Document e1nD4dDjKnpNGkbJz0X5MydO4

WHITTAKER, CLARK & DANIELS, INC. . MINERALS, COLORS, CHEMICALS 1000 COOLIDGE STREET, SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. 07080-1000 201/561-6100 CABLE '`SLEINAD" RCA TELEX #221478 DDD TELEX #201-561-7783 FAX #201-757-3488 At Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc....... A CENTURY OF GROWTH BASED ON UNVARYING COMMITMENT TO ITS ORIGINAL BUSINESS In 1890, W.H. W hittaker established his business on the East River in New York C it y not f a r from the Brooklyn B ridge. A c e n tu ry la t e r , the company, now ca lle d Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, In c., is e sse n tia lly doing the same th in g s - supplying t a lc s , c la y s , dry colors and other n o n m e ta llic m ineral products to a v a r ie t y o f industries. "Over these many years, the company always focused on what i t knew best," said Clarence E. Clark, son of one of the founders, a form er p re sid e n t, and s t i l l active on the company's Board of D irectors at age 81. "Even in the Depression years of the 1930's, we continued to grow and expand because o f the unique c a p a b ilit ie s o f the company that insured a continuing demand fo r our m aterials." Fre d e rick F. Roesch, another former president and a current member of the board, f e l t that the company's century of growth and success c o u ld be a t t r ib u t e d to i t s key em ployees. "From th e very beginning," he s a id , "I was always amazed by the a b i l i t y o f our people to a cq u ire a deep understanding of so>many customers in so many d iffe re n t f ie ld s . " U ltim a te ly , Mr. Roesch added, the company's a b ilit y to maintain a very high level o f re co g n itio n in i t s chosen f i e l d re ste d on the Our First 100'Years ~ ~ Just The Beginning PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT WCD-210 Branch Offices: ATLANTA 6525 The Corners Parkway Suite 212 Norcross. Georgia 30092 (404) 447-4020 RCA TLX #255043 CHICAGO 651 Executive Dc Bldg.C Widowbrook, Illinois 60521 (708) 323-5775 & 5777 RCA TLX #255033 CINCINNATI (513)241-5808 DETROIT (313) 649-6620 & 6821 CANADA 834 Yongs Si., Suite 204 "foromo. M4W 2H1. Ontario (416} 923-6777 TLX #3B906230S7 PITTSBURGH (412} 456-1400 ST. LOUIS (314) 454-0679 Vancouver (604)222-2134 Montreal (514)848-7044 WHITTAKER, CLARK & DANIELS, INC. 2- - lo n g -te rm l o y a l t y o f i t s top t e c h n ic a l, sa le s and management people, many of whom spent decades se rv in g the company, becoming recognized experts in s p e c ific in d u stries. In an era of leveraged buy outs, acq u isition s and d iv e rs ific a tio n s , Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. has long r e s is t e d the tem ptation o f en tering new and u n fa m ilia r b u sinesses fo r the sake of growth and has opted instead fo r sustained but c o n t r o lle d growth through it s traditional business. From the Beginning From the e a r lie s t days o f the company, Samuel H. Clark served as salesman fo r company founder W.H. Whittaker and in that p o s it io n he not only handled s a le s but made sure the products were properly shipped. In p a r t ic u la r , one o f h is most im portant jo b s was to m onitor in v e n to rie s at v a rio u s p u b lic warehouses where Whittaker products were stored. In due course, Mr. C lark developed a c lo s e personal r e la t io n s h ip w ith P .d. F ly n n , manager o f one of these warehouses who a lso handled some W h itta k e r shipments w ith h is horse-drawn tru c k s . To t h is day, P .d . F ly n n , Inc. remains the contract trucking company fo r Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. Mr. Clark q u ic k ly became a p a rtn e r in the Whittaker organization and the company name became W h ittak er C la rk . At th a t time the Company bought a b u ild in g at 245 Fro n t Street on the East River, w ith the lower p o rtio n s e rv in g as a warehouse and o f f i c e s on the upper flo o r. When Mr. W hittaker died in 1909, Mr. Clark purchased the business and nine years la t e r formed W h itta k e r, C la rk & D a n ie ls , I n c . , th ro u g h a m erger w ith a c o m p e titiv e bu sin ess founded by W.B. D aniels. Among other t h in g s , Mr. D a n iels brought to th e company a color f a c i l i t y in Hempstead, Long Island. By the end of the F i r s t World War, Whittaker, through P.d. Flynn, s h ifte d from horse-drawn to autom otive tru c k s , thereby expanding the company's d e liv e r y area and c a r r ie r c a p a c ity . Another WHITTAKER, CLARK & DANIELS, INC, 3- - in n o v a tio n at th a t time was custom b len d in g . As th is c a p a b ility expanded, the F ro n t S t r e e t f a c i l i t y became too s m a ll and W hittaker Clark moved it s warehouse to the Newtown Creek fa cto ry in Maspeth, where a large blending machine was in s ta lle d . During the 1930's, continued growth o f imports and exports made i t apparent that the Newtown Creek f a c i l i t y was not la rg e enough, and in 1930, W h itta k e r moved i t s warehouse f a c i l i t y to P ie r 41, E rie B a sin , in New York C it y . By t h is tim e , the company was su p ply in g a wide range o f markets - p a in ts and w a ll c o v e rin g s , drugs and co sm e tics, fo o d s , b u ild in g m a t e r ia ls , e t c . To accommodate it s growing l i s t o f custom ers, the company moved it s warehouse operations once again in 1935 to a plant, in South Kearny, New Je rse y . The corp orate o f f ic e s meanwhile were moved from the old Front Street building to a new f a c i l i t y in the American Thread B u ild in g at 250 West Broadway in New.York C ity . To expedite orders from the new o ffic e s to the New Jersey warehouse, a te le ty p e system was in s t a lle d . During the 1930's, the company pioneered in the adoption of the s o - c a lle d H iLo, as the f o r k l i f t tru c k was then c a lle d . T hese vehicles were not yet employed on the p ie rs. The c o r p o r a t io n 's main o ffic e s were again moved in 1960, th is time to 100 Church Street in downtown New York C it y . Continued growth and an agreement with a major color producer and sim ila r agreements with other major chemical and mineral manufacturers f i n a l l y led the company in 1971 to combine a l l o f i t s o p e ra tio n s in it s present 130,000 square foot plant in South P la in f ie ld , New Jersey. By t h is time, the p la s tic industry had also become a major market. T h is f a c i l i t y , designed and co n stru cte d by the company, contains under one ro o f, it s co rp o ra te o f f i c e , la b o r a t o r y , p la n t and d is t r ib u t io n o p e ra tio n s. There are branch o ffic e s today in A tlanta, Chicago and Toronto w ith sa le s re p re s e n ta tiv e s in major c i t i e s across the country p lu s more than 20 warehouses throughout the United States and Canada. WHITTAKER, CLARK & DANIELS, INC. 4- - Over the y e a rs, the company has supplied a wide range o f m inerals, colors and chemicals which are produced to it s t ig h t s p e c ific a tio n s . Some are mined, others m ille d at the company's various producing locations in New York State, North Carolina and Texas. The e a r l y trad e m a rk o f W h it t a k e r , C la rk & D a n ie ls , In c . was sp e cia lize d 'm a te ria ls. I t was one o f the very f i r s t s u p p lie r s to s e l e c t o re s based on i n d iv id u a l c h a r a c t e r is t ic s and to have them ta ilo re d s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r the requirem ents o f a p a r t ic u la r industry or even a single customer. During and A fte r the War J u s t b e f o r e A m e r ic a e n t e r e d W o rld War I I , W h i t t a k e r , Clark & Daniels, Inc. launched another process - p u rify in g tita n iu m d io x id e . D u rin g th e subsequent war years t h is high p r i o r i t y material was shipped as quickly as i t could be m ille d and p u r if ie d . Many other company products also became p r io r it y items and during these war years the company's truck f l e e t and warehouse s t a f f was expanded. When Samuel H. C la rk died in 1941, he was succeeded as president and head o f the company by h is son, Clarence E. C la r k . A f t e r the U nited States entered World War I I , the company acquired the Pumice Corporation of America when fo r e ig n sources o f pumice were cut o f f , th re a te n in g a v a ila b ilit y of an essential raw m aterial fo r customers involved in making soap and building t i l e in s u la t io n . A decade la t e r the younger Mr. C la rk arranged fo r the sale of th is subsidiary to U.S. Gypsum. In the 1950' s, W h itta k e r became d i s t r i b u t o r o f c o lo r s fo r the Thomasset C o rp o ra tio n . Although most o f th e pro d u cts were shipped from the p la n t in Newark, the company began to store drums of these co lo rs at i t s South Kearny f a c i l i t y . F o r t h is purpose W h itta k e r was one o f th e f i r s t companies to. employ racks to f a c ilit a t e the handling of colors. WHITTAKER, CLARK & DANIELS, INC. 5- - In the e a rly 1960's, Whittaker acquired another source o f a unique material in Pioneer Talc of Allamore, Texas. Fo llo w in g Clarence E. C la r k ' s retirement in 1971, the company has been headed successively by Robert G. Smith, C larence U. D r i s c o l l , F re d e rick F. Roesch, Richard G. L ig h t , and, e f f e c t iv e th is past summer, George 0. Dippold. Each became president a f t e r many years of experience with the company. Clarence E. C lark noted th a t the oldest employee in the company's history was John Fran klin , who joined the company in 1915, r e t ir e d in 1968 and re c e n tly died at age 96. Mr. Clark added that during most of it s history the company was "something o f a fa m ily a f f a i r with even w ives, s is t e r s and c h ild r e n a c tiv e ly p a rtic ip a tin g " in managing th e b u s in e s s . T h e se in c lu d e d two nephews o f Clarence E. C la r k ,' who were prominent managers in t h e ir time William H. Snyder, who re tire d 10 years ago, and John C. W oodruff, a corporate d ir e c t o r involved with sales and marketing who died in in 1986. Contributions of Key People The r o l e o f key employees and t h e ir long-tim e lo y a lt y to the company was a lso stre sse d by F re d e ric k F, Roesch, who h im s e lf jo in ed the company in 1947 and r e t ir e d as chairman in 1986. He recalled the fo llo w in g people as having achieved u n u s u a lly high recognition in the trade: 0 W ally R o ff, employed from the 1940' s to 1960's and ultim ately becoming a vice president of sales. John S e id le r , w ith the company from the 1930's to 1960's, also risin g to vice president of sales. R o b e rt S m ith , a c t iv e in s a le s and m a rk e tin g and b r i e f l y president u n til his death, employed by the firm from the 1 950's to 1970's. WHITTAKER, CLARK & DANIELS, INC. 6- - M r. Roesch a ls o noted t h a t o v e r th e many y e a rs W h it t a k e r , Clark & Daniels, Inc. became noted fo r people who became prom inent in major ind u strial user markets. In serving the paint and wall covering market, fo r example, two key managers were George J. D ippo ld, who jo in e d the firm in the la t e 1940' s and who was re c e n tly named p re s id e n t and ch ie f operating o ffic e r of the company and the la t e S ila s M ounts!er, a chem ical e n g in e e r who was a c t iv e w ith the company from the 1950's to 1970's. In the c o s m e tic s f i e l d , t h r e e e x p e rts in t h is in d u s try were Clarence U. D r is c o ll, a former p re sid e n t and board chairman, now r e t ir e d ; F re d e rick F. Roesch, also a former president and chairman and also re tire d ; and Aaron Cohen, an engineer w ith C la rk C o lo rs who s p e c ia liz e d in c o lo r s f o r v a rio u s cosm etic m arkets, now re tire d . Two key em ployees who g ain ed r e c o g n it io n in s e llin g company m a t e r i a l s to t h e p l a s t i c s and r u b b e r m a r k e t s were F lo r in J. M a ile r , J r . , who re tire d in 1988 a fte r 40 years with the firm; and William C. Cooper, who died in 1985, A pioneer in se rv in g the ceramics market was Josephine G itte r, an engineer who worked fo r the firm fo r two decades before le a v in g the the company some 20 years ago. Among th ose who kept a c lo s e watch on the company's f in a n c ia l co n d itio n were John F r a n k lin who r e t i r e d i n 1958 a f t e r more than f i f t y ye ars with the firm; Joshua.H. Bennett, J r . , s e c r e t a r y / t r e a s u r e r f rom 1971 to h is r e t i r e m e n t i n 1986; Richard G. L i g h t , form erly p re sid e n t and recently named chairman and chief executive o f f ic e r ; and M ichael C. Argyelan, c u r r e n t ly s e n i o r v i c e p r e s i d e n t and s e c r e t a r y / t r e a s u r e r and r e c e n t ly appointed to the Board of D irectors. WHITTAKER, CLARK & DANIELS, INC. 7- - Over the years, W hittaker, C lark & D a n ie ls , Inc. has developed close relationships with a number of major companies th a t supply a v a rie ty o f chem icals, m inerals and pigment colors, some of which are ground to extremely pr eci se customer s p e c ific a t io n s . These c o mp a n i e s i n c l u d e Aluminum Company o f Ameri ca ( a l u m i n a ) , P f i z e r , Inc. ( t a l c , iron oxides and ca lc iu m c a r b o n a t e ) , NL Industri es (titanium d io x id e ) , G eorgia Kaolin Company (clay), Reckitt's-Colours Ltd. (ultramarine b l u e ) , Clark Colors (cosmetic colors) and Morton International (magnesia products). Expanding in Overseas Markets Since World War I I , the company has expanded it s foreign exports and currently has agents in England, Fran ce, West Germany, I t a ly , Spain, South Korea, Japan, A u s t r a lia , Portugal, Greece, South A fric a , New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, In d ia , Sweden, F in la n d , Isra e l, Mexico and South and Central Americas. The export program was gi ven a maj or t h r u s t by Elm er S t i l l w a g g o n , who o r ig in a lly e sta b lish e d sales agents in Europe and South America at the close of the war, and who died twenty years ago a f t e r serving the company fo r a quarter of a century. Clarence U. D r i s c o l l , a former president who retired in 1982 a fte r working f o r the firm f o r n e a rly 40 y e a rs, devoted much o f h is a tte n tio n to the cosm etic market. He noted that fo re ig n sales represented a small percentage o f the company's t o t a l s a le s , but th a t fo re ig n re p re se n ta tio n was s t i l l important as a support fo r the company's major cosmetic customers in the United States. "The United States is a world lead er in cosm etic products,"M r. D ris c o ll noted, "and these companies n a tu ra lly have a b ig in te r e s t in t h e ir own sales overseas. Our overseas program, therefore, was designed to give our United States customers the assurance o f having the same r e lia b le , continuing sources of materials at th e ir overseas in s ta lla tio n s that they have come to expect from us here at home."