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WHAT STEPS DID REDFIELD PROCTOR TAKE TO BECOME THE KING OF THE HILL?

WHAT STEPS DID REDFIELD PROCTOR TAKE TO BECOME THE KING OF THE HILL?. BECOMING KING OF THE HILL. 1870 Consolidate businesses 1875-78 Branch out 1876-81 Expand products 1878 Seize the opportunity 1880 Expand the company 1880 Form a cartel 1881-88 Distribution network

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WHAT STEPS DID REDFIELD PROCTOR TAKE TO BECOME THE KING OF THE HILL?

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  1. WHAT STEPS DID REDFIELD PROCTOR TAKE TO BECOME THE KING OF THE HILL?

  2. BECOMING KING OF THE HILL 1870 Consolidate businesses 1875-78 Branch out 1876-81 Expand products 1878 Seize the opportunity 1880 Expand the company 1880 Form a cartel 1881-88 Distribution network 1882-89 International competitio 1885 Form a railroad to reduce costs 1887-89 Eliminate the cartel & take control of the marble business

  3. Getting Started • In November 1870, Proctor reorganizedtwo bankrupt companiesinto a new Sutherland Falls Marble Company as a Vermont company and himself as the largest stockholder. • In the spring of 1871, Proctor moved his family to a new house in Sutherland Falls.

  4. BRANCHING OUT • Proctor felt that branch offices would allow the company to enter strategically into rapidly growing markets. • He established the first branch office in Toledo Ohio in 1875, serving the Midwest market. • By 1878 he opened more branch offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco.

  5. EXPANDED PRODUCT LINE • Sutherland Falls Marble also began to expand the company’s product line in time to catch the beginning of a national building spree in the early 1880s. • In 1876, the company added another step to the manufacturing process by finishing the marble it sawed. • Monument finishing was started in 1876. • Exterior finishing was added in 1878. • The first large building exterior cut in Proctor (for the Indiana State Capitol) was produced in 1881.

  6. SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY • A short time after Proctor took over, he faced an economic recession, which lasted until 1878. • The Great Panic caught workers in an economic squeeze, but for those with capital, like Proctor, it provided a great opportunity. • Proctor seized the opportunity, saw the potential for deferred returns and invested all his money and became the Treasurer and Overall Manager of the Sutherland Falls Marble Company.

  7. EXPANDING THE COMPANY • Redfield Proctor took over active management of the Rutland Marble Company at Center and West Rutland, and Salem NY in 1880. • Like the original Sutherland Falls Company, Rutland Marble had expanded too rapidly, exceeded its revenues, overextended itself and had never prospered. By contrast, the new Sutherland Falls company was free of debt and profitable.

  8. EXPANDING THE COMPANY • Moving quickly after gaining control in September 1880, Proctor formed the Vermont Marble Company, which took over the property of both the Sutherland Falls Marble Company and the Rutland Marble Company. • The new merged company gave Proctor control of 55 percent of the marble trade in the Rutland area

  9. ONE SALES ORGANIZATION • In 1880, Proctor led the way in forming the Producers’ Marble Company, a confederation of companies whose sole purpose was to control the price and distribution of marble. • His objective was to bring together the elements of the marble industry under one sales organization, reducing duplication and providing more effective control.

  10. DISTRIBUTION NETWORK • The Vermont Marble Company increased its distribution points from four in 1881 to nine in 1886, with the principal branches in Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. • By 1888, the number had risen to eleven, and later, after the demise of the cartel, the company consolidated its branches back to six.

  11. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION • In 1882, Proctor sought to formalize his international business power by being appointed to the U.S. Tariff Commission. • Throughout the 1880s he maintained a protectionist position regarding marble trading. • To add more political power, he sought alliances with Georgia’s developing marble industry to lobby against foreign competition. • Proctor didn’t think the American consul in Carrara, Italy was doing enough for the Vermont marble industry, and he took steps to successfully have Charles Bernard, a Rutlander, appointed. • The combination of promotion of Vermont marble at home and restriction of marble from Italy helped to increase domestic sales.

  12. LOWER TRANSPORTATION COSTS • To lower transportation costs, the Vermont Marble Company on 10 September 1885, officially incorporated and organized the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad. • The new railroad operated from Florence at its north end, the Loveland quarry at Sutherland Falls in Proctor to Center Rutland and West Rutland. • The railroad, wholly owned by the company, gave Vermont Marble another means of control over the total business. • Its primary business was transporting marble from the quarries to the finishing mills, and it made money by also serving private industries along its right of way.

  13. ELIMINATE THE CARTEL • By 1887, the Vermont Marble Company was strong enough to control the marble market directly, and the Producers’ Marble Company was dissolved. • In 1889, Proctor sought measures of stability and control for the marble that he imported from Italy, by buying a quarter interest in the sailing ship which brought the marble to the San Francisco branch. • By 1891, the company had either acquired outright, or taken control of all of its former associates.

  14. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT MARY MEYERS WAS THE BRAINS BEHIND THIS PROCESS?

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