Word: ponting
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Clout and Cash. Du Pont is virtually free of long-term debt, and has the clout and cash to acquire practically anything-its assets amount to $3.3 billion -but the Justice Department would almost certainly oppose any sizable expansion by merger. At the same time, Du Font's ability to grow from within is checked by its management philosophy. Because the company does not believe in competing with customers, it rules out any major "forward integration" into finished goods like textiles. "Backward integration" into oil and the raw materials that it converts into chemicals has not seemed profitable enough...
...Pont has enthroned research and development and staked its future on it: $255 million was spent on it last year. The company has 17 technically proven but so far unmarketed "new ventures" in process. Some are secret, but others include an office copier that uses ordinary paper, a range of plastic building materials, and a new desalination process. Speaking about the copier, Everett B. Yelton, director of the development department, says: "We may just be too late. Perhaps we should have moved faster...
...Pont is not likely to change quickly. Though Brel McCoy is the first president not related to the Du Pont family by blood or marriage, he has been nurtured in Du Pont traditions; his father was a director, vice president and member of the executive committee. McCoy, who has spent 37 years with the company, is typically calm, thoughtful, and a believer in moving cautiously. The tone of the company is still set by the Du Pont family, one of the largest and most cohesive dynasties in U.S. history. Through its Christiana Securities Co., the family can vote a dominant...
While agreeing with Chairman Copeland that Du Pont has never wanted to go after "the fast buck," McCoy admits that some decisions should have been quicker and better. "We may have missed chances," says McCoy, but he is too well trained not to add: "We still do not believe in doing things on a crash basis. We try instead to evolve continuously and deliberately...
...less for the broadly based New York Stock Exchange composite average of all 1,287 listed companies and Standard & Poor's 500-stock average. One reason for the disparity is that the fortunes of one or two companies can greatly affect the Dow average. When Du Pont shares fell by $100 during 1966, the Dow sank 50 points. Anaconda's price fell $40 this year, costing the Dow 20 points...