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Jim Walter Resources, Inc. history
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. company history timeline
The turning point for the fledgling company came in 1956 when Chicago creditors Walter E. Heller & Company approved a $1 million line of credit.
On March 9, 1964, Jim Walter Corporation was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company thought its insurance carriers would handle the claims, but coverage after 1977 disallowed asbestos-related claims.
By 1979, United States Pipe had increased profits five times over.
While the various mergers and acquisitions broadened Jim Walter's base of operations, the bulk of its revenues remained in the building industry, with more than 200,000 shell homes completed by 1979.
During 1982 Jim Walter built 10,000 of the 300,000 homes constructed that year.
In 1984 approximately 21,100 lawsuits representing 25,600 persons were pending against one or more of the subscribers of the Asbestos Claim Facility, including Celotex.
1985: Celotex struggles under the load of asbestos lawsuits.
Jim Walter's 1986 10-K form reported that two subsidiaries, Celotex and Carey Canada Inc., were co-defendants with a number of other miners, manufacturers, and distributors of asbestos products in a "substantial number" of lawsuits alleging work-related injuries.
In 1989 Houston attorney Stephen D. Sussman, of Sussman Godfrey, filed a suit on behalf of asbestos victims in Beaumont, Texas, an industrial area where many of the plaintiffs lived.
When asked by Financial World in 1991 why he would come out of retirement to take over such a troubled company, Durham replied, "There is not a whole lot of fun to running a company that is doing well." Jim Walter continued as chairman of Walter Industries.
1991: The company's long-time CEO Joe Cordell steps down, and Robert "Bull" Durham takes over.
The company's troubles seemingly over, Durham himself then retired in June 1996, with Hyatt becoming chairman, CEO, and president.
In June 1997 Walter Industries acquired Neatherlin Homes Inc., a builder of low-priced homes based in Texas.
1997: KKR increases its stake in Walter to 26 percent; Walter returns to profitability.
1998: The company identifies core business components and begins efforts to sell off the rest.
2000: Walter begins a three-year stretch in the red with a loss of $104.7 million.
According to the Tampa Tribune in February 2001, "Burton's brusque management style" and his elimination of 375 jobs--about five percent of Walter's workforce--created a great deal of ill will among employees and did little to reverse the company's losses.
In July 2001 Walter Mortgage Co. began business issuing loans to people who needed assistance securing lots--whether buying, buying out a partner's share, or removing liens on land--on which to build a Jim Walter home.
2001: Amid continuing struggles, Don DeFosset takes over as CEO in November.
In 2003 sales dropped again to $1.3 billion, and Walter lost $29 million.
2004: Coal prices rise, bringing Walter Industries back to profitability.
By the beginning of 2005, Walter Industries stock jumped from an average price between $10 and $15 per share to an average price around $30 per share.
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