Missouri Meerschaum Now Owns Old Dominion
- Thread starter eljimmy
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I wonder if they will continue to use the same quality of cobs etc as OD?
I don't own any OD pipes but I have a bunch of the MM pipes. Are OD's less quality? or better?
Thank you for passing along this news. One of the brothers who founded Old Dominion used to be an active member on Forums, if I remember correctly, five or six years ago. I bought two Old Dominion corncob pipes at a TAPS pipe show and found them high quality classic reed stem cob pipes, perfect for historical re-enacting, but excellent smokers as well. I'm glad that the brothers kept the pipes in production by selling to Missouri Meerschaum, the premier maker of corncob pipes in the world. I think this is good news and I hope it is beneficial to the founders of Old Dominion as well.
MM is selling a new pipe with some 19th century O.D. bowls on them..
You're welcome. I don't own any OD'S but I like the look of them. I hope MM keeps making them in the same style and hope it's not just a competition termination.
I have no idea how the deal was made, but I don't think OD was at all competitive with MM in terms of volume, and I think most of the labor at OD was done by the two owners, so it may have gotten burdensome. I'm hoping it was a win-win buyout.
Oh wow. Well, I'm guessing it had to be somewhat beneficial for MM to buy them out. Or else why bother?
Yeah hopefully. Watching a cob with no draw burn up when you set tobacco alight is pretty cool.
Old Dominion cobs were aesthetically cool, but the corn they use is super fragile compared to MM. I had a modder try to use one a few weeks back and it cracked instantly just from the pressure of the lathe, didn't even get a chance to turn it.
And as rustic as the reed stems look, for me they were impractical and unclenchable as hell. I did like the Richmond, since it has the widest bowl of any cob I've ever seen (pushing an inch). But again, super fragile, and the stems sucked.
I have one of their clays as well and it is as good as any other.
And as rustic as the reed stems look, for me they were impractical and unclenchable as hell. I did like the Richmond, since it has the widest bowl of any cob I've ever seen (pushing an inch). But again, super fragile, and the stems sucked.
I have one of their clays as well and it is as good as any other.
I say a little bit better if I had to chose. However it's not by that terribly much. It really comes down to OD using a very old school design. The stem is bamboo and for some like me, it is better then any stem on any MM. And that's is pretty much the difference.
Yeah I kinda dig that. Really simple design
I love Old Dominions reed/bamboo( ? ) stems. Somethin different...
Never tried one of those.. they look like frosty the snowman pipes.
Those BWC pipes look pretty cool.. I'm going to pick up a few.
Those BWC pipes look pretty cool.. I'm going to pick up a few.
Hahaha! Yeah they do.
When I first saw the title of this thread, I thought MM had bought the trucking company. This makes much better sense.
Found this on another pipe forum.
Copied from Corn Cob Nation on Facebook.
"Hi all. Bob Savage from Old Dominion Pipe Co. Since MM’s posting about MM’s acquisition of ODP yesterday, I’m sure there’s been some stir on the forums and I just wanted to alleviate everyone’s fears and dispel any rumors that somehow this acquisition was some form of corporate takeover of the little guy. It was not. MM’s acquisition of ODP was mutually beneficial for both our companies and I feel will prove beneficial to our loyal customers as well.
My Brother and I founded ODP back in 2013. As a farmer, amateur historian, and avid pipe smoker myself, I took a strong interest in wanting to revive the classic “reed stem” cob. Also, around the same time, with the discovery of a 17th c. tobacco plantation on our Virginia farm, I was intrigued with recreating many of the clay pipes that we encountered from pipe fragments at the historic site. Thus, from those interests and passions, ODP was born. Like any new business, it was my brother’s and my hope to grow it into a full-time enterprise. However, at the time he was already working a full-time job and I owned and operated another full-time business in the real estate/housing sector conducting soil testing. So, while we had hoped to grow ODP into a full-time business, due to the growth of my other business, ODP remained limited to a part-time enterprise. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years with the exponential growth of my other business, I found I had less and less free time to devote to pipe making. While I strived to maintain the quality of our pipes, I felt production and product development suffered. This past Fall I came to the realization that I could no longer keep the pace I was going and that I may have to consider shutting down ODP. I was the one who approached MM and Phil Morgan late last year to see if they may have an interest in acquiring some of the assets of ODP, mainly our clay pipe line. Over the years it has been my honor and privilege to come to know Phil and his wife at the pipe shows, especially Chicago, and despite the fact that many considered our two companies competitors, I truly feel honored to call Phil a friend. I was pleasantly surprised when Phil got back to me. While he was genuinely sorry to hear that I was leaving the pipe manufacturing business, he said that MM was interested in our cobs as well as our clays and wanted to continue the ODP brand. Not only were they interested in our existing pipe models, but were interested in expanding the clay pipe line as well.
So, fast forward to present. From a business perspective, I feel that MM treated us very well with the acquisition. I’ve also agreed to work with MM to further develop the ODP clay pipe line, so I’m not 100% out of the pipe making business. The fact is, a company doesn’t stay in business for over 150 years if they aren’t doing something right, and I know with the utmost confidence that MM will honor and preserve the legacy my brother and I started and will be able to manufacture ODP pipes to the same strict quality standards that they have always done with their own pipes and be able to offer them in greater quantities than our limited production capabilities allowed. In the end, I just want to thank all of our loyal and dedicated ODP customers who have supported us over the years and I honestly feel I am leaving you all in very capable hands. To all the MM customers out there, once MM gears up the ODP line, definitely try an ODP bamboo stem cob or an ODP clay and enjoy! Hopefully once we get through this Pandemic I'll still be able to see many of you at the shows and will have more time to sit back, enjoy some pleasant conversation, and smoke a bowl with you."
Copied from Corn Cob Nation on Facebook.
"Hi all. Bob Savage from Old Dominion Pipe Co. Since MM’s posting about MM’s acquisition of ODP yesterday, I’m sure there’s been some stir on the forums and I just wanted to alleviate everyone’s fears and dispel any rumors that somehow this acquisition was some form of corporate takeover of the little guy. It was not. MM’s acquisition of ODP was mutually beneficial for both our companies and I feel will prove beneficial to our loyal customers as well.
My Brother and I founded ODP back in 2013. As a farmer, amateur historian, and avid pipe smoker myself, I took a strong interest in wanting to revive the classic “reed stem” cob. Also, around the same time, with the discovery of a 17th c. tobacco plantation on our Virginia farm, I was intrigued with recreating many of the clay pipes that we encountered from pipe fragments at the historic site. Thus, from those interests and passions, ODP was born. Like any new business, it was my brother’s and my hope to grow it into a full-time enterprise. However, at the time he was already working a full-time job and I owned and operated another full-time business in the real estate/housing sector conducting soil testing. So, while we had hoped to grow ODP into a full-time business, due to the growth of my other business, ODP remained limited to a part-time enterprise. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years with the exponential growth of my other business, I found I had less and less free time to devote to pipe making. While I strived to maintain the quality of our pipes, I felt production and product development suffered. This past Fall I came to the realization that I could no longer keep the pace I was going and that I may have to consider shutting down ODP. I was the one who approached MM and Phil Morgan late last year to see if they may have an interest in acquiring some of the assets of ODP, mainly our clay pipe line. Over the years it has been my honor and privilege to come to know Phil and his wife at the pipe shows, especially Chicago, and despite the fact that many considered our two companies competitors, I truly feel honored to call Phil a friend. I was pleasantly surprised when Phil got back to me. While he was genuinely sorry to hear that I was leaving the pipe manufacturing business, he said that MM was interested in our cobs as well as our clays and wanted to continue the ODP brand. Not only were they interested in our existing pipe models, but were interested in expanding the clay pipe line as well.
So, fast forward to present. From a business perspective, I feel that MM treated us very well with the acquisition. I’ve also agreed to work with MM to further develop the ODP clay pipe line, so I’m not 100% out of the pipe making business. The fact is, a company doesn’t stay in business for over 150 years if they aren’t doing something right, and I know with the utmost confidence that MM will honor and preserve the legacy my brother and I started and will be able to manufacture ODP pipes to the same strict quality standards that they have always done with their own pipes and be able to offer them in greater quantities than our limited production capabilities allowed. In the end, I just want to thank all of our loyal and dedicated ODP customers who have supported us over the years and I honestly feel I am leaving you all in very capable hands. To all the MM customers out there, once MM gears up the ODP line, definitely try an ODP bamboo stem cob or an ODP clay and enjoy! Hopefully once we get through this Pandemic I'll still be able to see many of you at the shows and will have more time to sit back, enjoy some pleasant conversation, and smoke a bowl with you."
The OD pipes are required when reading Mark Twain. They have an honored place in American History.
I'm glad to hear the sale of OD to MM was amicable on both sides. Hurrah!