Oglebay Norton on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Oglebay Norton Corporation was an ore mining company and operated
Chronological Company Timeline
* 1854: H.B. Tuttle & Co., predecessor to Oglebay Norton, created as a two-partner iron ore agency.
* 1855:
Carmeuse
has antitrust approval to buy Oglebay.
lake freighter
Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the ...
s on the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
. At one point their flagship was the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' through their Columbia Transportation Division.
History
The company's roots go back to 1851, when Hewitt & Tuttle, an iron ore brokerage, formed a shipping subsidiary. After several mergers over the years, the firm became Oglebay, Norton in 1890, named for Earl Oglebay and David Z. Norton. In the 1890s, Oglebay, Norton and Company acted as the sales and shipping agent for Rockefeller's Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines. The company was incorporated in 1924. Oglebay Norton was acquired by Carmeuse Lime & Stone, Inc. in 2008.
Chronological Company Timeline
* 1854: H.B. Tuttle & Co., predecessor to Oglebay Norton, created as a two-partner iron ore agency.
* 1855: John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...
hired at $3.50 a week. Quits later over salary dispute.
* 1884: New partnership formed when Wheeling, West Virginia, industrialist Earl W. Oglebay joins firm.
* 1890: Cleveland banker David Z. Norton joins; Oglebay, Norton & Co. formed.
* 1890: Company starts to manage Rockefeller's ore properties on the Mesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district and mountain range in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iro ...
in Minnesota.
* 1921: Company assembles its first Great Lakes shipping fleet with 11 freighters, which became the Columbia Steamship Company.
*1930s: Company began to manage four docks along the Great Lakes.
*1931: Columbia Steamship Company. renamed the Columbia Transportation Company
*1939: Company initiated a study of low-grade minerals and established the Reserve Mining Company to develop taconite
Taconite () is a variety of banded iron formation, an iron-bearing (over 15% iron) sedimentary rock, in which the iron minerals are interlayered with quartz, chert, or carbonate. The name ''taconyte'' was coined by Horace Vaughn Winchell (1865– ...
.
*1957: Company adopted the name Oglebay Norton Company and began trading publicly.
*1960s: Company established taconite mine in Eveleth, Minnesota
Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,493 at the 2020 census. Eveleth is part of the Quad Cities, with Virginia, Gilbert, and Mountain Iron. U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are ...
.
* 1975: Oglebay-leased ship, the Edmund Fitzgerald, sinks in Lake Superior. Ship owned by Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company.
* February 1998: John Lauer takes over as CEO; stock is around $40; company has $52 million in debt. He completes half-dozen acquisitions in first 18 months, pushing company into limestone business.
*June 1998: Debt rises to more than $300 million.
* April 1998: Stock reaches all-time high, $50.50.
* 2000: Company buys Michigan Limestone Operations (MLO) and Jebco Abrasives; MLO executive Michael Lundin begins rise at Oglebay.
*October 2001: Company stopped paying dividends to shareholders.
*November 2001: Lundin named president.
* 2002: Recession and weak construction market pummel stock to $3. Debt rises to more than $400 million. Lundin becomes CEO.
* January 2004: Company misses bond interest payment.
* February 2004: Oglebay files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wh ...
. Week later, stock falls to less than $1, delisted from Nasdaq stock exchange.
*November 2004: Bankruptcy court approves reorganization plan.
* January 2005: Company exits bankruptcy after reorganizing finances and reducing debt to $275 million.
* August 2006: Last three freighters sold to another Great Lakes shipper; Oglebay to concentrate on limestone and lime.
* July 2007: Harbinger Capital Partners
Harbinger Capital Partners is a private hedge fund based in New York City, New York, founded by Philip Falcone. Harbinger is a highly diversified multi-strategy hedge fund. Notable investments have included sub-prime mortgages in the United Sta ...
launches $31-a-share hostile takeover. Oglebay adopts anti-takeover plan.
* September 2007: Oglebay says it has multiple proposals to buy the company for more than Harbinger's bid.
* October 2007: Subsidiary of Belgian-based Carmeuse Group, global producer of lime, agrees to buy Oglebay for $36 a share, or $520 million.
* November 2007: Oglebay shareholders approve merger with Carmeuse.
* February 8, 2008: Announcement thaCarmeuse
has antitrust approval to buy Oglebay.
See also
* Michigan Limestone and Chemical CompanyReferences
Shipping companies of the United States Great Lakes shipping companies {{US-transport-company-stub