Charles Ward
Charles Ward was an industrialist and owner of Ward Industries in Conway, Arkansas. Ward was also the founder of Demographics Inc., which became the information technology company Acxiom.
Contents
Ownership of Ward School Bus Manufacturing
Ward became owner of the company that bears his name in 1968, passing from the hands of his father David H. "Dave" Ward. The elder Ward, a blacksmith by trade, founded Ward Body Works in Conway in the 1930s to manufacture all-steel buses. By 1973 it was the largest school bus manufacturer in the world, with a twenty-five percent market share. A second plant opened in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania failed in 1975. The company, then known as Ward School Bus Manufacturing, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1979. The plant in Conway is now owned by the IC Corporation.
Founding of Demographics Inc.
Ward founded Demographics Inc. with his brother Stephen Ward in 1969 to meet the needs of local Republicans who wanted to create mailing lists competitive with their rival Democrats. The company soon expanded to cover other data processing needs. One client was the bus company itself. The company originally occupied a 6,000 square foot building housing a computer and press. Ward divested himself of Demographics in 1975 in the midst of hard times. Charles D. Morgan, a manager of the company since 1972, became the new president and CEO. Revenue by the middle of the 1970s had increased to $1.2 million.
References
- Barry Beck, "Ward Industries, Inc.: A Historical Study," Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings 16 (Winter 1974): 67-83.
Harold B. Johnson, "A History of Dave Ward and His Company," M.S.E. thesis, Arkansas State Teachers College, 1960.
- Toby Manthey, "Maker of School Buses Lays Off 170 in Conway," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 27, 2009.
