Collins Industries enters deal to buy Waldon assets

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 6, 2000

Collins Industries of Hutchinson, Kan., on Tuesday said it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase certain assets of Waldon Inc., a Fairview, Okla.-based manufacturer of industrial and construction equipment with about 105 employees.

Waldon had sales of $16.5 million last year. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.

Waldon makes Waldon and Lay-Mor product lines. The Lay-Mor three- wheeled sweeper is for the industrial rental sweeper market segment and the Waldon four-wheel sweeper is for the road construction market segment. Waldon also manufactures four-wheel drive loaders, rough terrain lift trucks and attachments, and other construction equipment including a compact loader backhoe and dozer. These products are principally sold in both commercial and rental markets through direct sales and distributors. All of these Waldon and Lay-Mor product lines will be acquired by Collins Industries.

"The acquisition of these Waldon product lines provides our specialty vehicle company an entry into the road construction market, with products in market niches for contractors and equipment rental dealers that historically have not been large enough to attract large capital intensive competitors," said Donald Lynn Collins, president and CEO of Collins Industries.

Collins Industries is a manufacturer of ambulances, small school buses and terminal trucks. Collins Industries has more than 1,000 employees and five plants.

Motley resigns post

Doyle E. Motley has resigned as senior vice president and chief financial officer of CD Warehouse.

Christopher M. Salyer, who was named chairman and CEO of Oklahoma City-based CD Warehouse last week, will assume CFO responsibilities until Motley's successor is named.

Motley had been with CD Warehouse since its beginning in 1996.

"During his time at CD Warehouse, the company completed a private placement offering and raised capital through an initial public offering in 1997," Sayler said. "He has played a pivotal role in the growth and expansion of the company, building it into the largest retailer of pre-owned CDs."

Salyer replaced Jerry W. Grizzle as chairman and CEO of CD Warehouse last week. Grizzle, who had served as chairman, president and CEO since CD Warehouse's founding in 1996, is not chairman emeritus.

CD Warehouse franchises and operates retail music stores in 38 states, the District of Columbia, England, France, Guatemala, Canada and Venezuela under the name "CD Warehouse, disc go round, CD Exchange and Music Trader.

Cole opens new store

Cole Computer, an Oklahoma City-based manufacturer of personal computers, has opened a new retail outlet in Fayettville, Ark.

"Fayettville, the home of the University of Arkansas, has a large potential customer base, yet remains an unexploited market for computer repairs, upgrades and custom built computers," said John Ruth, president of Cole Computer.

Gesila Fales is manager of the store. Fales has owned her own computer store for the past three years. She was one of Cole's wholesale customers.

Cole has 12 retail outlets operating under the trade name Computer Masters in Oklahoma and Arkansas and Your Computer Masters Store in Texas.

Panelists include Terry Neese

Terry Neese of Oklahoma City will be a panelist on "Voices of Town Hall," presented by American Express Small Business Services at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Chicago.

The town hall will be webcast at 7 p.m. tonight. To participate, go to americanexpress.com. Click on small business and then click on Voices from Main Street. Topics will include health care, taxes and education.

The event will be moderated by Hank Gilman, Managing editor of Fortune Small Business. Other panelists include Jim McCann from 1- 800 Flower's and Deborah Sawyer from Environmental Design International.

Neese is a certified personnel consultant and co-founder of the corporate and political consulting firm GrassRoots Impact.

Steinem marries in Oklahoma

Gloria Steinem has a choice to make at age 66: Ms. or Mrs. The feminist author who co-founded Ms. magazine and led women to become the men they wanted to marry was married Sunday to South African- born entrepreneur David Bale, 61, in Stilwell, Okla.

"Though I've worked many years to make marriage more equal, I never expected to take advantage of it myself," Steinem said in a release issued by Voters for Choice, a political action committee she helped create.

"I'm happy, surprised and one day will write about it, but for now, I hope this proves what feminists have always said -- that feminism is about the ability to choose what's right at each time of our lives."

The small ceremony attended by close family and friends took place in the Adair County home of Wilma Mankiller, former chief of the Cherokee Nation and Steinem's friend, said Nicole Vandenberg, a Voters for Choice board member.

It was conducted at sunrise by an Oklahoma judge and Charlie Soap, a Cherokee spiritual person and Mankiller's husband. But don't look for any name changes soon. During the ceremony, the word "partners" was substituted for "husband and wife."