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June 20, 1977
Volume 3/No. 12
Rowe Gets New President:
Merrill Krakauer Succeeds D.J. Barton
Edward Simmons, president of
Triangle Industries, Inc., parent
corporation of Rowe International,
Inc., has announced the election of
Merrill Krakauer to president of
Rowe. He replaces D.J. Barton who
requested to be relieved from his
responsibility as president, express-
ing a strong desire to remain with
Rowe in a limited capacity and to
move back to the South.
Simmons stated, "Recognizing
full well the excellent job he has done
for Rowe over the past many years, it
is with reluctance that we have
granted Joe's request. We are
pleased that he will continue his
association with Rowe in an advisory
capacity.
Krakauer was promoted from vice
president and general manager of
Rowe's Whippany facilities where he
was responsible for the engineering
and manufacturing of many refine-
ments to the vending line as well as
innovative new machines. His varied
experience within the automatic
merchandising industry includes ma-
ny executive positions.
rakauer first joined Rowe in 1955
as director of engineering, and in
1957, at the age of29, was appointed
vice president. In 1961 he left to form
his own consulting and engineering
firm, Autovend Corporation. There,
as president and chief executive
officer, he designed and manu-
factured special items for the
vending industry.
Krakauer sold this firm in 1967 and
joined The Macke Company as vice
president. As a corporate officer he
was responsible for all capital
equipment purchases and asset
control. While there, he was the
chief executive officer of Macke's
largest vending food service region.
Krakauer again joined Rowe in 1974
as vice president and general
manager of the Whippany facility.
Throughout his career, Krakauer
has been responsible for designing
and introducing into the marketplace
many vending machines that are
now standards of the industry. He
holds in excess of 20 patents in this
field .
Announcing his retirement, D.J .
Barton stated, "I am grateful for the
support the many people within
Rowe and this industry gave me
during my tenure. I am also
appreciative of the considerations
allowing me to continue on a limited
basis in an industry and with a
company that I love. My change of
status is not a farewell because I'll be
active in my new capacity and I look
forward to seeing all my friends and
associates for many years to come."
Barton, a well-known industry
leader for 40 years, accepted the
presidency of Rowe in 1974 after
serving previously as senior vice
president and general manager of
distributor operations, vice president
of marketing, vice president of sales
and in other executive positions. He
began his career as a route service
man in South Carolina. Barton plans
to move back to the South.
Simmons pointed out that Krak-
auer's wealth of experience in all
aspects of the automatic mer-
chandising industry will assure
Rowe's leadership in providing the
best operator-oriented equipment in
the business.
Pinball Featured in Newsweek
"Pinball Lives!" reads the headline
over the splashy lead story in the
"Life/ Style" section of Newsweek
for May30. Underneath are full-color
photos by Allen Tannenbaum of
Elton John playing Capt. Fantastic,
of the playfield and backglass of
Fireball, and of the backglass art for
Space Time, another Bally machine.
"Once upon a time, pinball was a
tacky game played by punks who
hung out in seedy luncheonettes,"
the article begins. "Now it's a
respectable diversion for the leisure
class. Suburban crowds man the
flashing machines in plushly car-
peted arcades; singles play the
games in neighborhood bars; par-
ents have even begun buying pinball
machines for their children- and
themselves."
The article goes on to chronicle
the increase in commercial sales of
the machines and the burgeoning of
the home market. "The new interest
in pinball has been stimulated by its
identification with well-known per-
sonalities," it says. Elton John is
cited and Bally's plans to bring out a
machine dedicated to Hugh Hefner
(something of a pinball wizard
himself) are revealed.
Players interviewed say they play
as "a form of therapy" and because
"it's a definite high to beat the
machine."
The article throws no new light on
the pinball phenomenon. Still the
recognition of the game's respect-
ability by a national magazine with
paid circulation of over 3 million is
significant media coverage for the
industry.