglomerate’s general manager. Under Salterelli’s leadership, Houdaille ran lean with debt levels rarely exceeding 15% of capitalization. Houdauille’s headquarters moved from Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale in 1977. In 1979 Houdaille was the target of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts leveraged buyout and became the country’s first publicly-traded Fortune 500 company to be disassembled in this way. In the 80’s, scores of investment bankers and corporate attorneys became fabulously wealthy as the profits from disassembling Houdaille became KKR’s seed money for gutting industry across the country. Think of Oliver Stone’s movie Wall Street (1987) and the main character Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas) the corporate raider. Houdaille was the first.
George Anders wrote about the dissembling of Houdaille in his 1992 book, Merchants of Debt: KKR and the Mortgaging of American Business. The second chapter, available for free (see link below) describes the looting and financialization of Houdaille, a once-thriving Buffalo-based business.
At its peak, Houdaille Industries employed 7700 people.
DSCF3461
612 Northland Avenue - Buffalo NY
The former Houdaille manufacturing site at 612 Northland Avenue will reopen tomorrow night - January 17, 2020 - as the Albright Knox’s new event, performance and project space, see event details.
Fifteen years ago - Houdaille was a favorite stop on the urbex trail, a photographer's playground. I used to poke around and guide photographers from all over the world thru the fence cuts, doors, and broken windows.
Founded in 1925, Houdaille quickly became one of the country’s leading automobile parts manufacturers. In 1948 George Salterelli - a 1938 University at Buffalo Law School grad - became the growing conglomerate’s general manager. Under Salterelli’s leadership, Houdaille ran lean with debt levels rarely exceeding 15% of capitalization. Houdauille’s headquarters moved from Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale in 1977. In 1979 Houdaille was the target of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts leveraged buyout and became the country’s first publicly-traded Fortune 500 company to be disassembled in this way. In the 80’s, scores of investment bankers and corporate attorneys became fabulously wealthy as the profits from disassembling Houdaille became KKR’s seed money for gutting industry across the country. Think of Oliver Stone’s movie Wall Street (1987) and the main character Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas) the corporate raider. Houdaille was the first.
George Anders wrote about the dissembling of Houdaille in his 1992 book, Merchants of Debt: KKR and the Mortgaging of American Business. The second chapter, available for free (see link below) describes the looting and financialization of Houdaille, a once-thriving Buffalo-based business.
At its peak, Houdaille Industries employed 7700 people.