Acme Holdings’ Chairman Resigns From Firm, Board

After posting nearly $16 million in losses in 15 months, Acme Holdings Inc., a national equipment rental company, said Wednesday that longtime Chairman and Chief Executive Ira N. Mendelsohn has resigned from the company and its board of directors.

He has been replaced by Martin Reid, formerly chief executive of Tuboscope Vetco International Corp. Reid remains chairman of Tuboscope, a Texas oil services company.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Mendelsohn said he is leaving to pursue other interests.

William M. Barnum, an Acme director and general partner of Brentwood Associates--the Los Angeles investment firm that is a major Acme shareholder--said the company’s financial performance over the past 12 months, during which Mendelsohn was at the helm, “has been very disappointing.” He said the company is “grateful” to Mendelsohn for his work over the past eight years but credited Acme President John Jastrem for making “significant progress” in improving operations.

Jastrem joined the company as a vice president in August and was appointed president in January.

Acme, based in Irvine, reported a loss of $14.1 million for 1993, compared to a $1.1-million loss for 1992. The company’s 1993 revenue of $63.5 million was down 7% from $68.6 million for the previous 12 months. For the first quarter this year, the company posted a $1.8-million loss on $16.7 million in revenue, compared to a loss of $992,000 on revenue of $15.3 million for the same period in 1993.