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Tag: business acquisitions

Morphy Auctions acquires two Indiana-based auction houses

Morphy Auctions, based in Denver, Lancaster County, acquired Route 32 Auctions and the Indy Ad Show, to its organization.

Kevin and Jill Parker of Crawfordsville, Indiana, are the former owners of Route 32 Auctions and The Indy Ad Show. Route 32 Auctions was owned by the Parkers for the past five years, and The Indy Ad Show for the past four years.

Dan Morphy, the founder and president of Morphy Auctions, said dealing with the Parkers was one of the more enjoyable transactions he can recall since opening the gallery in 1997. 

“The Parkers have a genuine love for the types of antiques they sell and collect, and they are people of impeccable integrity,” said Morphy. “They’ve always run their businesses honestly and professionally, with an emphasis on treating all customers with respect. That’s exactly the way we strive to conduct ourselves at Morphy Auctions, so welcoming Route 32 and the legendary Indy Ad Show to our operation feels like branches of the same family coming together.”  

They will manage the show for the time being and Kevin will represent Morphy’s at major trade shows and expects to work on assignments with John Mihovetz, Morphy’s Automobilia and Petroliana Division Head. 

“Our talks with Morphy Auctions started when I mentioned in passing to John Mihovetz, who has been a friend for a long time, that we were thinking about selling our businesses,” said Kevin. “I had always felt that Morphy’s was a very respectable, high-end operation, with employees who have a positive outlook. They want to be there, doing the jobs they do.” 

Kevin recalls attending his first auction at Morphy’s and remembers, too, how welcoming Dan was. 

“I was a competitor, but he still invited me into his office for a chat, shook my hand and said, ‘If there’s ever anything I can do to help, let me know.’ So I asked John whether he thought Morphy’s might have an interest in our businesses. That got him excited, and he went to Dan and Tom (Tolworthy, Morphy’s CEO) with the idea. They were immediately on board.” 

Trola-Dyne acquired by Bucks County distributor

 

Custom lubrication and hydraulic manufacturer Trola-Dyne has been acquired by Bucks County-based Airline Hydraulics Corp. for an undisclosed amount.

York-based Trola-Dyne will continue to maintain its 21 employees at the company’s 26,000-square-foot facility, but will add Airline’s clients to its work load, said Jessica Nath, a spokesperson for Airline.

Airline is a distributor of fluid power, automation and machine safeguarding products. It also offers system engineering, servicing, repair and installation to its customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

The distributor has operated its own 8,000-square-foot facility in York, next to Trola-Dyne, for the past 15 years. Airline employs 21 full-time employees at the facility, which offers sales support for the company’s customers in central Pennsylvania and Maryland.

As a part of the merger, Willard Macfarland, president of Trola-Dyne, will take on the role of general manager and will continue to oversee the former Trola-Dyne employees at its 7 Interchange Place facility.

“We are so pleased to be joining forces with Will and the great team at Trola-Dyne,” said Mark Steffens, CEO at Airline. “With Trola-Dyne’s industry expertise and tremendous customer synergies, we see a bright future for the combined entities.”

Along with continuing to work at the York facility, Trola-Dyne employees will be enrolled in Airline’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan once they become eligible.

“We are delighted to be a part of the Airline team and look forward to passing on the benefits of Airline’s broad product portfolio, engineered systems offerings and strong customer support capabilities to our customers,” said Macfarland.

Airline currently plans to operate both of the York facilities for the foreseeable future, with Airline’s smaller facility acting as a staging area for the larger Trola-Dyne facility.