It was the spring of 1979. Smith-Miller, Incorporated, which had made trucks of about 1/16 scale under that name as well as "Smitty Toys" and "M.I.C." (derived from Miller-Ironson Corporation), had been defunct for about 23 years. Each day the current owner of the remains of the company assets would walk through what had been the Smith-Miller plant in Los Angeles to an area at the rear of the building. There he operated a separate and different type of business. He probably did so without realizing or caring that the work benches, boxes, barrels, crates and even rafters contained toy trucks and parts sought by hundreds of persons around the country. There was an occasional inquiry about the defunct company, probably not enough to indicate how collectible Smith-Miller trucks were or might become. However, there was one local resident that seemed to show considerable interest, especially in getting needed parts for trucks he owned.
Fred Thompson, a Los Angeles area resident, had bought Smith-Miller trucks as a kid. He still had several and needed parts to restore them. Unlike today, original or replacement parts for Smith-Miller trucks were not available. Not to be deterred, Fred called information in Santa Monica where he thought the company had last been located but with no luck. For some reason that he cannot explain or remember, a few weeks later he called Los Angeles information. After considerable time spent by an unusually cooperative operator, she found a listing for Smith-Miller, Incorporated in the white pages. The owner had maintained a phone for the inoperative company. Fred had located the former Smith-Miller factory!
After several calls for an appointment, Fred was finally able to get into the factory. The factory was easy to spot, because the sign still hung over the door. Thereafter, he made recurring trips to obtain parts for his trucks. On occasion, he would express to the owner an interest in obtaining the remnants of the company.
In the spring of 1979, a "toy deal" unlike few that had preceded or have followed was being concluded. Fred Thompson, the heretofore restorer of Smith-Miller trucks who had found the former company four years earlier, was going to buy it! Not just the leftover trucks... not just the parts... the whole company! The cardboard boxes... the sign over the door... the factory photos... the dies... the company name... the whole company!
Smith-Miller, Incorporated, former producer of arguably the finest toy trucks ever made in the United States or anywhere else, now had a new chief executive officer, owner and employee. This might sound great and even overwhelming; it was overwhelming for several reasons. Fred was faced with a manufacturing plant that looked as it had the day it ceased operations except for the layers of dust and dirt on everything. Work benches contained toy trucks in various stages of assembly. Nearby were the parts needed to complete the trucks in process, and elsewhere were quantities of parts from formerly produced trucks. All of this stuff, literally tons of it, had to be moved, inventoried and stored. The deal did not include the building.
What became the stock, materials inventory and tooling for the resurrected Smith-Miller Corporation was moved to several locations with reasonable attempts to inventory the holdings. While plans for the future were being considered, the lure of immediate profits by reselling his acquisition was dismissed by the new owner. Interested buyers seemed likely to use the assets to reproduce formerly issued Smith-Miller trucks. That prospect did not appeal to the toy collector instincts in Fred. As a result, to date no Smith-Miller trucks have been reproduced or reissued. Rumors to the contrary still persist but are simply not true.
Fred Thompson decided that two courses of action would best benefit the company and Smith-Miller truck collectors alike. These were to first sell the Smith-Miller trucks in production and in stock and then to make new trucks of at least equal quality that had never before been produced.
Continued...
|
|
