Kaasco history

In 1940, Miner and Waitress were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Kasco.

In 1968 he made his fourth acquisition, that of Baldwin-Ehret-Hill Inc., a manufacturer of insulation with $30 million in annual sales, about $4 million of which was derived from asbestos products.

That acquisition would become a nightmare for Bailey, who told news writer Feder that it was not until 1971 that he "first heard there might be problems with asbestos." The problems materialized and then lingered for many years.

However, despite a slump in sales during the 1974--75 recession, net income and sales grew steadily.

By year-end 1981, Keene--then a Bairnco subsidiary--had disposed of 2,425 of its asbestos cases, but the parent company remained questionably responsible for nearly 9,000 lawsuits.

Bairnco share prices tumbled to $4.125--from a high of $41 in 1987.

At the end of fiscal 1989 Bairnco's earnings were back in the black--a $7 million profit on sales of $196.6 million--and plans for another reorganization got underway.

Chairman and President Bailey retired in May 1990.

With these moves, Bairnco officials thought liability problems had ended, and Keene filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in 1993.

Bairnco's net sales increased 3.4 percent to $150.51 million in 1995.

During 1997, Arlon's Electronic Substrates and Microwave Materials product lines continued to implement lower-cost solutions in order to increase commercial sales and penetration of electronic applications in the consumer market.

At year-end 1998, $2.5 million remained available for additional stock repurchases.