I think its a sign of the times. If the business was a huge success then the son would be looking to continue or find a partner.
Just look at this
link They dont do big enough turnover to feed two families and i bet they work like crazy. There are lessons here for guys starting out with their own business. This fits the Small business pattern in the USA perfectly. You should spend some time reading the research on the US gov Small Business Admin site if you interested in Small Business.
After meeting with a Bosch tool rep in Canada the other day and chewing him out about the prices of our tools here versus the US he said at the moment the tool guys in the US are really battling to sell tools.
Think about it, you can still enjoy woodworking without a dust collector. Might not be the safest but if you do hand work in the garage in summer with the door open i dont think you gonna suffocate from dust inhalation.
I think their business caters more to the hobbiest than the pro shops. Then regardless of the reality their is still the perception related to plastic for something like a dust collector.
When you look at the product development pipline that Oneid has had in the past 6 years its hard to keep up with that kind of competition and Grizzly imports.
How many of us have spent over $1000 on their dust collector? They need many of these sales per month.
I noticed Oneida has been exporting overseas and their dust deputy must be a good image builder for them. They also have the industrial market and the floor sander side to add to contributing to the overhead.