Bill Boden quits Crane
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• Exactly a year after his own company was merged with Crane Fruehauf to form Britain's biggest container and trailer-group, Mr. C. "Bill" Roden has resigned as managing director of the company.
An agreed statement issued on Tuesday said: -Mr. C. Boden having found himself in fundamental disagreement with the board of Crane Fruehauf Trailers Ltd. has resigned from the board and the boards of its subsidiaries including Boden Trailers Ltd. Mr. R. R. Pickering, company secretary and financial director of Crane Fruehauf, has taken over as temporary managing director and Mr. D. R. Marsh, Mr. K. B. Farrington and Mr. J. K. Thompson have been invited to join the board of Crane Fruehauf Trailers
Ltd, being existing members of the Boden Trailers Ltd. board."
Bill Boden told CM on Tuesday that the split was an amicable one. He is taking a short holiday before deciding what his future business interests may be, but he is not expected to relinquish his holding in CF.
It is understood that, after being his own boss for so long, he found it frustrating to conform with a large company's practice in respect of board approval for major decisions; he came to this managing directorship direct from building his own trailer business from a starting capital of £7,000 in 1955 to a valuation of around £2m in 1967. CF paid rather more than £2m in cash and shares for the Boden company last September.
It is understood, too, that Mr. Boden was disappointed that so few of his Boden colleagues were given positions on the CF board, but was reportedly pleased to learn that three had been offered directorships.