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JANUARY 5, 2004
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PETROCHEMICAL HERITAGE AWARD TO WILLIAM A. McMINN, JR.
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AWARD CEREMONY WILL BE HELD AT NPRA 2004 ANNUAL MEETING
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The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) and the Founders Club today announced that William A. McMinn, Jr. will receive the eighth annual Petrochemical Heritage Award on Sunday, 28, March 2004, at the San Antonio Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. The award will be presented to McMinn at the annual Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, held as part of the 29th National Petrochemical Refiners Association (NPRA) International Petrochemical Conference.
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"Bill McMinn is a remarkable entrepreneur and leader in the petrochemical industry," said Arnold Thackray, president of CHF. "He is a true disciple of the legendary Gordon Cain, engineering some of the largest deals in the petrochemical industry to an 'everybody wins' outcome for shareholders, employees and all stakeholders. Bill exemplifies the high standards this award symbolizes."
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Past recipients of the award are Harold A. Sorgenti, former president and CEO of ARCO Chemical Company; Herbert D. "Ted" Doan, former chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company; Jon M. Huntsman, founder of Huntsman Corporation; Gordon Cain, well-known chemical engineer and business entrepreneur; John T. Files, founder and chairman of the Merichem Company; John R. Hall, chemical engineer and former president, chairman and CEO of Ashland, Inc.; and Ralph Landau, co-founder of Halcon/Scientific Design Group.
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The Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Founders Club established the Petrochemical Heritage Award in 1997 to recognize individuals who made outstanding contributions to the petrochemical community; to inspire achievement; and to promote public understanding of the modern sciences industries and economies.
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(For complete transcript of official press release, logon to: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/chf-pha010504.php or contact Neil Gussman at neilg@chemheritage.org, or Chemical Hertitage Foundation at (215) 925-2222)
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Chemical & Engineering News, May 19, 2003, Volume 81, Number 20, CENEAR 81 20 p. 12, ISSN 0009-2347, by Marc Reisch
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Chemical & Engineering News
Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society
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ENTREPRENEURS
McMinn, Waggoner Lead Venture-Capital Firm
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Entrepreneurs William A. McMinn and J. Virgil Waggoner are senior founding partners of a new merchant banking group dedicated to the late Gordon Cain's investment philosophy--everybody wins.
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They have set up shop in Houston under the name of Legacy Equity Group to invest in specialty chemical, biotechnology, and other types of businesses.
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Cain, a one-time Conoco chemical executive who died last year at age 90, led a series of leveraged buyouts (LBO) that stunned the industry in the 1980s and 1990s. For instance, in 1987 Cain led the formation of Cain Chemical from seven ethylene-derivative operations and drafted former FMC Corp. executive McMinn, now 72, to lead the new company. Senior executives made millions when they sold the firm a year later to Occidental Chemical, but so did employees. The 1,350 workers shared a windfall of $536 million for their 43% share of the firm.
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Waggoner, 75, a former Monsanto executive, headed another Cain LBO--Sterling Chemicals, a 1986 buyout of Monsanto's Texas City, Texas, petrochemicals complex. Employees owned 60% of the firm and reaped millions in dividends, profit sharing, and stock by the time the firm went public in 1988.
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Greg Ford, a banker formerly with Texas Commerce Bank and a founding partner in Legacy Equity, says the group is "not just dedicated to Gordon Cain's memory, but to his spirit." Ford says the firm will invest in businesses where the key to success is "making employees partners."
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