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Show The SaltLake Tribune Sunday, June 24,2001 “ Coleman:A Century Of Outdoor Products. a ContinugyfomE-T The piece of camping equipment continues to serve as the main stove at arelocated camp. eeeoe Over the years, longtime Coleman relations executive Jim Reid ‘nes about shipwreck Survivors * 7 = “Workers polish the 3d wood floor in the main reception lobby at the . Hudson Hotel in New Yor shortly before the hot new hotel opened in ; October 2000. In Manhattan, where there was virtually no room at hotels last year, more rooms are going vacant and some prices are dropping, Adm.Rit there was notell-tale smoke ‘to:tip off ee pone:years petReem 1923gasstove in the “ate ve, complete with a builtin oven, contained its original owner’s manual. Reid traded modern gear for the antique. Thatstove andthe original gas lantern, developed in 1914, were on display at the recent Outdoor Writers Association of America conference in St. George. Reid said the basic technology ofthose originals and the liquid gas models used todayis the same. The principleis using pressurized gas. “The materials and design are better [now],” he said. “There is better performance. But the lookis similar. It’s like a Jeep.It is supposed to look a certain way.” Coleman products have been compared to Jeeps more than once. “The Coleman stove, along with the. Jeep and the Bailey bridge, are winning the war,” wrote World War I correspondent Ernie Pyle in oneofhis classic dispatches. The pocket model stove, which could operate for two hours on a cup of Jeep or plane fuel, was a precursorto the modern backpacking stove. Soldiers used it to stay warm, heat ra- tions, brew coffee and boil water for shaving and washing clothes. The Coleman Company has Utah connections beyond thefact that many Salt Lake Tribune Coleman public-relations executive Jim Reid shows off two of the company's — an origi Arc Lantem,circa 1914, anda 1923 gas stove at the Outdoor Writers Association of America conference in St. George. of its customers live here. A plant in Cedar City produced Coleman sleeping bags until it was closed, and its 111 workers fired, in May 1998, two weeks after the company was acquired by Sunbeam Corp. Sleeping-bag production moved to an automated plantin South Carolina. In the years since acquiring Coleman, Sunbeam has hit tough times. A. month after closing the Utah plant, the small-appliance maker fired more Delays by manystates in setting up job-training programs may cost them fed- eral funds. The White House,noting an extra $700 million in this BY KATHERINE ROTH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Dreaming of rowing in Central Park? Museum hopping on Fifth Avenue?. Catching a jazz show in the Village? Now’s your chance. In Manhattan, where there was virtually no roomat the inn for most of last year, more hotel rooms are going vhsand at least some prices downtown Salt Lake City in 1944, has sold thousands of Coleman stoves, coolers and lanterns. He also sold the patents of some of his Springbar tent designs to Coleman. He worked as an adviser to the companyfrom 1965 until 1980. .“One of our favorite things was that if somebody else was selling cent of its work force, in an effort to [Coleman stoves and lanterns] for a lower costs in the wake of an unex- ‘dollar cheaper, we used to ask: ‘Will they tell you how they work?’ ” pected dropin earnings. ‘Though the traditional green ColeRecently, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Sun- man trademark distinguishes much of beam’s former chairman Albert Dun- its traditional line of products,the dilap of inflating the company’s earn- versity in its outdoorgear is a far cry ings in a civil fraud complaint. And from the ‘early’ days. The current Sunbeam has sought Chapter 11 product catalog has 96 pages of outdoor gear, from tiny backpacking bankruptcy protection. Despite Sunbeam’s problems, the stoves to canoes. cachet of the Coleman brand contin‘Those products range in price from ues. The name is synonymous with $3 imitation lantern flashlights to $250 bringing home comfort to the great tents. The relatively low prices for outdoors. Reid said the company will coolers, tents, sleeping bags, heaters, reachthe 60 million markin lantern lanterns,stoves andthe like continue sales next year. But propane:powered to make them staples for middle outdoor appliances have surpassed America’s campers. than 6,000 other employees, or 40 per- White House May Take Back UnspentFederal Training Funds THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Hotel Vacancies Risingin Big Cities the traditional gas models in sales, largely because they are easier to use. Jack Kirkham Sr., who opened Kirkham’s AAA Tent and Awning in “4 to the slow pace at which over implementation from the federal government during the past two years, have spentthe funds. Somestates had to start from scratch, says Marilyn Shea, a regional Labor De- many states, which took partmentofficial. fiscal year’s job-training funds is unspent and will carry over into next year, proposes a $562 million spending cut. The carryoveris attributable in part Andy Van Kleunen,ex. ecutive director of the Workforce Alliance, which includes trainers and employers, argues that the budget cuts would come as employers complain of a lack of training in workers. asthebbiedifference is that now if you want to come to New York you can find a room. That’s amazing. For most of last year the city was effectively sold out,” said John Fox, a senior vice president of PKF Consulting, a companythattracks the hotel business. hotels are offering special deals for the summer.In a shift from recent years, when hotel ads in newspapertravel sections conspicuouslyleft off room prices, hotels are nowlisting special deals in big bold letters: $125, $119, even $99.99. city’s room occupancy rate for thefirst quarter ofthe year is down. by. 7.6. percent as compared with the same period last year, the biggest drop since 1994, according to a report’ released Tuesday by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The trend, whichis, is “being felt throughout the city’s hotel tainty, is echoed in other business hubs such as Boston and San Francisco, where the report said the declines are in the double-digits. Analysts and hotel managers say the drop is largely due to the sluggish economy. But in Manhattan,a hotel construction boomis also a factor. “Clearly we in New York are faced with the double whammyof an uncertain business climate and 3,000 they can now negotiat impact corporate some of the dot-com failures,” he said. “We've seen the impact most pronounced in New York and other business hubs. The city’s better hotels, which depend on a higher percentage ofbusiness travel, have seen the greatest impact.” At this time last year, most ofthe first-class-hotels were turning away * 22 Gees Fa SNe, Nee York's overall occu] rate dring the fie quarterof 0 was 72.3 percent, down from 78. Toruent iis tas Sere pared ast year, It is the lowest rate since 1996, when it hit 69.2 percent, the Price- city’s streak of seven straight boom years. And somevisitors said the i ee hig. prices aren't Pat's stillrccraanc:” said Claw. dia Keith, visiting the city from TyTone, Pa., to see some Broadway shows with her son. 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