Bender Closed down?

[Joseph O'Neil]

I was reading the new products forum, and I saw a note that bender has closed down. Checked it out myself, and they are! here is from their web site:
http://www.benderphoto.com/index.htm


Bender Photographic will be CLOSED from November 2008 until future notice. We have sold our buildings, ceased production, and will not be selling view cameras or other Bender Photographic items for at least a year, possibly longer. Please do not send orders for products as they WILL NOT BE FILLED. This applies to ALL Bender Photographic products, including pinhole cameras.


So what happened? Was there any news here that I missed? Are they coming back for sure? Is my Bender (see avatar) now a collector's item?
joe

[Brian Ellis]

Maybe they got a deal they couldn't refuse on their land. Maybe they found it difficult to compete as the prices of some used LF gear came down. I'd be a little surprised if they came back just because a year or more is a long time to be out of a market. But who knows.

[Larry Menzin]

Maybe Bender went on a bender!