Author Information
John Major
Former UK PM John Major.. sits in a library..
clipping his stock options from arms manufacturers
while injured Iraqis fight for life in hospitals.
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from Global Security:
The Carlyle Group is a private global investment firm which originates, structures and acts as lead equity investor in management-led buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations and build-ups, and growth capital financings. Carlyle is the eleventh largest defense contractor in the US because of its ownership of companies making tanks, aircraft wings and other equipment. It is also heavily invested in telecommunications. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the firm serves a diverse base of nearly 425 Investors -- mainly large pension funds and banks -- in 50 countries worldwide. The Carlyle Group does not provide investment or other services to the general public. Carlyle has ownership stakes in 164 companies which employed more than 70,000 people and generated $16 billion in revenues in the year 2000.
Formed in 1987, The Carlyle Group has invested over $5.8 billion of equity in 217 corporate and real estate transactions with an aggregate acquisition value of over $17 billion. As of March 2001, the firm had more than $12.5 billion of capital under management. Separate teams of investment professionals manage funds dedicated to management-led buyouts and strategic minority investments, venture capital, and real estate investment opportunities. Carlyle also has three High Yield Funds which invest in leveraged loans, high yield bonds, mezzanine instruments and private equity. The firm conducts its investment activities through focused industry groups which leverage the extensive operating, corporate and governmental experience of its partners.
Frank C. Carlucci has been a Managing Director of Carlyle since 1989 and the Chairman since 1993. Mr. Carlucci was Secretary of Defense from November 1987 through January 1989, following his service as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs under President Reagan. He is also Chairman of the US-ROC (Taiwan) Business Council. Before serving in these positions, Mr. Carlucci was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sears World Trade, Inc. James A. Baker III has been the Senior Counselor at The Carlyle Group since 1993. Mr. Baker has served at the senior levels of the U.S. government under three different Presidents. He served as the nation’s 61st Secretary of State from January 1989 through August 1992 in the Bush Administration. Mr. Baker served from 1985 to 1988 as the 67th Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration. Prior to his service as Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Baker was President Reagan’s White House Chief of Staff from 1981 to 1985. Mr. Baker’s record of public service began in 1975 as President Ford’s Under Secretary of Commerce. It concluded with his service once again as White House Chief of Staff for President Bush from August 1992 to January 1993. On 14 May 2001 The Carlyle Group announced that John Major, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, had agreed to join the firm as Chairman of Carlyle Europe. In that capacity, Mr. Major serves as Chairman of Carlyle's European private equity funds and their advisory boards.
The Carlyle Group bought United Defense in October 1997. United Defense has the widest product line of systems for land forces and a strong position in naval armaments. United Defense has its headquarters in Arlington, VA and its 5100 employees operate on a global basis to serve its customers.
United Defense provides Combat Vehicle Systems, Fire Support, Combat Support Vehicle Systems, Weapons Delivery Systems, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, and Combat Support Services. UDLP's current programs include:
Bradley Family of Vehicles
M113 Family of Vehicles
M88A2 Recovery Vehicle
Grizzly
M9 ACE
Composite Armored Vehicle
M6 Linebacker
M7 BFIST
Armored Gun System
M4 Command and Control Vehicle
Battle Command Vehicle
Paladin
Future Scout and Cavalry System
Crusader
Combat Systems Integration
Integrated Defense Systems
Electric Drive Vehicles
FBCB2
Electric Gun Technology/Pulse Power
Advanced Simulations and Training Systems
Fleet Management
The first order for amphibious landing craft came in 1941 with a form from the military that simply said "Buy 1,000 LVTs — Food Machinery Corporation". During World War II, FMC produced more than 10,000 armored vehicles. Similarly, Bowen-McLaughlin York (later BMY, a division of Harsco) also began building tanks. For the last half century, both companies provided the military with high, quality reliable equipment. More than 100,000 systems have been produced.
In response to the complexities of the military industrial base and the technology developments in a declining market, FMC and Harsco merged their defense units into United Defense Limited Partnership in 1994. Business conditions for the two conglomerates then lead to an exit strategy from the defense sector.
The Carlyle Group bought United Defense in October 1997. United Defense has the widest product line of systems for land forces and a strong position in naval armaments. United Defense has its headquarters in Arlington, VA and its 5100 employees operate on a global basis to serve its customers.
The Food Machinery Corporation in Riverside traces its origins to three men operating in the first half of the Twentieth century. In 1903, Fred Stebler opened the California Iron Works at Ninth and Vine Streets, where he produced citrus washing, drying, sorting, and packing equipment. In 1909, George Parker bought the Riverside Foundry and Machine Works (renamed the Parker Machine Works) at Twelfth and Pachappa (later known as Commerce) Streets, where he manufactured nailing and boxing machines, as well as citrus washing equipment. Parker's Orange Box Maker was widely used by citrus packing houses in California and Florida. Business rivals, Stebler and Parker filed numerous patent infringement cases against the other, and against other competitors. Upon the advice of banker W. B. Clancy, and based on economic necessity, the two merged in 1920 to form the Stebler-Parker Company, which produced the packing and handling machines at Stebler's plant. Parker continued at his factory with his nailing devices and wire-tying machines.
During the 1920's, a third competitor entered the business. Hale Paxton developed a nailing machine that was faster, lighter, and could be easily transported to the fields, unlike Parker's machine. Paxton also made lidding machines, which were gentler to the fruit than Parker's version. Paxton's machine raised the box to the lid while Parker's machine had the lids slam down onto the boxes. Parker and Paxton competed in the field, making improvements on their lidding and box-making machinery. Meanwhile, Stebler had no competition, and thus made no improvements on his machines. He further consolidated his holdings by having packinghouses buy not just his patented machinery but entire citrus packing systems, including non-patented parts.
The California Fruit Growers Exchange encouraged the Food Machinery Corporation to enter the field of citrus machinery. FMC started as a national consolidation of various manufacturers of vegetable drying and packing equipment, fruit canning machines, and agricultural spray pumps. In the 1930's, the Stebler-Parker Company became a division of FMC under the name Citrus Machinery Co., with Stebler a large stockholder. Paxton also joined the corporation as superintendent in 1938, moving his equipment from its Orange County location to the new FMC building at Parker's old plant, which FMC bought at a liquidation sale several years after Parker's death in 1930. The Stebler location became a warehouse for FMC. The company eliminated the wire typing machinery division after the consolidation.
In 1940, FMC helped design a light amphibious tracked vehicle. The government gave FMC the contract to build military versions of the vehicle, with an assembly line in Florida and another in Riverside. Several types of the Landing Vehicle, Tracked (LVT, also known as the Water Buffalo) were produced, with Riverside responsible for the gun turret version, the LVT-4. The Riverside main plant also manufactured spare parts for the vehicles. During World War II, FMC built 11,251 LVT vehicles, receiving in 1945 the Army-Navy "E" award for outstanding war production. Changing its name to the Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation in 1948, operations continued during the Korean War with retrofitting of the older LVT models and also building different vehicle types. In 1949 a monument, complete with a LVT, was dedicated to the factory war workers at Fairmont Park near the location where they had conducted testing.
FMC Corporation (its moniker since 1961) continued operations worldwide with its chemical divisions, military contracts (including ones for the M113 and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle), and its agricultural and machinery systems. Though FMC Corporation continued to have a sales and service location in Riverside on Linden Street, it sold the building at the site of Parker's old factory and moved its citrus system and food technology headquarters to Florida.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/industry/carlyle.htm
Maintained by John Pike
Last Modified: October 30, 2002 - 08:47
