CHICAGO — Charles Thompson, the longtime publisher of American Coin-Op, has purchased the magazine from Crain Communications Inc. effective June 1. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
American Trade Magazines LLC (ATM) will continue to publish American Coin-Op, as well as American Drycleaner and American Laundry News, from offices in Chicago.
Leading ATM is President and Publisher Charles Thompson, who maintains overall responsibility for the magazine’s editorial, production, circulation, promotion and sales operations.
Thompson joined Crain Communications as Midwest sales manager in 1989 and was promoted to national sales manager in 1994, associate publisher in 1997 and publisher in 1998.
“We are excited to be able to give these titles a more entrepreneurial approach,” he says. “In this new environment, we will be better able to react more quickly to our markets’ wants and needs. We will also be expanding into new markets in the coming months. We have a great team in place to take American Trade Magazines to a new level.”
Thompson has retained three ATM veterans to ensure the publications’ continuity while exploring new growth opportunities.
Editorial Director Bruce Beggs has been the editor of American Laundry News since 1999. He is now responsible for the editorial content for all three publications, utilizing the diverse talents of industry experts and freelance contributors.
National Sales Director Donald Feinstein oversees all advertising sales for the group’s print publications and digital media products. Feinstein joined Crain Communications in 1996 and helped produce a dozen business and trade publications over several years. He joined ATM in 2001 as the group’s production manager, overseeing the transition to an all-digital workflow. In 2005, he moved into ad sales and became Eastern regional sales manager.
Digital Media Director Nathan Frerichs joined ATM as web editor in 2010. After many years working as a print writer, designer and photographer, Frerichs crossed the digital divide in 2003 and hasn’t looked back. His responsibilities now include developing and designing the three publications’ websites, e-newsletters and other new-media projects.
Advising Thompson will be John S. Suhler, co-founder and general partner of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a private equity and debt capital fund management company that invests in the media industry. For much of his operational career, Suhler was a senior manager/publisher/president in educational, professional and consumer publishing.
One of ATM’s first orders of new business will be the unveiling of new websites. The resource-driven, user-friendly sites—AmericanCoinOp.com, AmericanDrycleaner.com and AmericanLaundryNews.com—have been reimagined and retooled.
ATM will be exhibiting at the Clean Show June 6-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the staff invites attendees to stop by Booth 1175 to learn more about the magazines and see demonstrations of the new websites.
Until the company relocates to its new offices in Chicago, staff members may be reached by cell phone or e-mail:
General e-mail inquiries may be directed to admin@americantrademagazines.com.
