Interesting insights. Worthy to ponder.
Money is always the basis of lawsuits in business.
It seems that LQMT is happy with the arrangements it has with Engel and MTRN for their respective responsibilities, which have grown for each since the inception of the partnerships.
When you think about it, only VPC is caught in the middle of the costing, profit conundrum.
Ultimately, there had to have been a margin tug of war between LQMT and VPC. If VPC's profit goes up, then LQMT has to sacrifice its margins.
One of the biggest mistakes that Steipp made was in the early days of his promotion of liquidmetal on the burlesque road shows. Just like the repetitive mantra, "You can keep it if you want to", over and over again Steipp put out the "100 ounces and $100" buzzwords.
Surely, between the customer, LQMT and VPC, the limited margin confines advertised by Steipp did not allow for proper waggle room between the supply chain components for up front costs, free samples, many test runs (iterations). Guess who had the biggest bite of costs to swallow.....DUH.......Manufacturing.
Perhaps LQMT will prevail, but at WHAT COST?
I have to say again which I have preached for a very long time:
MTRN will be the WHITE KNIGHT that sets LQMT shareholders free from LQMT management. Most of the lucrative contracts for parts made of liquidmetal will be coming from the MTRN sales and marketing team.
Time to move RSM to Elmore, Ohio under the wing of VIDAL and MTRN.
I will gladly take shares in MTRN in exchange for LQMT.
With MTRN, fully vertically integrating the production of value-added liquidmetal products and components, all of the costs along the way will be under the FIRM and not WISHY WASHY control of a management which is serious about making a profit and reasonably soon.
MTRN will only be paying a small royalty to LQMT. I don't think that is what LQMT shareholders ever wanted.
Let's face it, LQMT may control patents, but there is a strict limit to what the market will pay in royalties and licensing fees.
At least with MTRN, we will, as shareholders, have confidence in the management of MTRN to play professional ball in negotiating long term contracts and not depend upon a super stoop and his just out of law school right hand man to make give away deals.
