 In July 1944 it was reported that Fred L. Mills, the then President of Mills Industries, had died at the age of 49 of a stomach aliment in St. Charles, Illinois.During World War II, Mills received authorised federal funding to use its industrial facilities to produce bomb carriers, directional antenna, hand control slip rings, and poppet valves.On 1 April 1946, Bell-O-Matic Corporation was established as the exclusive distributor worldwide of all Bells and related products manufactured by Mills, and employed all of the former personnel of the Coin Machine Department of Mills.