Eagle-Picher
Encyclopedia
Eagle-Picher Corporation is a privately held, American, manufacturing
and resource extractive
company known for its storage battery technology. It was founded in 1842 as a paint manufacturing firm using the name Eagle White Lead, and became Eagle-Picher Lead in 1916 with its merger with a lead mining company owned by Oliver Picher. That merger made it the second largest producer of lead and zinc products in the world. It has had many subsidiaries including the Eagle-Picher Mining & Smelting Company (now EP Minerals), Eagle-Picher Industries, EaglePicher Technologies, EaglePicher Commercial Power Solutions, and Wolverine Advanced Materials. Eagle-Picher was one of the defendants in the asbestos litigation, and has twice been through bankruptcy reorganization.
the firm was incorporated with William Wood as the majority stockholder. In 1916, the Picher Lead Company of Missouri merged with the Eagle White Lead to form Eagle-Picher Lead.
During World War II, Eagle-Picher used diatomaceous earth and zinc to produce storage batteries for the US military. By 1947 they were among the first to adapt a purification system for Germanium
for commercial use in the transistor industry.
From 1964 until 1976 Eagle-Picher operated a printed circuit board manufacturing plant in Socorro County, New Mexico
and dumped industrial waste into unlined sewage lagoons. Then from 1980 to 1989 they dumped industrial waste from the manufacture of non-automotive lead-acid batteries into those same lagoons. The hazardous chemicals, including a number of organochloride
s, permeated into the local drinking water supply, and the site became a Superfund
site. Eagle-Picher operated a number of lead smelters which contaminated the local areas and ended up as Superfund sites. The one in Hillsboro, Illinois
was placed on the Superfund list in September 2007. Clean-up of the smelter in northwestern Joplin, Missouri
was begun in the late 1990s, but was still on-going as of 2008. The Eagle-Picher smelter in Henryetta, Oklahoma
was cleaned up in the late 1990s.
In January 1991 Eagle-Picher filed for bankruptcy protection having over $2.5 billion in asbestos-related claims asserted against it, as well as other environmental claims. Its reorganization was approved in November 1996 with the ownship of the company going to a trust for victims of asbestos and lead poisoning. In 1998 the trust sold the operating businesses to Granaria Holdings, a consortium of Dutch investors. In 2000, the company sold its last company that operated in the Cincinnati area, Cincinnati Industrial Machinery, to Armor Metal Group. In 2002, corporate headquarters were relocated from Cincinnati to Phoenix, Arizona
..
In April 2005, Eagle-Picher filed for bankruptcy protection a second time, having accumulated more than $500 million in new debt. It did not fully exit Chapter 11 reorganization until July 2009. During its reorganization, Eagle-Picher acquired new owners, restructured, moved its corporate headquarters in Michigan, and divested itself of some of its non-core businesses. In 2007, it sold its pharmaceutical division to Aptuit Inc. and its EP Boron subsidiary to Ceradyne. In 2008, Eagle-Picher sold Hillsdale Automotive (Metavation) to Cerion. The two principal new owners are Angelo, Gordon & Co., a New York investment firm, and Tennenbaum Capital Partners, a California investment firm.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
and resource extractive
Resource extraction
The related terms natural resource extraction both refer to the practice of locating, acquiring and selling natural resources....
company known for its storage battery technology. It was founded in 1842 as a paint manufacturing firm using the name Eagle White Lead, and became Eagle-Picher Lead in 1916 with its merger with a lead mining company owned by Oliver Picher. That merger made it the second largest producer of lead and zinc products in the world. It has had many subsidiaries including the Eagle-Picher Mining & Smelting Company (now EP Minerals), Eagle-Picher Industries, EaglePicher Technologies, EaglePicher Commercial Power Solutions, and Wolverine Advanced Materials. Eagle-Picher was one of the defendants in the asbestos litigation, and has twice been through bankruptcy reorganization.
History
In 1842, Edgar and Stephen J. Conkling, brothers, started a firm in Cincinnati, Ohio to manufacture pigments for commercial paints. They called the partnership the E. & S. J. Conkling Company and used the brand name Eagle White Lead. In 1847, with Stephen out of the picture, Edgar took a new partner, William Wood, and the partnership became Conkling Wood & Company. After the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
the firm was incorporated with William Wood as the majority stockholder. In 1916, the Picher Lead Company of Missouri merged with the Eagle White Lead to form Eagle-Picher Lead.
During World War II, Eagle-Picher used diatomaceous earth and zinc to produce storage batteries for the US military. By 1947 they were among the first to adapt a purification system for Germanium
Germanium
Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. The isolated element is a semiconductor, with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon....
for commercial use in the transistor industry.
From 1964 until 1976 Eagle-Picher operated a printed circuit board manufacturing plant in Socorro County, New Mexico
Socorro County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*75.1% White*1.1% Black*11.7% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.1% Other races*48.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and dumped industrial waste into unlined sewage lagoons. Then from 1980 to 1989 they dumped industrial waste from the manufacture of non-automotive lead-acid batteries into those same lagoons. The hazardous chemicals, including a number of organochloride
Organochloride
An organochloride, organochlorine, chlorocarbon, chlorinated hydrocarbon, or chlorinated solvent is an organic compound containing at least one covalently bonded chlorine atom. Their wide structural variety and divergent chemical properties lead to a broad range of applications...
s, permeated into the local drinking water supply, and the site became a Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
site. Eagle-Picher operated a number of lead smelters which contaminated the local areas and ended up as Superfund sites. The one in Hillsboro, Illinois
Hillsboro, Illinois
Hillsboro is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,359 at the 2000 census, and 6,106 at a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Montgomery County.-History:...
was placed on the Superfund list in September 2007. Clean-up of the smelter in northwestern Joplin, Missouri
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
was begun in the late 1990s, but was still on-going as of 2008. The Eagle-Picher smelter in Henryetta, Oklahoma
Henryetta, Oklahoma
Henryetta is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,096 at the 2000 census.Henryetta is notable as the high school hometown of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman...
was cleaned up in the late 1990s.
In January 1991 Eagle-Picher filed for bankruptcy protection having over $2.5 billion in asbestos-related claims asserted against it, as well as other environmental claims. Its reorganization was approved in November 1996 with the ownship of the company going to a trust for victims of asbestos and lead poisoning. In 1998 the trust sold the operating businesses to Granaria Holdings, a consortium of Dutch investors. In 2000, the company sold its last company that operated in the Cincinnati area, Cincinnati Industrial Machinery, to Armor Metal Group. In 2002, corporate headquarters were relocated from Cincinnati to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
..
In April 2005, Eagle-Picher filed for bankruptcy protection a second time, having accumulated more than $500 million in new debt. It did not fully exit Chapter 11 reorganization until July 2009. During its reorganization, Eagle-Picher acquired new owners, restructured, moved its corporate headquarters in Michigan, and divested itself of some of its non-core businesses. In 2007, it sold its pharmaceutical division to Aptuit Inc. and its EP Boron subsidiary to Ceradyne. In 2008, Eagle-Picher sold Hillsdale Automotive (Metavation) to Cerion. The two principal new owners are Angelo, Gordon & Co., a New York investment firm, and Tennenbaum Capital Partners, a California investment firm.
Chairmen & presidents
- 2005– Donald L. Runkle, chairman of the board
- 2006– David L. Treadwell, president (CEO)