Monday, April 22, 2013

Conrad Industries Profile of Parker Conrad ($CNRD)

Profile on the company website:

His first real break came when he turned to the sea and started buying shrimp, icing it down in a truck, and driving to New York. It was a tough 60-hour run, with no interstate highways, and he stopped only for gas. He paid a helper $25 for the entire trip.

The shrimp were not sold before he got to New York. He would take his loads to the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan. The price for jumbo headless was 12 cents a pound.

After General Foods bought his shrimp-brokering business, he began building wooden shrimp boats, first with cypress until it became hard to find. He shopped around until he found a source in New Orleans that imported mahogany from Honduras. It made beautiful boats.

Repair work quickly became a big part of the business. With no drydock between New Orleans and Texas, he bought his first drydock from St. Louis Shipbuilding in 1951 or 1952, he remembers. It was steel, which he had never used.

By 1962, he abandoned wooden hulls and started building with steel.

2 comments:

Steve said...


MHR preferreds?

Too controversial, given Gary Evans promotion and lack of a 10-K?

Or a great bargain, with cumulative dividends to catch up by July (delayed due to auditor change and bond indentures), Eagle Ford sale delevering company, nearly 12% yield, and large price discount?

CP said...

Which pref - is there a ticker? How much dividends have accrued?

What is the company capital structure and cash flow like?

I don't follow them.