Forte to cease production.

[Gary Smith]

There is a rumor over on APUG, from a gentleman who has close ties to Forte, it seems that they will be ceasing production of film and other photographic supplies as of the end of the month.

Personally, I have never used any Forte product, but its sad to see them go if its true. Forte's homepage has no annoucement as of yet.

Hope it helps.

Gary

[Capocheny]

Gary,

I hope it's only a rumor... if true, it would really be sad to see another manufacturer bite the dust!

I'll keep my fingers crossed in the hopes that it's only that... a rumor!

:>0

Cheers

[Ben Calwell]

I hope it's just a rumor. I've gotten to like their Fortezo fiber-based paper.

[Ted Harris]

Here is the same post I made at APUG:

First off I'll put this in the unconfirmed rumor category for the moment and hope that I am right. If some of the folks ffrom Fotoimpex and others that sell rebranded Forte film make any confirming posts then I will begin to mourn. Second, with all due respect to the possible truth of the original post, it is tough to swallow when I think of all the Forte film that is sold by others and rebranded as their own. Next, even if true it may not be the end of the world. It could be an opportunity for some of the other European film manufacturers to enter the sheet film market if they see a niche that can earn €'s that has become a void worth filling. Finally, while I have never used any of the films produced by Chinese companies I am willing to give them a chance.

I do hope I am not being overly optimistic.

[davidb]

This is why I try to give Ilford every penny I can.

[David Luttmann]

It would be a true shame if this happened. The 400 film is simply superb for it's old fashioned look. I'll keep feeding Ilford with my FP4 habit though.

[Aaron van de Sande]

If the stuff about J&C starting their own coating facility is true than most likely he stopped rebranding their film. To tell you the truth I really havent heard anyone on the boards say they were crazy about their film.
I know I didn't like it.

[Juergen Sattler]

This was posted over on p-net. Supposedely it is a reply from Forte to an inquiry by a European fellow. It might be true after all!
____________________

Dear Mr.
To our greatest regret, we have to advise you that the owners have come to the decesion, to stop the production of FORTE photographic products by January 26th, 2007, definitely.

The FORTE factory established by George Eastman as a KODAK factory in 1922, as well its successors, have been manufacturing mainly black&white photo films and papers of superior/high quality, especially with warm tone, in a very wide range.

During the past decade, the demand for black&white photo products felt back drastically, due to the fact technological development, that is confirmed, even by the sales figures of your country.

The FORTE factory, has been working with huge over capacities, and outdated equipment, on a large piece of ground, with uneconomical infrastructure, resulting in continuous losses.

Considering the above, the long negotiations with several potential industrial investors, have failed.

We thank you for your several year's of smooth and fruitful co-operation, and wish you good success in the future

[tim atherton]

okay - I have a ral hard time keeping track of all the Mitteleuropa brands an manufacturers... (especially with all the re-branding)

Efke is a totally different entity to Forte correct??

thanks

tim

[David A. Goldfarb]

Forte is a Hungarian manufacturer. Efke is Croatian. Foma is Czech. Slavich is Russian.