Misplaced Pages

#487512

41-1036: For much of its early history, Grace's main business was in South America, in maritime shipping , railroads, agriculture, and silver mining, with 30,000 employees in Peru. In the 1950s, Grace began to diversify and grew into a Fortune 100 worldwide conglomerate . After emerging from a prolonged bankruptcy period of 12 years in 2014, the company spun off its other major operating divisions. In 2015, Grace separated into two independent public companies. Its Catalysts and Material Technologies business segments remained in Grace, and what would later become GCP Applied Technologies Inc. held its Construction Products and Darex Packaging Technologies businesses. In September 2021, Standard Industries acquired Grace (the Catalysts and Material Technologies business segments). The company

82-464: A 13-year bankruptcy case stemming from asbestos claims and immediately built a new 90,000 sq ft headquarters building on its 160-acre Columbia campus. The company has been involved in several controversial incidents of proven and alleged corporate crimes, including exposing workers and residents of an entire town to asbestos contamination in Libby and Troy , Montana , water contamination (the basis of

123-686: A 160-acre research complex, the Washington Research Center, in Columbia, Maryland. It also commissioned the New York City skyscraper, the W. R. Grace Building , as its world headquarters, in midtown Manhattan, where it directed worldwide operations, including Grace Container Products. In 1953, the company became a public company via an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange . In 1954,

164-455: A United States international carrier flying down the west coast of South America. Panagra ultimately evolved into a jet carrier flying from Miami and New York to South America before merging with Braniff Airways in 1967, becoming Braniff's South American network. These routes were sold to Eastern Air Lines in 1982 and then to American Airlines in 1990. In 1945, the founder's grandson, J. Peter Grace , became president. Under his leadership,

205-567: A can sealant plant in Minhing, China, near Shanghai , becoming the first wholly foreign-owned, private company to do business in The People's Republic of China . In February 2016, Grace completed the corporate spin-off of GCP Applied Technologies . In July 2016, the company acquired a catalysts business from BASF . In June 2021, the company acquired a unit from Albemarle Corporation . In September 2021, Standard Industries acquired

246-618: A separate asbestos property damage trust. In 1995, the European Patent Office (EPO) granted a patent on an anti-fungal product derived from the neem tree to the United States Department of Agriculture and W. R. Grace. The Indian government challenged the patent when it was granted, claiming that the process for which the patent had been granted had been in use in India for more than 2,000 years. In 2000,

287-736: A shipping division. Grace Line began service in 1882, with ports of call between Peru and New York. Regular steamship service was established in 1893, with a subsidiary called the New York & Pacific Steamship Co., that operated under the British flag. Ships built outside the United States before 1905 were banned from the US registry. US-flag service began in 1912 with the Atlantic and Pacific Steamship Company. The activities of both companies and

328-546: The Peruvian government nationalized properties in Peru owned by the company. Harold Logan, Grace's executive vice president, stated the company would join in governmental-level talks over compensation of expropriated American concerns. The loss of Grace's properties in Peru began in 1969 when 25,000 acres of sugarcane plantations were taken over in agrarian reform. The sugar lands were at Paramonga , 110 miles north of Lima , and at Cartavio, near Trujillo , 200 miles farther up

369-472: The 1980s, W. R. Grace had owned the following restaurants: American Cafe, Del Taco , Coco's Bakery , El Torito , Hungry Tiger and various restaurants it had purchased from General Mills . In 1966, the company bought a 53% controlling stake in Miller Brewing for $ 36 million from Lorraine Mulberger, the granddaughter of Frederick Miller , who sold the stake for religious reasons. The company sold

410-537: The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company was trying to find a resolution through federal court-supervised reorganization in response to the quickly growing number of asbestos-related bodily injury claims. On September 19, 2008, Grace filed a revised plan of reorganization to the same court, jointly with the asbestos injury claimants. In January 2011, the court issued an order in favor of

451-622: The Colombian Line. During World War II , Grace Lines operated transport for the U.S. War Shipping Administration , including the SS Sea Marlin . J. Peter Grace took over management of the company after his father suffered a stroke in 1945. After the war, the Grace line operated 23 ships totaling 188,000 gross tons, and 14 more on bareboat charters . In 1954 the company bought Davison Chemical Company (founded by William T. Davison as Davison, Kettlewell & Company in 1832), and

SECTION 10

#1732772659488

492-574: The Dewey & Almy Chemical Company (founded in 1919 by Bradley Dewey and Charles Almy). In 1960, the Grace Line, inspired by the pioneering efforts of Sea-Land Service , Matson Navigation , and Seatrain Lines , sought to begin containerizing its South American cargo operations by converting the conventional freighters Santa Eliana and Santa Leonor into fully cellular container ships . The effort

533-799: The EPO ruled in India's favour, but W. R. Grace appealed, claiming that prior art about the product had never been published in a scientific journal. On March 8, 2005, that appeal was lost and the EPO revoked the Neem patent. Maritime shipping Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 545973009 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:44:19 GMT Vroom %26 Dreesmann Vroom & Dreesmann ( V&D )

574-691: The Miller stake in 1969 to Philip Morris for $ 130 million, after first cancelling an agreed-upon sale to PepsiCo for $ 120 million. This resulted in a lawsuit. The company has its headquarters in Columbia, MD , an unincorporated census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland . Although W. R. Grace commissioned the W. R. Grace Building in New York City , built in 1971, the company no longer has any offices at that location. Previously,

615-514: The Netherlands until 1972. Vroom & Dreesmann was reorganized into Vendex in 1972 and Vendex International in 1982. In 1987, the in-house restaurant chain La Place was opened. In 1988, Anton Dreesman was replaced as the company's CEO with Abraham Verhoef. In 1999, Vendex merged with Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer (KBB), the parent company of retail chains De Bijenkorf and Hema , and

656-720: The US Shipping board decided to place the five ships up for bid and Dollar Shipping Company won the bid. With no large ships for the transpacific operations, Grace sold the Pacific Mail, its registered name, and goodwill to Dollar. Now without a transpacific service, Grace did not need the six intercoastal freighters and sold them to the American Hawaiian Line . At this time, Grace formed the Panama Mail Steamship Company, to operate

697-509: The V&;D owners agreed to inject capital, but not the amount needed. Eventually, this problem was also resolved. In mid-March 2015, the rent reduction in Den Bosch and Heerlen remained unresolved. In May 2015, V&D kept working on reducing the rents and a new business plan, to be implemented in the short term, which aimed to make V&D profitable again in two years. In December 2015,

738-498: The book and film A Civil Action ) in Woburn, Massachusetts , and an Acton, Massachusetts , Superfund site. While Grace no longer makes asbestos or related products, at the time of its bankruptcy in 2001 it faced over 65,000 asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits involving over 129,000 claims. On April 2, 2001, Grace and its subsidiaries in the United States filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy reorganization in

779-818: The business, and in 1865 the company name was changed to Grace Brothers & Co. The company established headquarters in New York City in 1865. Working in fertilizer and machinery , the company was chartered in 1872 and incorporated in 1895. In 1904, Michael P. Grace became president after the death of William Grace. The company expanded, creating business divisions including Grace Shipping, Grace Cruise Lines, Grace Petroleum, Grace Drilling, and Grace Healthcare. Grace acquired and combined other companies to create and expand businesses such as Barilla Pasta , FAO Schwarz , Ingersoll-Rand , Roto-Rooter , Del Taco , and Cartavio Distilleries. In 1914, it created Grace National Bank . In 1928, an agreement between Grace and Pan American formed Pan American-Grace Airways (or Panagra),

820-487: The coast. Grace retained small mining operations producing copper, tin, and silver, in southern Peru, about 100 miles north of Juliaca . Jose E. Flores, head of W. R. Grace S.A. Peru, closed the mining operations for Grace in Latin America when the government of Peru nationalized the remaining interests. In 1928, Grace and Pan American Airways jointly formed Pan American-Grace Airways known as Panagra, establishing

861-414: The company acquired Davison Chemical Company and Dewey & Almy Chemical Company, entering the specialty chemicals and specialty materials industries and establishing the basis for the current product lines. In February 1981, the company announced a joint venture with Netherlands retail giant Vroom & Dreesmann , which gave its Dutch partner 50% buy-in to many of its retail stores. In 1987, Grace built

SECTION 20

#1732772659488

902-520: The company had its headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida . Prior to its closing, the Boca Raton headquarters had about 130 employees. On January 27, 1999, it announced it was moving its administrative staff to the Columbia office and closing the Boca Raton headquarters. About 40 of the employees went to Columbia, and some employees went to Cambridge, Massachusetts . In 2014, the company emerged from

943-429: The company itself. In May 2016 Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) announced that it would take over up to 20 former V&D locations by 2017. HBC said the expansion would cost CAD $ 340 million and create 2,500 jobs in the stores and another 2,500 temporary construction jobs. The Dutch stores would operate under the " Hudson's Bay " and " Saks Off Fifth " brands. As of mid-2019, Hudson's Bay Company still operated 15 stores in

984-864: The company owned the country's largest oil-drilling fleet, ran the world's largest cattle ranch and the world's largest cocoa bean company, sugar plantations in Peru, cotton mills in Chile, silver, clay, phosphate, tin mines and processed rare earths for the US nuclear arms program. Grace owned a food group that operated 900 chain restaurant locations, and a retail division with chains for sporting goods, home improvement, jewelry, aftermarket automotive parts and leather goods. The company operated fertilizer companies, confectioners and beverage companies, including Miller Brewing . Grace pioneered genetic engineering at its Agricetus division in Wisconsin, and human gene therapy at its Aurigent Pharmaceuticals group. The company constructed

1025-692: The company. There are two accounts of the incorporation date of W. R. Grace & Co. According to The New York Times , the company was incorporated as part of the estate and successor planning in 1895. The three brothers consolidated most of their holdings into a new private company, incorporated in West Virginia , called W. R. Grace & Company. The consolidation involved W. R. Grace & Co. of New York, Grace Brothers & Co. of Lima, Peru, Grace & Co. of Valparaiso Chile , William R. Grace & Co. of London, and J. W. Grace & Co of San Francisco. According to its website, W. R. Grace & Co.

1066-629: The country. The department stores' product range included clothing and shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, books, home-entertainment products, electric goods, stationery, cards and posters, furniture and homewares. Most branches also had a La Place in-house restaurant, a travel agent and an ATM . Larger branches also had a bakery. Vroom & Dreesmann was founded in 1887 by Willem Vroom and Anton Dreesmann. The first branch opened in Weesperstraat in Amsterdam . The company expanded rapidly throughout

1107-1314: The defunct Vroom & Dreesmann locations. On August 31, 2019, the company announced that all 15 of those stores would close by year-end. The brand name V&D was bought by entrepreneurs Ronald van Zetten, Roland Kahn, and Jaco Scheffers. In 2018 a web store with the V&D brand was opened. Upon the chain's closing in 2016, V&D had 62 stores, located in Alkmaar , Almere , Alphen aan den Rijn , Amersfoort , Amstelveen , Amsterdam ( Kalverstraat ), Amsterdam-Noord at Buikslotermeerplein , Apeldoorn , Arnhem , Assen , Bergen op Zoom , Beverwijk , Breda , Delft , Den Haag , Den Helder , 's-Hertogenbosch , Deventer , Doetinchem , Dordrecht , Ede , Eindhoven , Emmen , Enschede , Goes , Gorinchem , Gouda , Groningen , Haarlem , Haarlem-Schalkwijk , Heerlen (see article ), Hellevoetsluis , Hengelo , Hilversum , Hoofddorp , Hoorn , Leeuwarden , Leiden , Leidschendam , Maastricht , Meppel , Naaldwijk , Nijmegen , Oss , Purmerend , Rijswijk , Roermond , Roosendaal , Rotterdam , Rotterdam-Zuid at Winkelcentrum Zuidplein , Sittard , Tilburg , Uden , Utrecht at Hoog Catharijne , Veenendaal , Venlo , Vlaardingen , Weert , Zaandam , Zeist , Zoetermeer , and Zwolle , all in

1148-491: The firm was again under court protection for insolvency . The website no longer sold articles. V&D gift cards as well as air miles were no longer accepted for payment. On 31 December 2015, V&D was declared bankrupt. The appointed liquidators kept the department stores open, pending restructuring and takeover talks with interested parties. On 26 January 2016, Supermarket chain Jumbo announced that it had acquired

1189-542: The first air link between North and South America, which began operation in 1929. In 1967, Panagra merged with Braniff International Airways . Prior to 1985, W. R. Grace operated a retail division. Among its brands were Orchard Supply Hardware and Home Centers West (sold to Wickes Companies in 1986), Handy City home improvement stores, Home Quarters Warehouse , J. B. Robinson Jewelers , Sheplers Western Wear, and Herman's World of Sporting Goods which it had acquired in 1970. These were sold to various buyers in 1985. In

1230-515: The new plan and in January 2012, the court denied all appeals and affirmed the plan. After a motion for reconsideration, the plan was reaffirmed on June 11, 2012. On February 3, 2014, Grace emerged from the asbestos-related Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which took more than 12 years. Under the plan of reorganization approved by the court, all parties filings the asbestos-related claims were to direct their inquiry to either an asbestos personal injury trust or

1271-735: The parent firm were consolidated into the Grace Steamship Company beginning in 1916. The firm originally specialized in traffic to the west coast of South America then later expanded into the Caribbean. In 1916, Grace acquired a controlling interest in the Pacific Mail Steamship Company . In 1921, Pacific received five 535 ft. President class ships from the United States Shipping Board for transpacific operation. In 1923,

W. R. Grace and Company - Misplaced Pages Continue

1312-425: The same ship negated the operating economies that full containerization promised. In 1970, Grace Line was sold to Prudential Lines for $ 44.5 million, with the merged company renamed Prudential Grace Line. It was taken over by Delta Steamship Lines in 1978, thereby extinguishing the name Grace in ocean shipping. Subsequently, Delta Steamship Lines was acquired and consolidated by Crowley Maritime in 1982. In 1974,

1353-475: The smaller ships that were formerly owned and used by the Pacific Mail in the Central American trade. These ships were not involved in the sale to Dollar. On the death of William R. Grace in 1904, he was succeeded by William L. Sauders as company president followed by Joseph Peter Grace, Sr. (1872–1950) who became president in 1907. In 1938 the Colombian Line merged with Grace Line bringing an end to

1394-467: The subsidiary La Place . Talks continued for selling the stores that focused in February on Roland Kahn's retailer CoolCat. By 16 February, the negotiations for a takeover had broken down. About 10,000 employees lost their jobs. In V&D's latter days, Canadian retail group Hudson's Bay Company negotiated with the landlords to acquire most of the company's premises without having an interest in

1435-629: Was a Dutch chain of department stores founded in 1887. It was declared bankrupt on 31 December 2015, although its branches were still in operation until 15 February 2016. On 16 February 2016, it was announced that takeover negotiations had not led to an agreement, ultimately resulting in the company's demise. In 2015, V&D operated 67 branches throughout the Netherlands , of which 64 department stores and 3 standalone locations of La Place , V&D's former subsidiary restaurant chain which had in-house and standalone restaurants throughout

1476-470: Was a co-executor of the estate of Michael Grace with William's son and corporate successor, Joseph Peter Grace, Sr. . J. Louis Schaefer died in 1927. For most of its history, Grace's main business was cargo shipping, operating the Grace Line . To move cargo from Peru to North America and Europe , including guano and sugar , and noticing the need for other goods to be traded, William Grace founded

1517-548: Was founded in 1854 in Peru by William Russell Grace at the age of 22. Grace left Ireland during the Great Famine and traveled to South America with his family. He went first to Peru to work as a ship chandler for the firm of Bryce and Company, to the merchantmen harvesting guano , used as a fertilizer and gunpowder ingredient due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen. His brother, Michael P. Grace , joined

1558-624: Was incorporated in Connecticut in 1899. The listed capital of $ 6 million did not include Grace Brothers & Co. Limited in London or its branches in San Francisco, Lima, and Callao, Peru , nor Valparaiso, Santiago, and Concepción, Chile . J. Louis Schaefer, who joined the company as a boy, played a key role in not only W. R. Grace & Company, in which he became a vice president, but also as president of Grace National Bank . Schaefer

1599-424: Was renamed into Vendex KBB. It also inherited KBB's royal designation "Koninklijk". In 2004, Vendex KBB was sold to a new investor group that included KKR , Alpinvest and Permira . It lost its royal designation as a result, yet was allowed to keep the K in its name. In 2005, Vendex KBB changed its name into Maxeda . In 2007, Vroom & Dreesmann was rebranded into V&D and the red, white and blue logo

1640-410: Was replaced with a black logo. In 2008, the vd.nl website was launched. From 2010 to 2015, V&D was a subsidiary of Sun Capital Partners . In February 2015, it was unclear whether V&D would continue to exist. Among the reasons mentioned for its demise: After negotiations, real estate owners agreed to reduce the area and costs of the rental properties, employees agreed to a gradual pay cut, and

1681-534: Was stymied by the opposition of longshoremen in New York and Venezuela, and the ships were repeatedly laid up idle and were ultimately sold to the domestic container line Sea-Land Service in 1964. In 1963 Grace made a second attempt to containerize its South American trade when it ordered the four M-class combination passenger-cargo ships Santa Magdalaena , Santa Maria , Santa Mariana, and Santa Mercedes with partial cellular holds, but they were no more successful as mixing conventional break-bulk cargo and containers in

W. R. Grace and Company - Misplaced Pages Continue

#487512