In Memoriam Henry P. Becton, Sr

Volume 29 Number 2 December 2009 In Memoriam Henry P. Becton, Sr. Inside This Issue It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of BD’s Director Emeritus Henry P. Becton, Sr. Becton died on October 25th at his BD Prepares for home in Blue Hill, Maine at the age 2009 H1N1 Flu of 95. Known as “Hank” by his colleagues and friends, he devoted his entire professional life to BD, the company founded by his father, Maxwell W. Becton, and Col. Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Sr. “Hank was the living embodiment of BD’s purpose and values. His glowing smile was the very face of BD,” said Ed Ludwig, BD Chairman Henry P. Becton, Sr. and Chief Executive Officer. “It was an honor to know Hank personally and to be mentored by him as I grew in the Company.” Becton left an indelible mark on BD, serving as Executive Vice President, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Board in the years of the Company’s BD greatest growth and expansion. He saw BD grow from 600 associates Box 059, 1 Becton Drive and sales of $2.5 million to 29,000 associates and over $7 billion in Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417-1880 annual sales. Editor Becton and Fairleigh S. “Dick” Dickinson, Jr. shepherded BD Alice Moskowitz through the “disposables revolution” and into the production of Telephone: 973.942.3086 [email protected] single-use sterile products. They also guided the Company as it made the transition from a family business to a professionally managed, Advisory Committee publicly owned corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Kathie Bischoff Frank King Henry Prentiss Becton was born on September 15, 1914, when BD was Mae Savas just 17 years young. The family lived in Rutherford, New Jersey, close to the BD plant, and young Henry often went to the office with his father. During his college years at Yale University, he worked at BD during the BD, BD logo and all other trademarks are property of Becton, Dickinson and Company. © 2009 BD summers, first in the stockroom and later in the cost department. Continued on page 2 In Memoriam Henry P. Becton, Sr. Continued from page 1 henry prentiss Becton joined BD officially in the fall of 1937, becton the year he graduated from the Sheffield september 15, 1914 - Scientific School at Yale with a B.S. in Industrial october 25, 2009 Administration. He spent his first year and a half on the road as a salesman for BD. When “that’s the way — this apprenticeship was over, Becton returned to that’s the old fight” the BD plant and worked in the hospital sales department. At the end of each day he spent The Becton Family would like to several hours in the various manufacturing hear from you. If you would like to departments learning their operations. He did share a story or memory of Hank, some research on thermometer contractions and worked in the lamp room, doing simple syringe- please send it to: forming operations. BD, 1 Becton Drive, MC 059, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417. Or, you can visit www.hpbmemories.blogspot.com and share your story online. NEW ADDRESS or NAME? Call 1.800.234.9855 Please DO NOT contact Alice Moskowitz about this. You must call the above number yourself to provide the necessary personal information. Young Hank at work in the lamp room. You must also call this number if you wish to report the death of a BD retiree so that he or she can be removed from The BD Echo mailing list. Young Becton worked on the development of a stain-marking system for syringes and helped design the decal method of marking syringes and thermometers. He made trips to Corning Glass Works to see how thermometer tubing was made. He also traveled to Japan at the start of World War II to arrange to increase BD’s supply of thermometer blanks. In 1939, at the age of Among the items the BD Museum 25, Becton joined the BD Board of Directors as Collection has Assistant Treasurer. recently received are a BD Safety Compliance Initiative™ display and a In 1942, Becton married Jean Coggan in a quiet hypodermic syringe in its original box. ceremony at the Englewood Police Court. Just To visit the museum or make three months later, Henry joined the U.S.Army a donation to the Air Force and was shipped overseas. He was BD Museum Collection, assigned to the Eighth Air Force and posted to call 201.847.5351 or write to: a small town in Lincolnshire, England as the BD Archives, Box 115 technical sergeant in charge of the intelligence 1 Becton Drive office. While Henry was overseas, Jean gave Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417-1880 birth to twins, Henry, Jr. and Jean. He did not see the twins until they were a year old. 2 Also while Becton was abroad, Becton dedicated himself to “BD had stagnated during the his father Maxwell suffered the areas in which he had war years, with my father and a stroke and could no longer experience—manufacturing, the Colonel aging and Dick and come to work. Col. Dickinson, research and relations with me in the Armed Services,”said by then in his 70s, appealed employees and customers. Becton. “We wanted to expand for Henry’s early release “Dick was very smart but beyond the U.S.” In 1950, BD from service to help manage hadn’t had sales training and acquired its Canadian sales the Company, which was was not a detail man. He agent, the Norman S. Wright manufacturing critical medical was a thinker and planner,” Company, and soon after supplies. In 1944, Becton said Becton. “I was closer MAPAD, SA, BD’s distributor returned to New Jersey. The to the people in the plant in Mexico, and Industrias Colonel’s son Dick, who was and had hands-on sales and Cirurgicas in Brazil. five years younger, continued to manufacturing experience.” serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. Over the next 20 years, the energetic second- generation team acquired many other companies in related—and sometimes unrelated—industries. These included the Wilson Rubber Company, Baltimore Biological Laboratories, the Bard-Parker Company, Falcon Plastics, Hank Becton with Dick Dickinson. Clay Adams, the Huntington Research Center, Schwarz At the end of World War II, BioResearch, Electrodyne, 90 percent of the nation’s Endevco, Edmont, and Ivers- syringe and needle production Lee. The acquisitions brought was concentrated in the New both new products and talented York metropolitan area. At people to BD, but the prime the urging of the U.S. Defense engine of growth during the Department, Becton and Becton father and son. period was the Company’s Dickinson decided the time historic transition from reusable Col. Dickinson and Maxwell had come to build a BD plant to disposable medical products. Becton died in 1951, both at outside New Jersey. They the age of 82. BD had always traveled to 30 states up and The ‘Disposables Revolution’ down the East Coast and in been a family company, and “The decision to move to the Midwest in search of the there was never any doubt disposables was driven, at first, most suitable site. They finally about the succession. Dick by competitive pressures,” settled on the small town of Dickinson had returned said Becton. “The Rohr Columbus, Nebraska, 90 miles from the service and became Company had come out with west of Omaha. The original President of BD. Henry a cheap needle that they called Columbus plant, which opened Becton became Executive Vice disposable but which had an in 1949, was so successful President. “Dick had a majority aluminum hub and could be that it served as a model for stock position, so it was always resterilized and reused. Our additional Nebraska plants in understood that he would head response was to develop a Broken Bow and Holdrege, and the Company,” Becton once truly disposable needle with a explained. later for Canaan, Connecticut and Sumter, South Carolina. Continued on page 4 3 In Memoriam Henry P. Becton, Sr. Continued from page 3 plastic hub that could not be “We had borrowed up to our our production many times resterilized by the heat method limit, and in 1959 we came over, and the infusion of capital in use at the time. At the same close to operating at a loss for fueled BD’s expansion at home time, several people in New only the second time in BD’s and abroad. We acquired many Jersey died from injections with history. We either had to sell out companies during that period, hepatitis-contaminated needles. to another company with the some of which turned out not That confirmed our decision.” necessary capital or go public. to be in our best interest and Dick and I were in our forties were later divested.” In pursuit of the ideal and not about to retire. After disposable, a young engineer considering the alternatives, During this period, Dickinson named Wesley J. (Jack) Howe we decided it was better to go continued to serve as President, was assigned to explore public, and that turned out to adding the title of Chief alternative materials and be the right decision.” Executive Officer in 1968. processes. By the summer Becton was Chairman of the of 1957, a dedicated BD In May 1962, 480,000 BD Executive Committee and in team was working full time shares were offered to the public 1972 became Chairman of the in Columbus to set up a at $25 per share.

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