Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 23, 1994 TAG: 9401280286
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: EC-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHLEEN WILSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
It has been about six months since one of the Roanoke Valley's oldest companies - Nelson-Roanoke Corp. - was sold to Frederick Trading Co., a major East Coast hardware distributor.
At the time, Raymond L. Thomas, president of Frederick Trading, said the company would "keep everything as it is, at least for the beginning."
Since the company's acquisition, about a dozen of its 100 hardware employees have lost their jobs, President William Nelson Jr. said. Additional downsizing occurred through attrition.
Both Nelson-Roanoke and Frederick Trading were family-owned wholesalers of hardware. Nelson-Roanoke, which dates to 1888, has been owned by the descendants of six Nelson brothers.
Now it is managed by three cousins: William J. Nelson Jr., president; Louis Showalter, vice president and general manager; and Alex Nelson, vice president. The Nelson family continues to own the company's 100,000-square-foot building at 901 11th St. N.E.
\ FREDERICK TRADING CO.\ A NEW NAME\ \ The company: Frederick Trading Co. acquired Nelson-Roanoke Corp. - one of the Roanoke Valley's oldest companies - last year. Both are wholesale hardware distributors.
\ Headquarters: Frederick, Md.
\ Roanoke Valley operations: Nelson-Roanoke maintains ownership of its 100,000-square-foot facility at 901 11th St.
by CNB