Global Fastener News

December 3, 1990 – Though many felt that Reed & Prince might have been among the fastener manufacturers which have bitten the dust, FIN has learned that you’ll be hearing a lot more from Reed & Prince.

That’s Reed & Prince Manufacturing Corp., a new entity which has been formed to acquire the assets of the Reed & Prince Manufacturing Co., Worcester, Massachusetts, an old line fastener manufacturer which, you’ll recall, filed for bankruptcy in March 1987.
With his own equity and some help from two local banks, Jim Richardson, president, has acquired the assets of Reed & Prince from the bankruptcy court and has an optimistic outlook for the company’s future. “Since the filing,” Richardson tells FIN, “the company has done a good job maintaining its existing customers. We did business on a COD basis with our vendors, and we were still able to service our client base. We are excited about the opportunity to grow our vendor and client base.”
Reed & Prince, founded 115 years ago, produced standard fasteners for major OEM markets (such as automotive) and in recent times, like many other fastener suppliers, it has had to face major downturns in its traditional markets.
What the new Reed & Prince is counting on, says Richardson, is a de-emphasis on standard products and a concentration on serving specialty niches. Producing engineered cold headed specials for Fortune 500 (and some Fortune 50) companies, Reed & Prince supplies the telecommunications, automotive, auto aftermarket, building and construction, and aerospace markets, among others. Sales are direct and through manufacturers’ reps.
Reed & Prince also has a new management team. They are Richard K. Dale, comptroller; Phillip W. Trumbull, Jr. director of marketing and strategic planning; Adrian P. Gonyea, Jr., quality control manager; and Beverly S. Oldfield, sales and purchasing manager, who has background in the fastener industry with Holo-Krome Co.
That’s a look at the new Reed & Prince.
The former Reed & Prince, just to pass along some brief background, was a family-run business prior to the bankruptcy filing, headed by D.B. Richardson, Sr., D.B. Richardson, Jr., and Jim Richardson (Jim worked with his father and brother both of whom are no longer involved in the company).
Reed & Prince at one point operated a 95,000 sq. ft. facility in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, which was sold, and in February 1986, Reed & Prince sold the assets of its hardware division to Elco Industries.
During 1986, Reed & Prince also discontinued its overseas importing operations and closed warehouses in High Point, North Carolina and Sterling Heights, Michigan. ©1990/2015 Fastener Industry News.
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