Marketpl 0-1 This Comprehensive History Traces the Evolu Tion of Eagle-Picher Industries, a Manufactur Ing Firm Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, for Almost 150 Years
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Marketpl 0-1 This comprehensive history traces the evolu tion of Eagle-Picher Industries, a manufactur ing firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio, for almost 150 years. Focusing on events prior to the com pany's involvement in toxic tort litigation, which forced it to file bankruptcy, this work examines Eagle-Picher's development as a diversified industrial manufacturer. From a closely held, regional producer of white lead and other paint pigments, Eagle- Picher became an important miner and pro cessor of non-ferrous metals by investing in zinc-lead fields in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma during the early twentieth century. Once ore reserves in these areas were depleted, the company turned to manufacturing indus trial goods and pursued an aggressive and unique expansion and diversification program during the post—World War II era. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Eagle-Picher acquired over twenty-five firms, all manufacturers of in dustrial goods, and assembled a broadly based specialized productive capacity. Eagle-Picher's history illustrates a number of important trends and concepts. First, its expe riences in the late nineteenth century provide a valuable look at how smaller firms adapted to the forces of consolidation in the economy. Further, Eagle-Picher's experience as an indus trial manufacturer demonstrates the ways in which mid-sized firms grew by focusing on market niches overlooked by larger firms. Finally, Eagle-Picher's approach to acquisition E AGLE-PICH E R INDUSTRIES Historical Perspectives on Business Enterprise Series Mansel G. Blackford and K. Austin Kerr, Editors Henry E. Huntington and the Creation of Southern California William B. Friedricks Making Iron and Steel: Independent Mills in Pittsburgh, 1820-1920 John N. Ingham Rebuilding Cleveland: The Cleveland Foundation and Its Evolving Urban Strategy Diana Tittle Daniel Willard and Progressive Management on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad David M. Vrooman EAGLE-PICHER INDUSTRIES Strategies for Survival in the Industrial Marketplace, 1840-1980 DOUGLAS KNERR OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS Columbus Copyright © 1992 by the Ohio State University Press. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Knerr, Douglas, 1960 Eagle-Picher Industries : strategies for survival in the industrial marketplace, 1840-1980 / Douglas Knerr. p. cm. — (Historical perspectives on business enterprise series) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8142-0557-7 1. Eagle-Picher Industries—History. 2. Nonferrous metal industries—United States—History. I. Title. II. Series. HD9539.A3U445 1991 338.7'669'0973—dc20 91-803 CIP Text and jacket design by Nighthawk Design. Type set in Meridien by Brevis Press, Bethany, CT. Printed by BookCrafters, Chelsea, MI. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.© Printed in the U.S.A. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Preface vii Introduction 1 ONE Survival of the Fittest: The Eagle in Cincinnati 15 TWO Tri-State Heritage 49 THREE A Search for Order 77 FOUR Out of the Mines and into the Factory 116 FIVE Building the Modern Corporation 151 SIX Managing Diversification 178 Epilogue 210 Appendix 215 Notes 219 Selected Bibliography 247 Index 263 PREFACE The opportunity to explore the history of a nearly 150-year-old firm is an attractive proposition for any business historian. The diversity of Eagle-Picher Industries and the wide sweep of its history provide a project that is intrinsically interesting to a number of groups. The employees, customers, suppliers, and retirees of a Fortune 500 com pany represent a significant potential audience. Further, it is an op portune moment to tap Eagle-Picher's corporate memory. As a new generation assumes greater responsibility throughout the company, a history provides a valuable and otherwise missing link to the at titudes, accomplishments, and disappointments of past generations. Although much has been written about Eagle-Picher over the years, articles or reports often describe only one facet of the company at a particular moment. In contrast, a comprehensive history supplies a unique reference with a number of potential uses. Eagle-Picher's history also offers intriguing opportunities for the historian. Its po sition as a mid-sized, diversified industrial producer enables com parisons to the well-documented patterns of development of large- scale firms and provides a chance to evaluate established generaliza tions from a different perspective. The similarities and differences that emerge throughout the story offer insight into the behavior of an often overlooked sector of the American business community. Eagle-Picher's multifaceted past, the product of major transitions in size, function, and structure, accommodates a focus on several important themes. The rise of the modern multidivisional firm, pat terns of diversification, methods of managing diversification, and be havior within the industrial marketplace are crucial issues in the company's development and indicate the value of a close look at Eagle-Picher's history. vii viii / Preface During the 1980s the company has been a defendant in a large number of lawsuits stemming from its manufacture of asbestos- containing products. This book does not attempt to explore this heated issue since at this writing it is a story without a conclusion. In the epilogue I offer a brief introduction to the controversy and describe the company's initial responses. During my three-year association with Eagle-Picher Industries in the preparation of this history I have become indebted to a number of people. However, the company itself must receive foremost rec ognition. Its management graciously offered a variety of sources, in cluding the opportunity to interview past and present employees, and agreed to limit editorial participation to matters of fact. Although I completed the project as an outside contractor, the company consis tently extended insiders' privileges. The greatest individual contribution to the history project was made by Charles S. Dautel, vice-president and corporate secretary, now retired. He initiated the project and maintained a high level of enthusiasm that enabled the work to be completed. Mr. Dautel gave freely of his professional and personal time, offering invaluable in sights into Eagle-Picher's development and opening doors through out the company to provide me with substantive research materials. I also owe a great debt to William D. Atteberry, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Eagle-Picher. Mr. Atteberry graciously gave interviews on several occasions and provided essential infor mation about the motivations behind important events. Thomas E. Petry, Eagle-Picher's current chairman and chief executive officer, also made significant contributions to the history project through his comments and support. A number of other employees of Eagle-Picher provided invaluable assistance. Foremost of these was Corinne M. Faris, corporate sec retary, who offered encouragement and direction during the final stages of the project. Kathryn Goetz, Nancy Downing, Judy Wilburn, Robert Bockstahler, and J. Rodman Nail also contributed their con siderable talents to the project in ways too numerous to mention. I am also indebted to Professors Gene Lewis and Roger Daniels of the University of Cincinnati, who read and commented on portions of the manuscript at various stages. Librarians at the departments of history, science and technology, and business and government at the Hamilton County Public Library Preface / ix in Cincinnati were extremely helpful in recovering important sources for this work. I am also grateful to Charles Nodler, archivist at South ern Missouri State College, for his help in locating various materials on Eagle-Picher's mining era in the Tri-State region. Series editors Mansel Blackford and K. Austin Kerr of the Ohio State University offered invaluable assistance and encouragement throughout the preparation of this book. Their thoughtful critiques challenged me to expand my inquiry, focus my analysis, and instilled in me the confidence to complete this project. I am also indebted to Alex Holzman, assistant director of the Ohio State University Press, for his advice and patience throughout the revision and production process. Any errors of fact or interpretation, of course, remain mine alone. INTRODUCTION "Eagle-What?" This question, once posed by Forbes magazine, is a familiar one to Eagle-Picher employees. Even in its hometown of Cin cinnati, where Eagle-Picher is among the city's oldest and largest en terprises, the company is not widely known. Eagle-Picher does not maintain an advertising department, nor has it participated in image- building campaigns. The company's name also obscures its identity. The combination of a brand and a family name, it reveals nothing about Eagle-Picher's products. Yet Eagle-Picher is firmly entrenched among America's leading manufacturers. Ranking 410 on the 1990 Fortune 500 survey with $729 million sales, the company is best characterized as a mid-sized, diversified industrial producer. In 1990 Eagle-Picher employed over eight thousand people in more than sixty plants in the United States, Europe, and the Far East. The company organizes its seventeen di visions into three broad categories: automotive, industrial, and ma chinery. Although the automotive industry is Eagle-Picher's largest customer, products range