Sunday, December 12, 1999
Washboard maker thrives in heart of Ohio
Buyers: Amish, collectors, musicians
BY NANCY NUSSBAUM
The Associated Press
LOGAN, Ohio — Pharmaceutical wholesaler George D. Richards was skeptical when his son first approached him with the idea of investing in a washboard company.
“I said, "Who's buying washboards?'” he said.
But, Mr. Richards found, “the more you get into it, you realize there are billions of people out there, and they're still using rocks.”
His son, G.K. Richards, persuaded him and seven others to invest in the Columbus Washboard Co., which they say is the industry's last U.S. manufacturer. With some help from collectors and from people worried about Y2K computer bugs, the investment in June has kept alive a company that seemed headed for extinction.
@subhead:Foreign competition
Former owner Mike Taylor said he could no longer stay in business after 12 years leading Columbus Washboard, founded in 1895 and inherited by his wife from her uncle.
He had sold 50,000 to 60,000 metal and glass washboards in 1998, down considerably from peak sales of about 1.3 million in 1941. And operating costs were outstripping profits.
Although Columbus Washboard's domestic rivals had disappeared by the 1970s, the company faced competition from cheaper imports. But cutting back on quality was not an option in a market where demand grew to be more for craft than function, Mr. Taylor said.
He also had trouble hiring and keeping workers in Columbus, where unemployment has been low.
“I finally reached the point — it was a tough point to reach — (where) we would just liquidate it.”
Mr. Richards formed the investment group and bought the business and its brands, including Sunnyland, Maid-Rite and Crystal Cascade, for an undisclosed price.
@subhead:Y2K edition
The company's equipment, dating to the early 1940s, was moved about 45 miles away to a former shoe factory in Logan that now has a large washboard hanging outside. The product line has expanded and the washboards — previously made only with white pine — are also being made with more decorative, yet less durable, poplar.
Nearly 30,000 washboards have been sold since operations began under the new owners, who hope to sell 100,000 by the end of this year. They retail from $9 to $24, depending on the size and rubbing surface.
Marketing and a fear of the Y2K computer glitch have helped sales. The company has a Y2K collectors' edition washboard and plans to offer a different collectors' edition washboard each year.
Columbus Washboard also has steady customers, such as stores that serve the Amish community. One store, Lehman's, sells an average of 500 washboards a year, but Y2K sales have pushed that number to 1,000 this year, said Galen Lehman, vice president of operations.
Musicians are a niche market for washboards. Musician Mike Johnson of Parker, Colo., has compiled a list of washboard players in the United States and 22 foreign countries, including Israel and Brazil. “Anyone who wants to play one gets theirs from Columbus Washboard,” he said.
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