Word: zender
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...businessmen switch jobs as drastically as Austin R. Zender, 63, who describes himself as "a metal man by profession and a candy man by design." Ending a long and successful career as president of Bridgeport Brass Co. and later as head of National Distillers & Chemical Corp. when the two merged, Zender postponed retirement to become head of a confectionary company on whose board he had sat since 1954. Under his aggressive leadership, Peter Paul Inc. has taken over a position among the leaders of the nation's $1.4 billion candy business...
...Hershey bar among 100 candies. On the basis of these two products, Peter Paul Inc.-named for one of a group of Armenian immigrants who organized the company in 1919-made its way for years in a prosperous but unpretentious way. "They were a nice little business," says Zender today, "but they were reluctant to move ahead...
Then, 20 months ago, Zender was persuaded by growth-minded directors to become chief executive, along with the chairman's post he already held. Zender has stirred Peter Paul's cor porate structure as thoroughly as the chocolate in its giant kettles. He took flying tours from the home office in Naugatuck, Conn., to plants in Salinas, Calif., Frankfort, Ind., and Dallas. In Dallas he discovered "an unhappy plant" because workers did not like the cafeteria menu and the manager refused to change it; Zender changed both the menu and the manager, brags that...
Peter Paul's sales and earnings reacted nicely. They went up even faster when Zender acquired for $3,000,000 the Walter H. Johnson Candy Co. of Chicago and its Power House bar and then, last year, introduced a new bar called Caravelle. Last month Zender reported sales of $58,564,000 for the company's fiscal year, a 14% increase, and earnings...
...candy industry, made up of small, struggling companies, is astir with mergers and sellouts, and Peter Paul has become a key target. "We've had feelers from food, tobacco and cosmetic companies," says Zender. Not interested, Zender is looking for acquisitions himself, planning foreign expansions and developing seven new candy bars. For Peter Paul, the future can be described by the company slogan: "Indescribably Delicious...