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Texas Gal
Chapter Twenty-Four Love Hurts
Grandma came over to the house for dinner on Saturday. She wanted to hear about my latest trip and the acquisition. She had a chance to read my report, in the sitting room, before we sat down to dinner.
"Darla Anne, I can't believe it. You weren't even in Vermont for four days before buying a factory that you had never even heard of before going there." She shook her head slowly. "I don't agree with the practice, but I can't argue with your success. I would have spent a month doing research before committing to a deal like this, but you do it practically on the spot. Then again… I doubt if I would have wound up with either Piermont or Oak Mill Paper. And now, for less than three million dollars you acquire assets of up to 20 million dollars."
"Grandma, the deal can't be valued at 20 million until after we overhaul the equipment, rebuild the customer base, and rebuild the accounting infrastructure. I would put the plant's current value at no more than 5 million. But the potential is there, which is why I jumped when I learned that the property would be lost to seizure by the tax authority and that we could get it for 2.5 million. I have to admit, though, that I didn't know about the 10 million dollars in forest lands until after we had signed the Letter of Intent."
"Someone once said, 'If I had to choose between being smart or lucky, I would choose lucky'. Let's just let everyone believe that you knew about the property all the time. It will enhance your reputation."
"Grandma, why do you want me to have a reputation like that?"
"Darla Anne, a reputation like the one that we've been building for you immediately puts others at a disadvantage. Even before business negotiations begin, your opponents are afraid to lie to you because they think that you know everything already. They're afraid that if they lie, you'll pick up your purse and walk out on them. A good reputation also opens doors that would otherwise be firmly closed and locked. Do you remember the greeting that you received when you first visited Piermont?"
I thought back to the way that John Fahey had made such a big fuss over Susan and myself when he first greeted us in the reception area. I nodded.
"And how about the greeting from this Mr. Grunen that you talk about."
Eric Grunen had greeted us enthusiastically from the first moment that I talked to him on the phone. If not for my reputation, he would probably have dismissed my phone call as a prank from a schoolgirl. "I guess you're right, Grandma. My reputation did open the doors."
"And after this last deal becomes known, there will be very few doors in our industry that are closed to you. Without a single penny of capital from either Ameri-Moore or your family, you have created a small empire with assets of almost 30 million dollars in just 4 months. Yes, I know that the Greenfield plant isn't at its expected first year valuation, but I have no doubt that it will get there."
"But I won't even be back there until Easter."
"No matter. Your senior level managers know their jobs, and they have the plan that you and Susan developed. They'll carry on until you get back, and you'll probably be in contact with Bob Warren during that time, not to mention that you'll have your weekly transcripts of the meetings."
"Yes. I guess that I won't really be out of touch. Before I left I asked Bob to look into selling the 45 acres next to the new interstate highway's exit ramp. I thought that it might be a good location for a truck stop, motel, or restaurant. I couldn't anticipate us having any need for it."
"Neither can I. It'll raise some revenue that can be put to better use elsewhere. We'll also have the Lumber Products Division purchase your forest lands."
"You don't have to buy it. We'll just transfer it."
"No, dear. It's a bookkeeping thing. We'll buy it, and that will give you the money to clear all your debts with the bank, which will improve your division's credit rating further. It will also give you enough working capital to make improvements, expansions, or even for more acquisitions. As I said before, I'm not advocating that you rush out and buy anything, but you'll have the available funds in your own accounts if you find a deal. You still have to practice wise cash management."
Rosa called out that dinner was ready so we all went into the dining room and sat down. Everyone knew the story by now, but the Greenfield purchase dominated the conversation again tonight.
Mary said, "By the time that you're done, you be able to get elected Governor of Vermont. Everyone up there must love you since they believe that you personally have restored the economic health of the region."
"I can think of a few people who don't like me."
"Who?" Judy asked.
"Well, first there are the sales people that we refused to hire back at Piermont after they walked out en masse. Then there are the people at South-Core. They must really hate me. I plucked two acquisitions right out from under them after they believed that the deals were all but consummated. In the case of Piermont, they had even paid money to the salespeople to quit. I wouldn't get their vote for dogcatcher. I keep wondering if they'll try to get revenge."
Grandma said, "You can't loose sleep over that. It's highly unlikely that they'll waste any effort trying to get even. But just keep your eyes open for traps?"
"What kinds of traps?"
"Nothing against your person. I'm talking about business traps. Special offers or deals that seem too good to be true, that sort of thing. Some devious company directors try to get revenge by seeing that you get suckered into a deal that turns out to be a disaster and makes you look like a fool."
"I learned a lot about potential unseen problems from this last deal. I'll be a lot more careful in the future."
"That's my girl. Every deal is a learning experience."
On Sunday, we went for a ride after returning from church, and then left for Austin after lunch. Over the next week we'd have a little time for review in the classes, and then we'd take our final exams for the course work of the first semester.
When Judy and I received our grades we found that we had both achieved 4.0 averages. Peggy Sue achieved a 3.35, because she received a B in English. Her roommate, Shelly, only managed a 2.6 average. Shelly's New Year resolution was to stop going out so much, and to hit the books more.
The suggested course load for my second semester was for 18 credit hours. Again, I opted to take an additional 2 courses, adding 6 credit hours. I added the courses that I would be required in the second semester if I was enrolled for the degree in Petroleum Engineering. My advisor, who had strongly advised against the extra course load last semester, tried even harder to get me to drop the two courses during the first weeks. He insisted that I was taking on to much. I explained again that I still didn't have a social life with the other students because of my age, and he stopped objecting, but told me that I should make time to attend school events.
We had a couple of days before the new classes started so we used the time to start reading ahead in our new textbooks. I guess by now everyone was used to seeing me around campus so I didn't have any problems when my new classes started. Many of the kids had been in other classes with me, and the novelty seemed to have worn off so my professors didn't make a big deal over me.
A little over six weeks after returning from Vermont I was sorting mail that had been delivered by someone from the Austin office, when I was stopped short by the cover on the latest issue of The Paper Press. What had grabbed my attention was the fact that the entire cover was a picture of me. It was one of the shots that had appeared in Log Views after Rick Landis had visited the ranch almost two years ago. It showed a younger me, leaning against the corral fence with my head back, laughing. At the bottom of the picture was the caption, 'Laughing all the way to the bank - A look at C.E.O. Darla Anne Drake'.
I opened up to the page where the article started and saw three more pictures of me. I found the other picture that had appeared in Log Views, a picture of Susan and myself that was taken outside a restaurant in Portland when we were seen apparently leaving in the company of the CEO and other senior members of Alliance Paper International, and even a recent picture that showed me studying in the library here at school.
The article read, 'Miss Darla Anne Drake, normally referred to as DD in paper and logging industry circles, has accomplished things that anyone would be proud to claim as the highlights of a long career. What is most remarkable is that she is only 13 years old. At twelve she was named as a Vice-President of Ameri-Moore, and last year, at thirteen, became the President of Piermont Paper after negotiating the buyout on her own authority. At the time it was rumored that South-Core Paper was standing by, ready to pick up Piermont when their bank note went into default. DD swooped in, bought the company, and turned the splash of red ink to black in just a few months. Most remarkable was that she did it all without using any capital from Ameri-Moore, or anyone else. The buyout was accomplished using a 30-day loan that was repaid before the month was up, from revenues generated by Piermont.
Recently, DD dealt another swift blow to South-Core when she swooped in and purchased Oak Mill Paper in Greenfield, Mass. The company was on its last legs and South-Core had already filed papers to have the assets of the company seized and sold to satisfy outstanding debts. All court action was placed on hold after the court was informed that DD had purchased the company and promised payment to all creditors within 90 days. Piermont financial official William Marshall has confirmed this week that all creditors will receive full payment within six more weeks. Mr. Marshall has said that they are still involved in organizing Oak Mill's accounting records and hope to see that work completed soon so that they can start making the disbursements to Oak Mill's creditors. Executives from South-Core refused to comment about either the Piermont or Oak Mill deals.
Along with the paper plant in Greenfield, it was discovered that DD's purchase of the company included vast amounts of timberland that the current owners were unaware of because it had been purchased decades ago by the founder of the company. With the death of the founder, and a large turnover in accounting personnel, the former owners apparently lost track of the properties and hadn't paid the taxes in several years. DD, however, must have known about the properties because she acted just in time to keep them from being seized and sold at auction by the various municipalities in which they were located. Back taxes have now been paid and the deeds reregistered in Piermont's name. It's been estimated that the total value of the received assets is around 30 million dollars, while the total expenditure will only be about three million dollars once all taxes and vendors are paid. One of the former owners, a George Rokor, was quoted as saying, "That little bit*h stole our company. She only gave us $250,000 each. I've already paid a retainer to an attorney and intend to sue to get control back. She never told us that we owned all that property." The Paper Press has learned that there were three equal co-owners and each was paid the same amount. Our own attorneys have speculated that Mr. Rokor doesn't have much of a case. Stupidity and carelessness are not normally considered strong arguments in lawsuits.
DD now controls a company with estimated assets of 50 million dollars. We've learned through reliable sources that some of the timberland will be sold off and the proceeds used to retire all outstanding debt, leaving a net value of 45 million. Piermont, with DD at the helm of its two paper producing plants, is now poised in a position of strength to begin assuming a significant role in the paper industry in the Northeast. We look forward to following the story of DD and her company.'
Another article, written by a different author, immediately followed the first. It traced my career since the beginning, spending a lot of time talking about the conspiracy trials and my job functions for Ameri-Moore. It also delved into personal matters including phone interviews with Mrs. Milner and some of my teachers at Hillock, and even a couple of my professors here at college. There was a quote from the college president saying what a fine student and charming young woman I am. In all, the second article ran for three pages.
There was also an issue of Log Views in the mail, and it carried a reprint of the Paper Press articles, with an introduction by Rick Landis. 'The paper industry is quickly becoming acquainted with our DD. We gave permission to The Paper Press to use pictures from our files in exchange for their allowing us to reprint their story. With DD building her new empire on the other coast, in a related but different industry, I haven't been getting the news leads that I used to, but my interest in, and admiration of, this young girl has not flagged. She's still a Vice-President of Ameri-Moore and the Lumber Industry has not seen the last of this remarkable thirteen-year-old.'
Where I was distressed in the past at seeing such articles, I now accepted them as necessary for perpetuating the myth that opened doors, as Grandma had said. I set the trade papers aside and looked through the rest of my mail before opening my books and beginning my homework.
A couple of weeks later I hurried to meet Judy at the cafeteria for lunch. When I arrived, I found her waiting with a boy.
"Hi, Darla Anne, this is Barry Lilden. I invited him to have lunch with us. Barry's a Junior. Barry, this is my sister, Darla Anne."
"Hi, Darla Anne. Nice to meet you. I've seen you around the campus, and for a long time I thought that you were just visiting somebody. When I began seeing you every day I learned that you were a student here."
"Hi, Barry. It's nice to meet you too. I think that a lot of people shared that impression, but most seem to realize now that I'm a student."
We went into the cafeteria and got our lunches, then found a place to sit down.
Judy said, "Barry invited me to go to the basketball game tonight. Do you wanna go with us?"
I could see from the way that she was looking at me that Judy didn't want me to accept so I said, "Oh, I'd love to but I can't. I have so much homework to do."
"Can't you just put it off for a few hours?" Barry said.
"No. I'm taking seven courses plus a lab this semester. I can't let up if I want to maintain my grade point average."
"How'd you do last semester?"
"I've got a 4.0 so far."
"4.0? Wow, are you a genius or something?"
"No, I just spend all my time studying."
"With a 4.0 average you should be able to coast a little. I have a friend that I could get for a double date this weekend. You don't work all weekend, do you?"
"Mostly. And we also usually go home on weekends. Besides, Mother won't let me date yet."
"Why not?"
"My age. She thinks I'm too young."
"Too young? This is the sixties, not the twenties. How old do you have to be?"
"Probably sixteen."
"You're not sixteen yet? You look it. How old are you?"
"I'm thirteen, but I'll be fourteen in a few months."
"Thirteen? That's all? Uh… how old are you Judy?"
"I'm seventeen now."
"Whew. That's a relief. I'm twenty. After Darla Anne told us her age I was afraid that you were going to say that you were only fourteen."
"No. I'm old enough to date, even though I spend most of my time studying also. It's kind of a competition between us and my other sisters."
"There are more of you here?"
"No, my other sisters are seniors in high school."
"Are they as pretty as you and Darla Anne?"
"If not prettier. Actually we all look very much alike. We took a picture a couple of years ago and it's almost impossible to tell us apart. We weren't all standing, so you couldn't use height as a guide, and we were all dressed alike."
"I'd like to see that picture."
"I have a small copy at the house. I'll bring it tomorrow."
"Right on."
We got to know Barry a little better over lunch and then went our separate ways when it was almost time for our next classes. Barry told Judy that he would pick her up at the house at six-thirty. I wondered what Mother would say when she learned about the date.
Judy dove into her homework as soon as we got home from school. She didn't have any time for read ahead work, but because we were so far ahead already, she was able to zip through her assignments and then she started getting ready for her date. She tried on a dozen combinations as she tried to figure out which would be most appropriate.
Judy was ready when Barry arrived. She had opted for the casual, 'going to a sporting event' look with slacks, sweatshirt with the school logo, and a jacket. Barry still told her that she looked great. Mother came into the living room after he arrived and spent a few minutes giving him the third degree about his family, where he was from, and what he expected to do after college. You know, the usual stuff that parents everywhere have been asking prospective suitors forever. After a few uncomfortable minutes for Barry, Judy said that they had to leave or they would miss the start of the game. So after a final comment about being home by 10 o'clock, Mother allowed them to leave. I went back upstairs to my bedroom to study, put my radio on low, and started reading from the textbook for my Engineering Physics course.
Judy got home right at ten, just as I was finishing my reading. She was so excited about her date that she couldn't sit still as she told me all about it. I got ready for bed as she meandered around my bedroom, giving me the details as she walked. Our team had won, adding to the excitement that she was feeling. I could tell that Judy was getting stuck on this guy fast. Although we were not strangers to being around boys, this was her first real 'date'. While working at Grandma's textile business during summer vacation, Judy had met a lot of young men, but she thought that the word had been passed to avoid getting too personally involved with the boss's granddaughter. She was experiencing her first feelings of being desired as a woman.
Over the following month, Judy went out on a lot of 'dates' with Barry. All were to school functions. When she wasn't with Barry, she was thinking about him or waiting for him to call. I began to notice that her schoolwork was slipping. Where she had been way ahead in her reading, she was now only even with what was being taught. At this rate it wouldn't be long before she was behind, and then her grades would start to slip. I tried to talk to her but she didn't want to hear it.
Then, one day, a couple of weeks before Easter, I arrived home to find Judy crying in her bedroom. I put my books down and tried to find out what was wrong. During ten long minutes of trying to talk while sobbing, I learned that Barry had tried to get her into bed. When she refused, he had told her to get lost and not to bother him ever again. She had been crushed.
I spent the next couple of hours holding her and comforting her. When she was finally cried out, we talked about Barry. Judy wasn't stupid. She knew that young men that age are only after one thing, but she thought that he was as much in love as she was and thought that he would wait. I guess that coming from a small community and close family had given us values inconsistent with the than prevalent 'free-love' attitudes of the late sixties. Judy cleaned up her face and except for puffy eyes had begun to look normal by the time that Mother arrived home from shopping. I went downstairs to help Mother carry in the groceries and put them away. I told her that Judy had broken up with Barry and that she had been crying a little, but that she was okay now and that Mother shouldn't say anything to set her off again.
Over the next two weeks Judy spent all of her time studying and trying to get ahead with her reading. I never saw her when her face wasn't buried in a book. By the time that spring break came she was the old Judy again. The lesson that she had learned with Barry had been a difficult and painful one, but growing up can be like that. Most importantly, she had come through it without developing a deep resentment towards men. Her outlook remained open and positive.
Many college students head for the southern beaches during spring break, but I found myself heading the other way. I was in Vermont just two days after arriving home. Susan and Mary, knowing that I would be flying out, had baked some extra cakes so that we would have something for the pilots. The jet touched down in the early afternoon and I boarded for a one-week trip. Susan was torn between coming, or staying at home. In the end she decided to stay at home and relax so I went alone.
Earl was waiting on the ramp with the limo as the jet pulled up. He stored my suitcase in the trunk as I breathed in the fresh springtime air of Vermont. The snow was all gone and everything was starting to turn green. It was still a little too chilly to drive with the windows open but I left one cracked open a little at the top as we drove to the Holiday Inn. The Inn gave me the same suite that I had occupied during my past two stays.
I arrived at the plant just before 8 am on Monday. Doris was the first to greet me as I walked into the lobby. I returned her greeting and took the elevator to the second floor. Nancy was at her desk in the Executive Suite and greeted me when I entered.
"Good morning, Nancy. How have you been?"
"Fine, Miss Drake. Isn't it a wonderful day outside?"
"Yes. It's very nice. The air is so fresh this time of year."
When I entered my office I saw that Nancy had made me a pot of tea. I hung up my sweater and prepared a cup that I carried to my desk. I was about to ask Mary if Bob Warren was in when someone knocked at my door. In response to my "Come in," Bob Warren entered.
Smiling warmly, he said, "DD, welcome back to Vermont. Did you have a good flight?"
"Thank you, yes, the flight was very smooth. It's nice to be back here in springtime. I'm glad to see that the snow is all gone."
"We saw the last of it a couple of weeks ago. It's not unheard of to have a major snowstorm this time of year, but it never lasts very long. The sun melts it in a few days. Be another month before we can be certain that we've seen the last until fall."
I didn't remind Bob that I was originally from the Northeast myself. "I'm looking forward to seeing everything green again. How's everything going with the company?"
"Great." He smiled and said, "If you don't buy anything this trip, things will actually be getting pretty routine by June. Everything has been in my weekly reports, but let me give you a quick rundown. We break ground for the connecting tunnel in two weeks. We've had the plans drawn up, gotten all of the official stamps of approval, and contracted the work. It should be complete within 45 days, at least as far as the tunnel itself goes. That's the longest that we can put up with having the yard dug up. The contractor will pay a penalty for every day over 30, so they'll be pushing to get it done. The work of tying it into this building and the plant will take several months but it should be completed before the end of the summer.
We're about to sign the contracts for the cafeteria work. It should be operational by August. It'll be great to have and the employees are excited. We're running three shifts now in plant 1, and plant 2 is ready to go online whenever we need it. We'll continue to ship everything Greenfield needs for their boxing operations until their paper production comes on line, then they'll make their own. The second line down there will be entirely committed to paper for data processing forms and papers with similar rag content.
As you're already aware, all of the creditors from the Greenfield plant have been paid off, and all except South-Core have offered us unlimited credit. South-Core seems to be harboring ill will towards us for some reason." Bob paused a minute to smile. "We've sold our timberland to the Lumber Products Division for ten million dollars, paid off all of the back taxes, retired all of our debt to the bank, and have a substantial cash reserve. We've also had our line of credit increased to twenty million by the bank after we paid them off."
"That sounds great, Bob. What ever happened to that George Rokor law suit?"
"That was dismissed by the court almost before it got going. The judge ruled that Mr. Rokor, as one of the three principals, should have been aware of what the company owned before he sold his interest. The judge stopped short of calling him a complete idiot, but that was the impression you get reading the decision."
"That's what we expected. How are things in Greenfield?"
"Going well. All of the boxing equipment has been reconditioned and we're running two full shifts. We're warehousing standard sized inventory again rather than just responding to orders, although part of the plant floor is dedicated to special runs for customers who need custom boxes. The equipment engineers are working on the paper production equipment now. We have four engineers and two helpers working on it. It should be completely overhauled by the end of this month, and ready for production.
Matt has created a new catalog showing samples of the basic forms that we'll be producing, in addition to our expanded box line, and that will be mailed out this week. The original catalog for the boxes was such a success that we're hoping this will have similar results. We purchased mailing lists from several computer manufacturers for this mailing so we can target computer centers with our mailing.
We've identified all of Greenfield's former employees that are interested in returning to work there and Ben Phillips has interviewed them. We've sent out letters to the first group that will be brought in, informing them that it will happen shortly, and that they'll be notified in time to give their present employers two weeks notice, although we've heard that many have already informed their employers that they will be leaving within a month. I guess that it's better that the employers know that they're losing their cheap help."
"Cheap help?"
"Yeah. The local wage scale plummeted after the plant started laying people off."
"I see."
"Anyway, we have the new office all set up down there. There are now only half a dozen positions since most of the work is performed up here. Five people accepted transfers, and the rest were trained here and returned.
We've had some interest in the land next to the interstate and have developed a plan where we sub-divide it into three parcels. The land immediately along the road that the highway off ramp empties onto will be divided into two two-acre parcels with a 100 foot wide section between them that gives access to the rear plot which will comprise about 41 acres, counting the land used for the access. The two small lots will be ideal for fast food or gas stations servicing the highway traffic. We estimate that the two small 2 acre lots should net us about $300,000 each if we can get somebody like a Stuckey's. The projected volume of traffic on the new interstate highway is phenomenal. We figure that the large back lot is ideal for a motel or truck stop. Because of the way that the highway was constructed at that point, visibility to the site is tremendous. We're hoping that the 39 acre lot will bring in 2.5 million. If the rear lot doesn't sell we can always subdivide it again, but that will require us to invest in road construction, sewer and utility lines, and power line installation."
"It sounds like that one parcel will pay us back for the entire company."
"The land that we sold to the Lumber Products Division has already done that several times over, but even if we hadn't owned that, this one parcel should have because of its location. It turns out that the founder of Oak Mill Paper bought it long before the interstate highway system was even a gleam in the Transportation Department's eye. He intended to build his new plant there, but then changed his mind because it would have cost too much for the railroad spur line. He wound up buying the acreage behind his original plant and it was merged into one plot. He never sold the 45 acres for some reason."
"It sounds like you've been busy up here. You've done a great job, Bob. Thank you."
"You're welcome, DD. It's been a challenge, but it's fun because every day is different."
"I'll have to start looking around for acquisitions so that you won't get bored."
"You won't have to look too hard. Since that article came out in The Paper Press we get a couple of inquiries each week asking if we'd be interested in buying their company."
"Not really?"
"Really. Nancy has the file for you. I told her to hold it until after you settled in."
"I promised my sister Susan that I wouldn't buy a factory this week."
Bob laughed. "That seems a shame considering your successes."
"Well, you probably need a bit of a rest anyway. It'll give us time to get Greenfield up and running properly."
"To be honest, I was looking forward to your visit. Things always seem to get more exciting whenever you're around."
"Not this trip. I'm just going to hang around and observe."
"Too bad. Well, I have a meeting with Bill Marshall in ten minutes so I should go."
"I was delighted when I learned that he requested to remain on here permanently."
"I guess that the excitement was contagious. He loves digging through old company records and bringing order out of the chaos. He decided that he would have more opportunity to do that wherever you are. Tom Harris and Ben Phillips are still straddling the fence though. I think that they'd like to transfer to this division, but they keep dragging their feet about putting in the request."
I smiled as Bob left. I couldn't ask for a better team than the one that Grandma had originally sent to Piermont.
I picked up the phone and called Nancy. "Mr. Warren has said that you have some files for me."
"Yes ma'am. I'll bring them right in."
A few minutes later Nancy brought in a large box and set it on my desk. I looked at it and said, "I only expected a file folder. How many letters are in there?"
"Oh, these aren't all letters. Most of these are the employee ID forms that you asked for. They have a picture of every employee in the plant here and in Greenfield, and every employee now has an ID card. Everyone was told that they would need it for the new cafeteria so that they don't have to carry any cash while they're working. Meals will be charged against their paycheck as a deduction."
"I see. Are the letters from the companies being offered for sale in here also?"
"Yes, ma'am. They're in the folder right on top."
"Okay. Thank you, Nancy."
"Your welcome, Miss Drake."
I started to examine the contents as Nancy returned to her desk. I put the folder of letters aside and began looking through the employee records first. They were organized into folders alphabetically within plant location, so I took out the 'A' folder for this plant and began reading the brief history of each employee and examining their picture. It took me several hours to go through the entire file of employee records. When I was done, I put the file folders into the file drawer in my desk. I would have Nancy hold new records and give them to me each time I came so that I could familiarize myself with new employees.
It was almost noon so I took a break and checked to see what I could find in the kitchen. Nancy had stocked the refrigerator with some vegetables and fruit so I made a nice salad and sat down to begin reading through the letters. Some were typed and some were written by hand. The only common theme was that they all wanted to sell their business. Many were simply small print shops, but there were also a few small newspapers, and a couple of book publishers, in addition to a few businesses that identified themselves as Paper Companies. I kept the last group out and returned the folder to Nancy.
"Would you please send these people a letter thanking them for the offer but explaining that their business is not suited to our operations? Include a paragraph apologizing for the delay in responding and explain that I have been away at college."
"Yes, Miss Drake."
"Thank you, Nancy."
I returned to my office and began reading through the six letters that remained. One was from a company that manufactured writing papers. The second was from a company that made gift wrapping paper. The third was from a company that specialized in manufacturing corrugated boxes. The fourth was from a company that specialized in poster board and picture matboards. The fifth was from a company that manufactured pre-printed business forms. And the sixth was from a company that made formed paper products such as egg cartons.
I put the gift wrapping company letter, the poster board company letter, and the formed paper products company letters aside with the intention of giving them to Nancy for declination responses. Their products were so different from ours as to make their acquisition unsuitable. After a little more deliberation, I also added the writing papers manufacturer to the ones going to Nancy. That left just the corrugated box manufacturer, and the preprinted business forms manufacturer to be considered. Both of these products had the most relevance to what we already produced.
I decided to take a little break so I left the four additional letters with Nancy and walked out to the plant. I took my time strolling through the plant as I watched the activity of the workers as they turned wood pulp into paper. I took pride in the products that we produced in the plant and was proud to be associated with it. As a result of the ID photos I was now able to put names with most of the employees that I saw working.
The busiest part of the plant was the loading dock. Trucks were being loaded in seven of the eight bays. As usual I found Mike Turbill in this area. I wondered if he ever used his office in the office building. I guess that he was a real hands-on manager. When he saw me, he came over to say hi.
"Great isn't it? Almost a full house today. The three shifts are really cranking out product. If we get much busier we'll have to get more selective as to which trucks we allow in."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the drivers come here and drop off their trailers. Then they take their tractor and leave to get a meal, find a quiet place to sleep, or perform another hauling job. We may not be ready to load a particular trailer but it's sitting there anyway. If we get busier, we'll have to make the drivers drop their trailers in the side yard and then back it in ourselves when we're ready for it. We have our own tractor for that purpose but we haven't needed it for quite a while."
"I see. How about if we just added more loading bays?"
"That would work also, but it's a lot more expensive to build enclosed loading bays."
"How come I've never seen any railroad cars parked at the dock on the side of the building?"
"I don't know. I don't arrange for the shipping. We just follow the instructions that come down from the shipping office."
"Where's the shipping office."
"It's part of Accounting. So the person in charge would be Bill Marshall."
"I'll have to ask Bill then. What else could we do to speed up loading?"
"We could use more forklifts. We only have three. More forklifts would mean faster loading since only three trucks can be loaded at any one time right now. And we lose a forklift whenever it's needed in the plant to change paper rolls or move chemicals and stuff."
"Wouldn't they just get in each other's way?"
"At times, but you establish rules of the road like for cars to keep it flowing. It would still be more efficient."
"Okay, Mike. I'll talk to Tom Harris about acquiring more forklifts, and I'll leave it up to you keep them busy."
"Thanks, DD."
Since it was such a nice spring day I walked down to the river before going back to my office. The river was raging with the waters of the melted snow that had worked its way down from the mountains. It would probably be weeks before it would return to more average levels. I stood on the banks and watched for perhaps ten minutes before I walked back to my office to see what I could find to keep busy.
Once back at my desk I called Bill Marshall.
"Hi, Bill. Glad to see that you're still with us and that you'll be staying."
"I'm happy to be here, DD."
"Bill, could you do a little financial research for me please. I'd like to find out about North Country Paper Box over in New York State, and Eastern Business Forms in Danbury, Connecticut. North County makes corrugated paper boxes, and Eastern produces preprinted business forms."
"Doing a little shopping, DD?"
"Just very preliminary stuff, Bill. But keep it on the Q.T."
"You got it. I'll let you know as soon as I find something."
"Thanks, Bill."
As soon as I got off the phone, Nancy called to say that she had the letters ready so I had her bring them in. I signed them and she took them away to file our carbon copy and then mail the original. With that done I had nothing left to do.
I sat and stared out the window for a while, then took a walk over to Matt's office. He was on the phone but he waved me in and pointed to a chair. I sat and listened as he cajoled a large order from a customer.
As soon as he was off he said, "Hi, DD. Welcome back to heaven."
"Heaven?"
"That's the way that I think of it this time of the year. The long, cold winter is over and spring is in the air. This might be as close to Heaven as I ever get." He laughed heartily.
I smiled and said, "I see your point. How have you been?"
"Great. We've been selling boxes like crazy since we started sending out catalogs. Eric is complaining that they can't keep up with us down in Greenfield, and I keep telling him that we're already turning half the customers away because of their slow production. Fact is they're working really hard down there and keeping up with us. They're already running two shifts. If we get any busier, they'll have to go to three."
"That wonderful, Matt. I hear that we have a new catalog out."
"Yes, we do. Here's a copy. It shows the new Data Processing forms that we intend to produce. Nothing too fancy, just the green bar and plain white forms to start, in different sizes and number of parts. We made some calls and calculated that those forms comprise about 75 percent of the forms purchased. We're also going to produce punch cards. They go through those things like crazy."
"I saw that at the college. Good idea."
The phone rang, and as Matt reached for it I said, "I'll let you get back to work."
Matt was greeting a customer like he was an old friend as I left his office. While I was over on this side of the building, I stopped into Tom Harris's office and asked him to look into getting three more forklifts.
"Let me check my list." He took a three-ring binder off his credenza and leafed through it for a minute. "According to our fixed assets list, we have some forklifts down at Greenfield that aren't being used right now. I'll call down there and see what kind of condition they're in. They'll need them replaced when we start up paper production down there, but if we need them here now, we might as well bring them up. We can bring them back next time we send a truck down there with paper stock. Probably tomorrow."
"Great. Thanks, Tom."
I walked back to my office and sat down to look at the catalog that Matt had given me. I was impressed with its quality of design. I assumed that our prices were competitive, and all other factors considered, I'd certainly order from us.
When I had finished looking through the catalog, I found myself with nothing to do again. So I went through the photo ID forms again, paying extra attention to the employees in Greenfield. I wanted to take a ride down to Greenfield, so it might as well be tomorrow.
Before Nancy left I informed her that I was going down to Greenfield on Tuesday morning, then called Earl and told him that I was ready to leave for the evening. I also informed Earl of our trip tomorrow so that he could prepare.
We arrived in Greenfield around 9:30 the next morning. Someone must have seen the limo pull up in front and called Eric because he came hurrying to meet me as soon as I had entered the building. I went to his office on his invitation and had a cup of tea while we talked. I treated the visit like an inspection and reviewed the production numbers while we talked. Output was up about 500 percent since we had taken over. I knew from the transcripts of the weekly meetings that Greenfield had passed back into the black two months after we bought it. After spending about an hour in Eric's office, we left to tour the plant.
The boxing operation was hopping. I think that every machine was in operation. We walked around and I watched as cardboard was produced from paper, and then folded and glued to make boxes of every size. The warehouse next to the boxing operation was packed with pallets of finished product. A number of employees were preparing orders for shipment.
Next we walked to the paper production plant. Half a dozen men were working on the equipment in there. I recognized all of them, mostly from the ID photos. Mike O'Connell saw me and came over.
"Good morning, Miss Drake. What do you think of it?"
"It's shaping up, Mike. It hardly looks like the same plant. You've made a lot of progress in here."
"Yes ma'am, we have. It makes it easy when you can get the parts that you need. We figure on having the work completed in a couple of weeks, and then we'll be ready to flip the switch. The equipment may not look new, although we've painted or cleaned it up pretty well, but it will operate like new."
"That's what's important, Mike."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I know that you're busy, so I'll let you go. Thanks, Mike."
"It's me that owes you thanks. And thanks for what you did for my sister-in-law, Jenny."
"You're welcome."
Mike went back to work and Eric and I walked around the plant looking at the refurbished equipment. While we were down here we took a walk to the paper warehouse and I saw that someone had been working in here as well. The floors had been swept clean and new pallets were stacked up, just waiting to be filled with new paper. There was room for about 15 trucks at the loading dock at this warehouse, and there was the railroad spur as well, so that boxcars could be loaded.
Satisfied that everything was going well, we walked back to the front of the building. I thanked Eric and left. Earl was asleep but he awoke as I climbed into the car. Within two hours we were at the Brandon plant.
The trip had gone much faster than I expected. It wasn't even two o'clock when we arrived back at the plant, leaving me nothing to do. I was tempted to call the pilots at the hotel and have them get the plane ready for a trip home. At least there I could be with my family and maybe go riding every day, but I was expected to be at the Friday meeting. I was rescued from my temptation by a call from Bill Marshall. He had the financial information that I wanted on the two companies that had sent letters about a possible buyout. I told him to come right up.
When he arrived I offered him some tea but he declined, and I didn't have any coffee made, so instead we got right down to work. Bill had had Dunn & Bradstreet reports telexed in and had come up with some other information from the Thomas Register, a book that was like an encyclopedia about businesses.
"This is about all that I can get without calling friends, but then the word would be out that you're interested."
"Thank you, Bill. This is excellent. It gives me the basic information that I didn't have. Things don't look so good for this company in New York, do they?"
"No, but the one in Connecticut seems really healthy. There doesn't appear to be any reason for them to have to sell."
"I guess that there must be some reason if they're writing letters offering their company for sale."
"It doesn't seem to be a final act of desperation, or hopelessness, for the Connecticut plant, but it does for the New York plant."
"I guess that the only way to find out would be to travel there."
"I'm ready whenever you want to go," he said.
"You must still be swamped with work from Greenfield?"
"Not really. It's pretty much in the hands of the clerical staff now, and Ron has taken over responsibility for coordinating with our office staff down there."
"Okay." I picked up the phone and asked Nancy to call North Country Paper Box in New York and try to get a Mr. Tivollo, the man that had written the letter, or whoever was in charge on the phone. I could have called myself, but I felt that this would impress him more. A few minutes later she buzzed me back to say that she had 'a Mr. Tivollo' on the line. I thanked her and asked her to connect us. I put the speaker on so that Bill could hear.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Tivollo. This is Darla Anne Drake from Piermont Paper."
"Hello Miss Drake. It's nice to hear from you. I was beginning to think that you didn't have any interest in my letter."
"Not at all, Mr. Tivollo. I've been away at college for the past several months and only just got back yesterday."
"I see. Then I take it that you're interested in our company."
"I don't know yet, Mr. Tivollo. I'd like to visit and have you show me around."
"Whenever you like, Miss Drake."
"How about tomorrow morning?"
"Tomorrow morning?"
"Yes. My time here is limited. I'll be leaving again in a few days and won't return until after school is out in June."
"Very well. Tomorrow morning."
"Could you tell me what the nearest airport is that handles jet planes?"
"Albany is the nearest major airport, but Glens Falls can handle business class jets, and it's real close."
"Okay, Mr. Tivollo, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Probably between 9 and 10 o'clock."
"I'll be looking forward to it, Miss Drake."
I called Nancy again and asked her to try to contact Mr. Baird at Eastern Business Forms. It was ten minutes before she rang me back. Bill and I spoke about my trip to Greenfield this morning as we waited. When Nancy buzzed she told me that she had Mr. Baird on the phone.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Baird. This is Darla Anne Drake from Piermont Paper."
"Good afternoon Miss Drake. It's nice to hear from you."
"Mr. Baird, I'm going to be in the area tomorrow and I was wondering if you might arrange a tour of your facility?"
"Of course, Miss Drake. I'd be delighted to show you around. What time would be convenient?"
"I'd say between two and three. I can't be sure because I have another appointment in Northern New York in the morning."
"Well, Albany is at least a three hour drive from here, maybe four. The interstate highway between us and the New State Thruway won't be completed for several years so you'll have to use the old Taconic Parkway. It may not be possible to get here very early unless you conclude your business in New York very quickly."
"I expect to conclude our business in New York by 1 pm, so that will leave us enough time to get to you a little after 2 pm, assuming that you're not too far from a decent sized airport."
"We have a nice airport right in Danbury, but I don't know about connecting flights with upstate New York."
"That's not a problem. I have the company jet. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then."
After I had hung up I buzzed Nancy and gave her the particulars of our itinerary. "Please arrange for a limo to be available from 9 until 1 in Glens Falls in New York, and from 1 until 5 in Danbury, Connecticut. Give them the addresses of where we'll be going so that they can be prepared."
"Yes, ma'am."
After I hung up I looked at Bill and said, "Why don't you meet me at the hotel at 8 am. You can leave your car there and Earl will take us to the airport."
"Okay, DD. See you in the morning."
"Bill, I've discovered that we never seem to ship anything by rail even though we have our own spur line. Do you know why that is?
"No, I don't. But I'll look into it."
After Bill left I called the hotel and reached the co-pilot. I gave him the information so that they could plan the trip and he said that they would be ready. When I was done, I had nothing to do again. I sat back in my chair, swiveled around to look out the window, and thought about the trip that I was planning. I wondered if I was only doing this to keep occupied, or if I really had an interest in acquiring any more companies? Was this the extent of my contribution to the Paper Products Division? I didn't know the answer to that so I decided to occupy my mind with other thoughts. I went to Peter's office and retrieved books that talked about making corrugated cardboard, and printing forms. I might as well know as much as possible for my tours tomorrow.
(continued in part 25)
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