Valley-Dynamo and Champion Shuffleboard on Tuesday will formally open their new quarters in Richland Hills, the latest move for the table-game maker that recently brought jobs back to the U.S. from Mexico.
The company's history in the area dates to 1984, when it set up shop in Richland Hills after stints in Dallas, Grand Prairie and Irving, where founder Bill Rickett lived when he started the company. Originally named Dynamo Ltd., the maker of foosball tables grew into air hockey, shuffleboard and even gambling equipment for a while.It became Valley-Dynamo in 1999, when it merged with Michigan-based Valley Recreation Products and consolidated production here. But the big move came in 2003, when it was acquired by sporting goods giant Brunswick Corp. Just three years later, Brunswick announced plans to move its operations to Reynosa, south of McAllen.But three years after that, Valley-Dynamo was back in local hands when Colleyville resident Kelye Stites acquired it. Stites, Rickett's son-in-law, had already made a go of his Champion Shuffleboard business and quickly made plans to move Valley-Dynamo's production back to the U.S. Then last year, Stites bought Connelly Billiards of Arizona and moved the operations of the billiards table maker to Richland Hills as well.On Tuesday, the companies will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new, larger facility at 7115 Belton St. The company had previously been in a leased building.Two funds foldingTwo Fort Worth-based hedge funds are calling it quits.Kleinheinz Capital Partners and Corriente Advisors have both sent letters to investors telling them they will be winding down funds, Bloomberg News reported last week.In a letter obtained by Bloomberg, John Kleinheinz, who turns 51 on Thursday, says: "I am not enjoying running the fund as much as I used to. ... Managing a fund like ours requires me to do a lot of things that make me a less effective investor."The firm, founded in 1996, directs the Global Undervalued Securities fund. In an annual disclosure, Kleinheinz Capital reported that it had $4.3 billion in assets and 24 employees as of Dec. 31. On Friday, Kleinheinz Capital told the Star-Telegram it would have no comment on the report.Kleinheinz informed investors that the firm's Mark Stupfel plans to start his own firm next year and will hire some of Kleinheinz Capital's analysts and administrators.Corriente, founded by Mark Hart, told investors that it's closing its master fund after almost four years of "extremely poor and disappointing performance." Previously, the fund handed investors a sixfold gain betting against U.S. subprime mortgages during the financial crisis.The poor results since early 2009 are due to Hart "taking a far too bearish stance on risk assets in general and on the sovereign debt crises in Europe and the economic situation in China," he wrote.Hart blamed central bank and government intervention for reducing volatility and making macro investing more difficult, Bloomberg reported. He didn't return a call seeking comment.He told the investors that he'll continue managing European and China funds.During this year's political campaign, Kleinheinz turned up on a list of the country's 100 biggest donors, having donated $1 million to a political action committee, Restore Our Future, supporting Mitt Romney.Honor for MouserMansfield's Mouser Electronics, a big distributor for semiconductors and electronic components, is the 2012 Employer of Excellence for Tarrant County, an award given by Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County.Workforce Solutions, the local board for the Texas Workforce Commission, said Mouser also was one of five finalists for Texas Employer of the Year.The award recognizes economic development, community giving and educational initiatives. It was presented last week during the annual conference of the Texas Workforce Commission at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine.Mouser's employment at its Mansfield facility has surged recently and stands at nearly 1,000."Our employees are working every day to make a difference in the community. Through our ongoing sponsorships and partnerships with schools, we are committed to fostering educational innovation and excellence particularly in math and science," said Paula Holcomb, Mouser's vice president of human resources.Mouser is a subsidiary of Fort Worth-based TTI, Inc., which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727sabaker@star-telegram.comJim Fuquay, 817-390-7552jfuquay@star-telegram.comBarry Shlachter, 817-390-7718barry@star-telegram.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
