$2 or higher gas - Can ethanol make a comeback? Message Board

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Non-Tech : $2 or higher gas - Can ethanol make a comeback?

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To: richardred who wrote (2780)	5/19/2016 11:17:05 PM
From: Lance Bredvold	Read Replies (3) of 2801

I too have some ARTW remaining. At a loss, of course. I would not call Ward non aggressive. In fact, his regular willingness to bet more money on another purchase of marginal ag manufacturers seems awfully adventurous to me. Especially from an octogenarian. In any case, we are now going to ride with Marc for a while. I've worried about our CEO's (Carrie Majeski--could not think of her name earlier) ability to manage so many diverse and geographically dispersed operations bought by Ward. When I was paying closer attention, I know that Ward and Marc would take turns travelling up to Dubuque and then spend the next week or 10 days driving from factory to factory. And Marc was much better liked than Ward. I think they were afraid of Ward. I even visited the Ward McConnell home in N. Carolina just as Ward was driving into his long driveway and I was driving out. I did not stop. Big old mansion with gatehouse and as I recall a collection of antique cars on a hill at the edge of town. Pretty impressive behind a lot of bushes and land. The ladder company looked abandoned but apparently was still used for storage and an old, off brand tractor sat beside the loading dock--and that's where Ward made his money as I recall it. He did inspire several people by being Ward and doing things which did not look sensible. The board was full of guys who had admired him during his more active career. A straight shooter I'd gather, with employees and partners. But extremely sharp and tough. Also accidentally ran across a New York ladder factory run by Marc. Just driving across the state on a freeway when I saw the name and pulled into town. Nothing very special about it and it was after hours. But to think that a kid 22 years old was president of this and a few other similar small companies was impressive. Yet he never said much at annual meetings when his dad was around. I worried that he lacked gumption, but probably just wiser to be quiet while Ward held sway. ARTW was an interesting experiment for me. But I have to remember that Ward got well rewarded by buying up half the company at something like $0.60 a share (somewhere under a dollar) and what happened later was just piddling around. He could have sold off most of his holdings at $15 and called the whole thing a great success. Instead he just kept putting more money into it. Maybe it'll pay off eventually?

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