Irwin L. Jacobs
Encyclopedia
Irwin L Jacobs is an entrepreneur and the CEO of several large corporations, including Genmar Holdings, Inc. the worlds largest boat building company. He earned the nickname "Irv the Liquidator" for his aggressive business practices in the 1970s and early 1980s. He is a deal maker and bargain hunter based in Minneapolis and became wealthy by taking big stakes in Fortune 500 conglomerates, usually with the goal of unlocking value by breaking them up.
, then at the age of 33 he purchased the ailing Grain Belt (beer)
in 1975 for $4.1 million with his company I.J. Enterprises . He tried unsuccessfully for eight months to turn around the company, which was losing nearly $200,000 per month at the time. He then liquidated the company, selling the brand to G. Heileman Brewing Company
, and profited $4 million (The Wall Street Journal July 30, 1980). He later sold the property that accompanied the brewery to the City of Minneapolis in 1989 for $4.85 million (Star Tribune 18 February 1989).
Jacobs' next deal netted him even more money. He read about W. T. Grant
filing for bankruptcy in the Wall Street Journal and decided to purchase their consumer accounts receivable. He soon thereafter negotiated a deal where he purchased the $276.3 million account for $44 million and 5% of first years sales (The Wall Street Journal July 30, 1980).
The technology was invented by Gene Kirila II and Robert McCollum, two Pennsylvanians who envision scattering leased VEC manufacturing cells around the world that would produce a variety of products close to where they would be used. The expertise to run the systems could reside at a central control center thanks to the Internet, so that workers at the production sites would not need extensive training.
, Jacobs Management Corp., Jacobs Industries, Inc., J.Y.J. Corp., C.O.M.B. Co., Federal Financial Corporation, FFC Realty, Watkins, Inc., Northwestern Bag Corporation, Nationwide Collection Service, Inc., 1. Jacobs Enterprises, Kodicor, Inc., Brown-Minneapolis Tank and Fabricating Co., Regional Accounts Corporation, Nationwide Accounts, Corporation, Jacobs Bag Corporation, Lawndale Industries Inc., EQC of Indiana, Inc., Touch Corporation, JMSL Acquiring Corporation, S.J. Industries, Inc., JII Air Service, Inc., P.S.T. Acquiring Corporation and Jacobs Trading.
Jacobs founded FLW Outdoors
, the parent organization of the Wal-Mart
FLW Tour, a series of sportfishing tours best known for its bass fishing
tournaments, which were developed with an eye toward media coverage in general and television
coverage in particular.
In the 18 months preceding Genmar's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in June 2009, Jacobs' Genmar businesses eliminated the jobs of about 3,000 of its 4,500 workers.
Starting his career
Jacobs started his career working with his father at his business, Northwestern Bag, Co. He attended college at University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, then at the age of 33 he purchased the ailing Grain Belt (beer)
Grain Belt (beer)
Grain Belt is a brand of beer brewed in the American state of Minnesota, by the August Schell Brewing Company. The beer has been produced in Three varieties: Grain Belt Golden, the original style introduced in 1893, and Grain Belt Premium, first introduced in 1947, and the brand new Grain Belt...
in 1975 for $4.1 million with his company I.J. Enterprises . He tried unsuccessfully for eight months to turn around the company, which was losing nearly $200,000 per month at the time. He then liquidated the company, selling the brand to G. Heileman Brewing Company
G. Heileman Brewing Company
The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, was a brewery firm that operated in 1858-1996. It was acquired in the latter year by Stroh's, and its independent existence ended...
, and profited $4 million (The Wall Street Journal July 30, 1980). He later sold the property that accompanied the brewery to the City of Minneapolis in 1989 for $4.85 million (Star Tribune 18 February 1989).
Jacobs' next deal netted him even more money. He read about W. T. Grant
W. T. Grant
W. T. Grant or Grants was a United States-based chain of mass-merchandise stores founded by William Thomas Grant that operated from 1906 until 1976. The stores were generally of the variety store format located in downtowns.-History:...
filing for bankruptcy in the Wall Street Journal and decided to purchase their consumer accounts receivable. He soon thereafter negotiated a deal where he purchased the $276.3 million account for $44 million and 5% of first years sales (The Wall Street Journal July 30, 1980).
Selling an idea
In August 2001 Irwin held an open house at his Little Falls, MN, factory to show off a compact, enclosed computer-controlled manufacturing system that can be remotely operated over the Internet. Visitors saw an 18-foot hull (which used to take eight hours to produce), pop out every 35 minutes. Pollution, waste, and labor were to be sharply reduced, while quality would be higher. Genmar also offered a lifetime guarantee instead of the industry standard of five years.The technology was invented by Gene Kirila II and Robert McCollum, two Pennsylvanians who envision scattering leased VEC manufacturing cells around the world that would produce a variety of products close to where they would be used. The expertise to run the systems could reside at a central control center thanks to the Internet, so that workers at the production sites would not need extensive training.
Where is he now?
He now owns many businesses including: Watkins IncorporatedWatkins Incorporated
Watkins Incorporated is a manufacturer of health remedies, baking products, and other household items. The entire catalog includes 400 products. It is based in Winona, Minnesota, and largely relies on an independent sales force of 25,000 people to distribute its products...
, Jacobs Management Corp., Jacobs Industries, Inc., J.Y.J. Corp., C.O.M.B. Co., Federal Financial Corporation, FFC Realty, Watkins, Inc., Northwestern Bag Corporation, Nationwide Collection Service, Inc., 1. Jacobs Enterprises, Kodicor, Inc., Brown-Minneapolis Tank and Fabricating Co., Regional Accounts Corporation, Nationwide Accounts, Corporation, Jacobs Bag Corporation, Lawndale Industries Inc., EQC of Indiana, Inc., Touch Corporation, JMSL Acquiring Corporation, S.J. Industries, Inc., JII Air Service, Inc., P.S.T. Acquiring Corporation and Jacobs Trading.
Jacobs founded FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors is the sanctioning organization for a series of sport fishing tournament tours, the best known being the WalMart FLW Tour of high-stakes bass fishing tournaments....
, the parent organization of the Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
FLW Tour, a series of sportfishing tours best known for its bass fishing
Bass fishing
Bass fishing is the activity of angling for the North American gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish in North America, including largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , Spotted bass or Kentucky bass , Guadalupe bass Bass fishing is...
tournaments, which were developed with an eye toward media coverage in general and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
coverage in particular.
In the 18 months preceding Genmar's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in June 2009, Jacobs' Genmar businesses eliminated the jobs of about 3,000 of its 4,500 workers.