ZANESVILLE – One of the country’s largest outdoor advertising companies has acquired the billboard assets of Barnes Advertising Corp. and Oliver Outdoor Advertising, a deal that includes signs once owned by Zanesville-based Kessler Outdoor Advertising.
Adams Outdoor Advertising purchased all of the billboards from local firm Barnes Advertising Corporation and Pennsylvania-heavy company Oliver Outdoor on July 31, according to a community announcement.
Barnes co-owner and former president Maryjane Shackelford confirmed the sale with the Times Recorder on Aug. 5.
The company will continue on through its Sign Shop at Barnes, which makes decals, banners, graphics, custom signs and vehicle wraps, and it’s full steam ahead, Shackelford said. The billboards had been the company’s cornerstone since its founding in 1916, but the Sign Shop has blossomed in the years after its creation in 2008, she added.
She said the sale of the billboards was finalized July 31, which also marked her retirement. She also the sale it was not connected to a previous eminent domain lawsuit between Barnes and the Muskingum County Convention Facilities Authority.
Barnes has had five generations working under the name, including Shackelford and co-owner brother John Barnes. Four family members part of fifth generation were split between the Sign Shop and the transition to Adams. One stayed with the Sign Shop, while three were retained by Adams.
Adams’ new Ohio Valley general manager Theresa Mitchell spoke with the TR on Aug. 6. She said most the Barnes staff was retained, around 10 workers.
“We are thrilled to have them,” Mitchell said. “We’re excited we were able to keep them.”
However, she added, the entire staff was not transitioned, and approximately three positions were eliminated. They became redundant after Adams’ technology systems were introduced locally, Mitchell noted.
“We are more than honored to have acquired the Barnes operation. Its legacy is long and proud and it’s what drew us to it,” Mitchell said. “We want to continue that legacy.”Its new Ohio Valley market will operate from Barnes headquarters at 1580 Fairview Road, according to its website
Adams local footprint now includes billboards in several Zanesville districts: in downtown, near the Y Bridge, around the Colony Square Mall, at the Zanesville Municipal Airport, and along the Maple Avenue retail corridor. It also has numerous signs along Interstates 70 and 77.
The recent expansion of 1,040 advertising assets is the largest in Adams’ 43-year history. It gained an additional inventory of 72 digital signs and 968 static bulletins and posters, it added, making for more than 12,000 overall in its repertoire. Almost 550 of the new faces came just from Barnes, Mitchell told the TR.
Adams Outdoor Advertising is based out of Lansing, Michigan, with a presence in 14 states and has 826 outdoor billboards in southeast Ohio, according to its website.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Barnes billboard business sold a fifth generation carries on with Sign Shop
Reporting by Shawn Digity, Zanesville Times Recorder / Zanesville Times Recorder
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shawn Digity, Zanesville Times Recorder | USA TODAY Network
