Woodlawn Manufacturing, Ltd. can trace its history back to Harvey Clanton, a former employee of Thiokol Corporation, which operated the government-owned company-operated Longhorn Army ammunition plant outside Marshall, Texas. Clanton left in 1973 to acquire a machine shop to bid on metal parts contracts for his former employer. Thus, Woodlawn Manufacturing was founded. In 1989, Mr. Clanton sold the Company, which had been maintaining $5.0M in annual sales, to an investment group. Paul White joined the purchasing group by initiating a startup of an abrasive manufacturing company in Houston, Texas that moved to Marshall in 1990. In 1992, the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant, which made up the majority of the new Company’s sales, was closed as a result of the Cold War’s end and an accompanying decrease in defense spending. At this turning point, the investment group requested of Woodlawn development and implementation of a new model business plan for the company oriented over a broader spectrum within the defense industry. Mr. White accepted a role as the CEO, managing both the metal parts and abrasives businesses in Marshall.
Management structured a buyout of Woodlawn Abrasives and Woodlawn Manufacturing with Finova Capital (the incumbent lender) as a partner. In November 1999, Black & Decker acquired the abrasives unit. This divestiture assisted Woodlawn in the exit of Finova as a partner and in creating the liquidity needed to support the growth within the ammunition market.
Woodlawn Manufacturing was acquired by National Defense Corporation in October 2022.
Today, Woodlawn Manufacturing is led by Carla Ponder serving a dual position as CEO and CFO along with Michael Townzen as Vice President of Operations. It has continued to grow and maintains its role as a trusted, integrated manufacturer of metal parts for the military ammunition segment. The Company serves as a first- and second-tier supplier to the United States government.
