North City Bus Arma- ture Closes Doors After more than 60 years, North City Bus Armature has filled its last order. According to company presi- dent Frank Di Stefano, Sr., North City Bus closed its doors at the beginning of April. “The handwriting’s on the wall in this industry,” he said. ““With more and more imports, American manufactur- ers can’t compete anymore. The prof- its are there, but the sales are way down. This industry will never, never come back to where it was.” The business was founded in 1937 by Patrick Di Stefano, Sr. In 1943 they began specializing in bus applications, and were the oldest bus experts in the country. Frank Di Stefano, along with his brother and company vice president Patrick Di Stefano, Jr., have sold their equipment and customer list to Dixie Electric, Inc., Minneapolis, MN. Frank Di Stefano emphasized that they were closing on an up note finan- cially, debt free, and are looking for- ward to a comfortable retirement. “This business has been very, very good to both of us,” he said. They also helped each of their 26 employees find new jobs. “The sad part is to see the indus- try going the way it is. I wanted to see my children take the business, but the worst thing I can do is mislead them. It just happened that I was in it at a time that it was fruitful,” he said. “Td like to thank all our friends and all our cus- tomers. I owe a debt of love and af- fection to every one of them, even our competitors.” APRIL, 2001 Page 1 of 1