New Corporation
Buys DuGrenier. Inc.
Eleven Vendors At
NA TD Convention
HA VERRILL, MASS.-Miss Blanche E.
Bouchard and Francis C. DuGrenier have
organized a new corporation which has ac-
quired the physical manufacturing assets
of DuGrenier, Inc., the former subsidiary
of A. M. I., Inc., Chicago.
The original Arthur H_ DuGrenier, Inc.,
firm started business in 1928 and operated
successfully down through the years. In
October, 1945, Miss Bouchard and Du-
Grenier sold the company to A. M. I., Inc.,
and the new owners changed the name of
the firm to DuGrenier, Inc.
The A. M. I. subsidiary had difficulty in
getting started and in March, 1947, filed for
a petition in bankruptcy under Section 10
of the Bankruptcy Act. The firm finally
went into complete bankruptcy in January,
1948_ The new corporation has acquired
only the physical assets which were sold
under liquidation proceedings and at all
times, Miss Bouchard and DuGrenier re-
tained control over the patents u'hder whi ch
the DuG renier, Inc., equipment was being
manufactured.
•
The new corporate set up consist of
Francis E. (Frank) DuGrenier as president
and Miss Blanche .E. Bouchard as treasurer,
The offices and plant of the new Arthur
H. DuGrenier, Inc., remain at 15 Hale St_
AI Jolson's rad io croo ning of " If I On ly
Had a Match" resulted in this de luge of
matc hes from S_ M. Rosenbe rg, vice presi-
dent and director of sa les of, Un ive rsal
Match Corp., St_ Lou is. AI is shown re ceiv-
ing t he matches fro m movie starlet Ma ri-
etta Elliot.
Hill. Agency Quit Luckies
As Cig Sales Slump
e -Eight Building J 500
Vendors Per Month
NEW YORK-Major news developments
in the cigarette industry revolved around
the resignation (March 19) of George W.
Hill, Jr. as vice president in charge of
advertising, American Tobacco Co., maker
of Lucky Strikes. He stated that disagree-
ments on advertising policy led to his resig-
nation.
The advertising agency handling the
American Tobacco account, estimated at
10 to 12 million dollars annually, also re-
signed. Newspapers, trade papers and par-
ticularly publications in the advertising
field, published reviews of the history of
Luckies and also of the careers of the
Hills, including grandfather, father and
son.
A meeting of stockholders was held re-
.:ently and announcement to the press said
policies of the firm were upheld. Some
newspapers had prediCted a stormy session
but news report said the meeting was quiet.
Question of salaries paid to executives,
which has been discussed many times, was
passed on and motion for restrictions were
defeated.
Newspaper reports said Lucky Strike
s ales in the first qllarter of 1948 rose 8
per cent in dollar volume and 12 per cent
in unit volume, while total industry sales
had dropped 7 per cent during January
and February. One other report said Lucky
Strike volume was up 5 per cent for the
first quarter.
NEW YORK-C-Eight Laboratories has
completed its move from Newark, N_ J., to
New Bedford, Mass., and is readying an
upped production schedule for its electric
cigarette vendor. Firm occupies 125,000 sq_
ft. of space in a three-story plant known as
the City Mill property, and now employs
over 300 factory workers.
VENDING MACHINE
OPERATORS - -
Hold You r Prese nt Locati ons
and
Open Profitable New O nes
W ith Matchcorp
BUSINESS BU I LD ING
BOOI< MATCHES •••
YOUR CUSTOMERS' OWN
•
ADVERTISING BOOK MATCHES
You can suppl y users wi th a tt ra ctively de-
signed book ma tches w it h the ir o wn "ads"
printe d on them. Sing le or mu lti-colored
advertisi ng book match es made up to your
order in lots of one ca se or more. You
ca n buy as little as one ca se (2,500 books)
or a s ma ny as y ou ca n use.
Cost surpr isi ngl y lo w! l et us show you
ho w th e net co st to yo u ca n be even less
tha n you no w pay fo r resale book ma tc hes.
RESA LE BOOK MATCHES
We also o ffer resale book matches, in·
d ud ing II Than k You-Call Again l l desig ns,
wi th o pen s pace o n the f ront cover. Prompt
s hi pment.
Send for samples and prices TOD AY.
All of our book matches
are vend ing machine p acked.
MATCH CORPORATION OF AME RICA
Dept. WS2-3433-43 West 48th Place
Chicag o 32, Illino is
CHICAGO-The 1948 annual convention
and exhibit, under the auspices of th e
National Assn. of Tobacco Distributors,
had a total of 11 vending machine firm s
among the list of about 315 exhibiting firms.
The exhibit roster included several firms
and their subsidiaries -but a total of 315
names gives some idea of the size of the
convention.
The NATD, formed 16 years ago, includes
wholesalers of tobacco products in its
membership, a group in the distribution
chain of getting cigars and cigarettes to
the consumer. It is considered one of the
most progressive trad~ associations in the
country, much of the credit going to Joseph
Kolodny, managing director. Kolodny is
well-known in the cigarette vending field
and cigarette vendors have long had a place
on the annual programs.
In its long record of conventions, the
1948 session was hailed as a new reeord
of success. Registrations reached a high
total of over 8,000 and the exhibits were
also considered a record.
Tobacco wholesalers are in a transition
period, actually an expansion into selling
a variety of products, including tobacco
products, candy, chewing gum, soft drinks
and a wide assortment of sundries. They-
reach cigar and tobacco stores and the to-
bacco departments in thousands of other
stores, total retail tobacco outlets being
estimated at more than a million. Cigarette
vending machines are added to this, with
an estimated total of over 300,000 machines,
according to the 1948 Source Book 0/ the
Coin Machine Industry.
Exhibits of merchandise and equipment
at the ~ATD convention covered four floors
of the Palmer House, occupying over 300
booths and exhibit rooms in the hotel. The
convention proper was held April 12-15 and
was followed by a special sales manager's
seminar lasting two days.
Firms exhibiting vending machines are
already well known to the vending trade,
and included chiefly firms making cigar and
cigarette vendors. Manufacturers reported
that sales of vendors were not large but
that many important contacts were made.
Many operators of cigarette vendors are
members of NATD and some of them are
leaders in the organization.
Among exhibitors of cigar and cigarette
vendors were the following:
AMITY MANUFACTURING CORP.,
Perth Amboy, N. J., showing models of its
cigar vendors through Stange-Sharenow, dis-
tributors. Vendor is made to sell lO-cent
cigars of various brands.
CIGAROMAT CORP. OF AMERICA,
New York City. Firm displayed two color
models of its 3-column cigar vendor and a
model of vendor having six column s, vend-
ing cigars at any two price levels.
COAN MANUFACTURING CO., Madi-
MAY, 1948
55
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