Valley-Dynamo
Encyclopedia
Valley-Dynamo, Inc. is a gaming and sporting goods manufacturing company. It has been the dominant manufacturer of coin-operated pool tables in North America
for over 6 decades, and produces the US-ubiquitous Valley brand and decreasingly common Dynamo brand (once a competitor). The company also manufactures other market-leader brand names, including Tornado brand table football
(foosball), Dynamo air hockey
, and Champion indoor shuffleboard
tables, as well as Sun Glo shuffleboard equipment, for both the home and coin-op markets.
The company has distributors in some two dozen countries.
Annual sales were up to US$
15–17 mil, as of May 2009, at which time Valley-Dynamo employed around 125 workers in its larger centers (approximately 60 at the Champion factory in Texas
, 40 at the Valley plant in Mexico
(since relocated to Texas), and 25 or so at a 55000 ft2 Grand Prairie
distribution center), plus office support staff, and employees of Valley-operated leagues (see below).
, Michigan
, where it remained under the auspices of a series of controlling companies including Kidde Inc., U.S. Industries, and Fenway Partners
with Rickett still the majority shareholder. In 1999, then known as Valley Recreation Products, Valley absorbed and merged with both Tornado Table Sports and Dynamo Corp., and centralized operations at the Dynamo facilities in Richland Hills
, Texas
(a Dallas-Ft. Worth suburb).
The increasingly market-dominant enterprise was bought for US$
34.5 million by, and was made a subsidiary of, Brunswick Corporation
in 2003, as Valley-Dynamo LLC. Brunswick moved Valley-Dynamo's manufacturing operations to Reynosa, Mexico in 2006. In 2009, Valley-Dynamo "was acquired by a limited partnership controlled by Kelye Stites," owner of Champion Shuffleboard Ltd., "and other businesses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area." The sale amount was not disclosed, but was rumored to be surprisingly low. Stites, the son-in-law of Valley Co. founder Rickett, decided to move pool and air hockey table production from Mexico back to Texas. Under the new partnership, in which Stites is the majority owner, Valley-Dynamo absorbed Champion's shuffleboard brand rather than vice-versa, with Stites citing Valley-Dynamo's widespread brand name recognition.
(VNEA; no longer accurately named – since the 1990s it has become multinational and includes nine-ball and other pool disciplines). All VNEA matches must be played on Valley-Dynamo tables. The company also founded the Valley International Foosball Association
(VIFA). The majority of merican Poolplayers Association (APA) matches are also played on Valley-Dynamo tables, including the APA International Championships, although APA has no rules with regard to what brand or size of table is used.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
for over 6 decades, and produces the US-ubiquitous Valley brand and decreasingly common Dynamo brand (once a competitor). The company also manufactures other market-leader brand names, including Tornado brand table football
Table football
Table football, also known as gitoni or foosball, is a table-top game and sport that is loosely based on association football.-Names:...
(foosball), Dynamo air hockey
Air hockey
Air hockey is a game for two competing players trying to score points in the opposing player's goal.-Equipment:Air hockey requires an air-hockey table, two player-held mallets, and a puck....
, and Champion indoor shuffleboard
Table Shuffleboard
Table shuffleboard is a game in which players push metal-and-plastic weighted pucks down a long and smooth wooden table into a scoring area at the opposite end of the table...
tables, as well as Sun Glo shuffleboard equipment, for both the home and coin-op markets.
The company has distributors in some two dozen countries.
Annual sales were up to US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15–17 mil, as of May 2009, at which time Valley-Dynamo employed around 125 workers in its larger centers (approximately 60 at the Champion factory in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 40 at the Valley plant in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(since relocated to Texas), and 25 or so at a 55000 ft2 Grand Prairie
Grand Prairie, Texas
Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas and is a part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Grand Prairie is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and had a population of 175,396 at the 2010 census.- History :The city of...
distribution center), plus office support staff, and employees of Valley-operated leagues (see below).
History
As Valley Co., the original company was founded by Bill Rickett in 1947 in Bay CityBay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, where it remained under the auspices of a series of controlling companies including Kidde Inc., U.S. Industries, and Fenway Partners
Fenway Partners
Fenway Partners is a private equity firm that makes leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in transportation, logistics, consumer products and manufacturing companies in the middle market....
with Rickett still the majority shareholder. In 1999, then known as Valley Recreation Products, Valley absorbed and merged with both Tornado Table Sports and Dynamo Corp., and centralized operations at the Dynamo facilities in Richland Hills
Richland Hills, Texas
Richland Hills is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,801 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Richland Hills is located at ....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(a Dallas-Ft. Worth suburb).
The increasingly market-dominant enterprise was bought for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
34.5 million by, and was made a subsidiary of, Brunswick Corporation
Brunswick Corporation
The Brunswick Corporation , formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is a United States-based corporation that has been involved in manufacturing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick's global headquarters is in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois...
in 2003, as Valley-Dynamo LLC. Brunswick moved Valley-Dynamo's manufacturing operations to Reynosa, Mexico in 2006. In 2009, Valley-Dynamo "was acquired by a limited partnership controlled by Kelye Stites," owner of Champion Shuffleboard Ltd., "and other businesses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area." The sale amount was not disclosed, but was rumored to be surprisingly low. Stites, the son-in-law of Valley Co. founder Rickett, decided to move pool and air hockey table production from Mexico back to Texas. Under the new partnership, in which Stites is the majority owner, Valley-Dynamo absorbed Champion's shuffleboard brand rather than vice-versa, with Stites citing Valley-Dynamo's widespread brand name recognition.
Leagues
Valley-Dynamo created, and wholly owns, the highly competitive, international amateur Valley National 8-Ball League AssociationValley National 8-Ball League Association
The Valley National 8-Ball League Association is one of the world's largest amateur pool leagues. , there are nearly 100,000 individual members in some 1,400 weekly local leagues playing in over 10,000 pool halls, bars and other venues in around 400 different cities, towns and suburbs in 36 U.S...
(VNEA; no longer accurately named – since the 1990s it has become multinational and includes nine-ball and other pool disciplines). All VNEA matches must be played on Valley-Dynamo tables. The company also founded the Valley International Foosball Association
Valley International Foosball Association
The Valley International Foosball Association is an American "association of coin machine operators, foosball table manufacturer and foosball players, working together to provide increased interest in the game of foosball"...
(VIFA). The majority of merican Poolplayers Association (APA) matches are also played on Valley-Dynamo tables, including the APA International Championships, although APA has no rules with regard to what brand or size of table is used.
External links
- Valley-Dynamo official website
- Valley-Dynamo official Facebook page