Discovery october 2010 THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF KOCH COMPANIES The future of economic freedom On Nov. 2, the United States will hold The challenge entitled to one’s own opinions, but not an important mid-term election. to one’s own facts. Unfortunately, these values and prin- At stake will be control of the U.S. Con- cipled point of view are now being And the facts are that the overwhelm- gress, 39 state governorships and thou- strongly opposed by many politicians ing majority of the American people sands of other state and local offices. (and their media allies) who favor ever- will be much worse off if government High unemployment, record deficits, a increasing government. overspending is allowed to bankrupt the country. sluggish economy and a swelling federal Government – like fire, water, chemicals government have become flash point and most everything – is productive at Fateful warning issues for millions of concerned Ameri- some level and destructive at others. When Thomas Jefferson was inaugu- cans of every political persuasion. In the United States, government has rated President of the United States For the nearly 50,000 Koch company now grown to such a level that it is in 1801, he warned about a particularly employees in the United States, this choking American entrepreneurship destructive way of thinking. election is an opportunity to help de- and hurting the nation’s international It is wrong, he said, to punish someone cide the future of economic freedom. competitiveness. for working harder or being more suc- Heavy hitter Even worse, recent government actions cessful than someone else. According to the International Mon- are threatening to The American people will be He warned against etary Fund, the United States accounts bankrupt the country. “wasting the labors for about one-fourth of the world’s total This can only stifle much worse off if government of the people under output of goods and services, and one- economic growth and overspending is allowed to the pretense of fifth of the world’s purchasing power. job creation, which in bankrupt the country. taking care of them” Like it or not, what’s bad for the United turn will significantly and taking from some to States – including misguided federal pol- reduce the standard of living give to others “who have not exercised icies that undermine economic freedom of American families. equal industry and skill.” – is usually bad for the rest of the world. To preserve the nation’s economic More than 200 years later, the destruc- What has proven to be best for all soci- viability and individual freedoms, this tion of economic freedom that Jeffer- eties is economic freedom. explosive growth must be reversed. son warned against is being vigorously There are, of course, plenty of politi- promoted by this administration and Citizens on every continent enjoy many elected officials. more prosperity, cleaner environments, cians and critics who feel otherwise. longer lives and higher literacy rates in Many of them have been quite vocal in In the United States, the best antidote economically free societies. their attacks on Koch Industries and its to this kind of over-reaching govern- ment is the power of the ballot box. That’s why, for more than 40 years, Koch owners, as well as other Koch compa- Industries has openly and consistently nies and their employees. That was true in 1801, and is just as true today. supported the principles of economic However, as New York Senator Daniel www.kochfacts.com freedom and market-based policies. Patrick Moynihan famously said, one is http://kcief.khc.local/ this issue… The role of business pg 4 Water: a liquid asset pg 6 The battle for America’s future pg 7 Perspective: Charles Koch pg 8 Postal Pipeline I was just flipping through my latest edi- tion of Discovery magazine when – Wow! – an article about Koch Knight’s 100th anniversary! I don’t know why, but I just never expected it. I’ve had a smile on my face ever since. Here’s to 100 more! Greg Weakland Manager, manufacturing operations Koch Knight East Canton, Ohio Matador Cattle Company’s Texas ranch has won two significant environmental awards in the past six months. The Perspective column on the last page Congratulations on your award. You of the July issue cited a column in the have certainly earned it. January 2010 edition by Charles Koch. Jeff Goodwin I wanted to read it, but had trouble ac- Rangeland Management Specialist cessing the link to earlier newsletters. Grazing Land Conservation Initiative Can you help? U.S. Department of Agriculture Scott Price Cleburne, Texas Muskogee, Okla. Charles, the New Yorker article about Perspective editorials (and entire issues of Discovery) Koch is the most unrealistic description are available online at www.kochind.com. Just click of you and your company I can imagine. Koch Knight employees celebrated the 100th on Newsroom, then Publications. At the bottom of the The environment you’ve created for your anniversary of their company on July 10. Discovery section on the Publications page is a link to employees, this community and America previous issues dating back to January 2007. reflects the highest standards possible. My compliments to everyone at Koch These three groups have been rewarded for an outstanding company newsletter. I by your efforts to advance economic free- picked up the July issue of Discovery on a It is my pleasure to inform you that the dom and the limited role of government recent visit to Georgia-Pacific’s facility in Matador Ranch has been selected as in our society. Crossett, Ark. the 2010 recipient of the Outstanding Rangeland Stewardship Award from the My wife and I thank you for what you I had heard that Koch Industries was a Texas Section of the Society for Range are doing for all Americans. proud, successful and conservative com- Management Texas and Southwestern Bob Buford pany. It is refreshing to read a company Cattle Raiser Association. Wichita, Kan. newsletter that amplifies sound, conser- vative principles. The award will be presented at TSSRM’s Letters and other submissions become the property of Koch annual meeting in Odessa, Texas, in Industries, Inc., and may be reproduced in whole or in part, Best of luck to you and your organization. October and recognized next March at including your name, for any purpose and in any manner. Letters may be edited for length or clarity. Matt Halloran the TSCRA meeting. Regional sales manager This award will also be nominated for October 2010 | Volume 16 | Number 4 Long Reach/Allied Systems, Co. Discovery the 2011 National Cattleman’s Beef Dallas, Texas Editorial Board Questions? Comments? Association’s Regional Environmental Philip Ellender Contact: Rod Learned Rich Fink 316.828.6136 Stewardship Award. Jeff Gentry [email protected] Dale Gibbens I am a GP employee at the Muskogee If selected as the regional winner, your Mary Beth Jarvis Publication Design: Mill, a towel and tissue facility. Charles Koch Deanna Crockett nomination will compete nationwide Jim Mahoney Koch Creative Group I have just read Discovery for the first time, for NCBA’s National Environmental Dave Robertson and found it interesting and informative. Stewardship Award. www.kochind.com ©2010, Koch Industries, Inc. Koch is an EOE. M/F/D/V 2 International News Kingston - An MBM® session in Ontario drew a Corpus Christi - These sulfur pellets are destined for markets Shanghai - High school Junior Achievement members visited capacity crowd. in Africa, Asia and South America. INVISTA’s offices on “Shadow Day.” Canada – INVISTA’s largest site (in terms Sulfur on a 16-acre site next to Flint is located. They were joined by 16 corpo- of employees) is not in Delaware, Texas, Hills Resources’ Corpus Christi, Texas, rate volunteers. the Carolinas or even China. That honor refinery complex. Students were given a brief introduction goes to INVISTA’s Kingston, Ontario, The location makes great business sense to the company and a tour of the office facility, with about 900 employees. for two reasons: before shadowing INVISTA employees Kingston is not only INVISTA’s largest First, FHR’s refinery ends up with tons for half a day. site, it is the largest airbag yarn manufac- of sulfur as a byproduct of refining One of the highlights of the office tour turing facility in the world. crude oil. Lots of customers want that was a 10-minute video conference with On June 25, INVISTA’s Kingston leader- sulfur for making phosphate fertilizer or employees at INVISTA’s office in -Ge ship team co-sponsored a Market-Based sulfuric acid. neva, Switzerland, six time zones away. Management® workshop in conjunction Second, and just as important, the port INVISTA’s Shanghai volunteers made with St. Lawrence College Business of Corpus Christi gives Koch Sulfur several detailed presentations, helping Development. Products Co. a perfect staging area for the students understand how the busi- That day-long session, which was open delivery to customers worldwide. ness operates, who its customers are and to the public, drew a capacity crowd of “We’ve been marketing sulfur for more what a “real world” job is like. more than 130 attendees. than 15 years,” said Douglas Towns, At the end of the half-day session, the Among those attending were govern- general manager of global sulfur mar- students returned the favor by making ment employees, business leaders, keting, “but almost all of that has been a presentation summarizing the les- entrepreneurs and employees of not-for- molten sulfur.” sons and insights they had gained while profit organizations. Molten sulfur can’t be loaded onto big shadowing. Attendees were continually challenged cargo ships, only short-haul barges.