History of the MDNA Blog Part 1

“… the machine tool is unique. It is the only mechanical device man has that, as a classification, can reproduce itself or others of its own group. It is the tendon in the sinew of war production, and yet is the producer of toys for children.” — James J. Walsh
From the preface to “MDNA (1941-1991) 50 Years of Working Together”

A significant part of life as we know it today began with the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century. The fruits of that revolution have been modern machines tools, powered by human energy, steam, fire, and even water. They are used to shape, temper, and fashion metal, wood, fabric, and other substances for purposes constrained only by their creators’ imaginations. By the late 1800s, the machines that made what the world wanted were already being supplanted by newer devices as craftsmen and industrialists expanded and diversified output. The used machine tool business then emerged to facilitate the relocation and repurposing of the machines that made so much of what mankind desired.

The Industrial Revolution had its roots in Europe, but it flowered gloriously in North America. Urban areas along the East Coast became industrial centers, and what was produced there swept across America with the settlers — many of whom brought craftsmanship from the Old World to help develop the New World.

Fast forward to 1920, when the Emerman Company, of Chicago, published its first Red Book. It was a compilation of sale listings, to keep the growing used machinery industry apprised of what was available, where it could be purchased, and for how much. Four years later, the first Surplus Record catalog was published by Chicago entrepreneur Thomas Scanlan. It proved to be a catalyst that helped that city’s industrialists prosper, become better acquainted and, eventually, to unite and promote common interests.

In the fall of 1929, the U.S. stock market imploded, and banks collapsed, ushering in the Great Depression, which brought with it unprecedented involvement of the federal government as the nation’s manufacturing sector struggled to adjust to the shock.

In 1933, Congress passed the centerpiece of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal — The National Industrial Recovery Act. The legislation imposed price controls on many facets of the nation’s economy, including the machine tools and related equipment vital to the nation’s industrial output. Though price controls were relatively short-lived — they were lifted by a 1935 Supreme Court ruling — the process awakened a desire among America’s used machinery dealers to share challenges and successes they experienced in the new sales arena. And they sensed the need for a dealers’ trade organization to assess/influence government price controls.

With heavy machining concentrated most heavily in the Northeast and Great Lakes area during World War I, the trade organization movement began there. In 1935, the National Association of Used Machinery & Equipment Dealers was founded, as a loose professional network stretching from New York state to Detroit. A bit farther west, industry figures had assembled a similar group serving businesses operating in and around the Chicago area trade hub. That group called itself the Midwestern Association of Used Machinery Dealers. As the economy slowly regained strength, these two groups —well-acquainted with each other’s competitive stances — decided to explore an alliance.

That brings us to late winter of 1941. Leaders from the National Association of Used Machinery Dealers and the Midwestern Association of Used Machinery Dealers held a “general meeting” in Chicago. That led to a merger, completed on March 4, that created the Machinery Dealers National Association. Also at that meeting, the new organization adopted its Code of Ethics to undergird business transactions among all the new alliance’s members. Harold R. Blumberg, of Chicago, who was “temporary chairman” of the general meeting, was elected the MDNA Board of Directors’ first president. Randolph K. Vinson become its first Executive Director.

The MDNA emerged in the shadow of war in Europe, and it wasn’t long before global conflict across two oceans brought new imperatives to American industry. Once again, the federal government, charged with protecting the national interest, stepped in to regulate much of the wartime economy. Armament became a top priority, and America’s combat necessities were fashioned by machinery that was the stock-in-trade of the MDNA membership. At the same time, MDNA members’ sales transactions were subject to guidelines set out in the Office of Price Administration’s “Price Book,” which dictated terms to both sellers and buyers.

When the MDNA accepted Grant Machinery, of Los Angeles, as a member in 1942, it became a truly “national” — coast-to-coast —organization. A year later, the MDNA held it first national convention, in Cleveland.

Once the war ended, MDNA membership surged as businesses anticipated a postwar economic boom fueled by technological advances and pent-up consumer demand. The organization was perceived as a valuable advocate for the industry as regulatory legislation was crafted in Washington, and a consensus emerged among MDNA leadership that it was time the organization moved its headquarters closer to the action. In 1952, the MDNA did just that, leaving its Chicago office for a rented space in the nation’s capital. A wise move, as it turned out.