LAST MONTH we appealed to the manufacturer who had surplus equipment to give the dealer in used machinery a chance to buy these idle tools for reallocation. We were not speaking for those who were trying to make a million, but rather for the majority of dealers who day after day are making a sincere effort to locate vital tools and equipment to plug the gaps in our War Production lineup.
Last week, to our surprise, we heard that one of our largest industrials was putting the so-called “ceiling” price on all of their surplus machine tools. This action practically eliminates the dealer from assisting in the critical job of reallocating vital machine tools. By eliminating the dealer’s margin you eliminate the dealer—at a time when his services cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Intentional or not, this singular and unprecedented act is a “slow-down.” As we have so often said before, we know of no group better qualified to do the critical job of machinery conversion than used machinery dealers.
During April we had more requests for special copies of Surplus Record than at any other time in our history. In fact, demand far exceeded our supply. We mention this because it is indicative of the increasing demand for surplus manufacturing and plant equipment. Today, available industrial equipment is about the most sought after thing on the War Production Front. It behooves the patriotic plant operator to release every single idle machine to those who can make it ready for work in some munitions production plant.
There is more than one way for industrials to assist in this program. For example: (1) Sell your idle equipment to a dealer. (2) Advertise it for sale. (3) List it with the Available Tools Section of the War Production Board in Washington.
