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Manufacturing

  • OVERVIEW
  • PROFESSIONALS

The manufacturing sector has long been the engine of America’s economy. Today, efficient processes, technological advances and true cooperation among industry participants are business imperatives as companies struggle to remain competitive in a global playing field. In the face of a challenge, be it economic or environmental, or when an opportunity calls for swift response, Thompson Coburn provides an integrated approach designed to meet manufacturers’ unique business needs.

We work with our manufacturing clients to provide solutions to help them be more efficient and more competitive. We work with public and privately held companies to identify appropriate acquisition opportunities and to strategically assess potential divestiture of non-core operations. We can devise appropriate tax strategies designed to minimize a company’s overall tax rate. We also help clients negotiate Customs and Border Protection and U.S. State Department regulations to facilitate efficient supply-chain and distribution channels.

Recognizing that proprietary processes and products are the core of every manufacturing business, we help companies protect their intellectual property. In addition, we work with our clients to maximize their investment in their employees, including developing competitive benefit plans, implementing comprehensive immigration strategies for the employment of key international personnel, and working with management on labor relations.

  • American Commercial Lines, Inc.
  • Baldor Electric Company
  • Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc.
  • Federal Signal Corporation
  • ICL Performance Products, LP
  • Insituform Technologies Inc.
  • Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
  • Martin Engineering Company, Inc.
  • Sukup Manufacturing Company
  • Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA
  • Zoltek Companies, Inc.

  • Thompson Coburn is national counsel to Baldor Electric Company, handling litigation and corporate needs from a $500 million acquisition to resolution of insurance, product liability and contract litigation.
  • Our client Yamaha Motors was involved in a significant products liability suit with nearly $400 million at stake. The suit stemmed from the death of a man while using Yamaha personal watercraft on the Colorado River. Because the man owned an annuities brokerage firm, nearly 20 expert witnesses were called to try to calculate his future earnings. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. The second trial is scheduled to begin in June 2010.
  • Thompson Coburn represented Kawasaki Heavy Industries and its subsidiaries in major patent litigation against Bombardier Recreational Products. Bombardier first filed suit in the Middle District of Florida on several patents and demanded a substantial royalty payment. We successfully petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to re-examine all of the patents in suit from the Florida litigation, resulting in a court order staying that litigation. Simultaneously, Kawasaki filed suit against Bombardier in the Eastern District of Texas on several Kawasaki patents, thus shifting the advantage to Kawasaki. The parties settled on terms favorable to Kawasaki. This was a complex case, with four lawsuits being tried in four jurisdictions.
  • Our client Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA was involved in a class action lawsuit filed in Johnson County, Texas, a nationally known class action venue. The presiding judge in the case had ruled on nearly every class action filed in that venue in the preceding 10 years and had certified every single one. Discovery was very broad and lasted for almost two years. During a two-week certification hearing, both sides presented expert testimony, including legal experts, economists and engineers. Our work during the certification was so compelling that the plaintiff’s counsel withdrew the action before the closing arguments in the hearing.
  • Our attorneys served as counsel to Zoltek Companies, Inc. in connection with $150 million secondary offering of common stock through underwriters led by Merrill Lynch & Co.
  • The firm served as counsel to the owners of Northstar Battery LLC in connection with sale of Northstar Battery to Altor.