Ceramco

"With money in his pockets in the 1950s, Clark had taken to car racing, but gave it away after nearly killing himself in his Ferrari Super Squalo at Bathurst in November 1957. He then turned to yacht racing, culminating in 18 months through 1970–72 racing *Buccaneer*. In 1973 he succeeded his brother Malcolm as managing director of the parent company, Consolidated Brick and Pipe, changing its name the following year to Ceramco. By then, as was the fashion, the group was diversifying beyond bricks, ceramics and crockery. Clark plunged his foot harder on the pedal. The conglomerate extended to transport, engineering, hotel catering, distribution and construction."

"During the critical months of the Freightways privatisation, Gibbs had other deals and projects running in parallel. His old ally Tom Clark had steadily increased Ceramco’s shareholding in Atlas until it reached 40 per cent by late 1984. Gibbs admits that blending an electronics and whiteware business with Ceramco’s bricks, crockery and engineering created a ‘totally inappropriate mix’ of companies, but ‘Tom was always wanting to buy something’ and Ceramco’s friendly stake shored up Gibbs’ and Bidwill’s control of Atlas. In July 1985 they went a step further and announced plans for a full merger of Ceramco and Atlas; Atlas shareholders were offered one Ceramco share plus 10 cents, valuing Atlas shares at $3.67, a 16 per cent premium on the market price.[24](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477308-556173400-24) Gibbs and Bidwill were praised for having spearheaded a classic recovery for Atlas’ shareholders from 25 cents in 1980.[25](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477308-556173400-25) When the merger was declared unconditional on 3 September the net result was that Gibbs and Bidwill became Ceramco’s largest shareholders, with 26 per cent between them.[26](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477308-556173400-26) Gibbs replaced John Fair as chairman of Ceramco; Bidwill took over as managing director. Interviewed soon after, Clark said of Gibbs: *He’s lean and tough but at the same time he’s got a cool, evaluating, analytical streak. He’s imaginative, a great people motivator; he’s dead honest, straight up and down — all the things I admire. We’ve had plenty of punch-ups. I don’t think the friendship would be any good without them. I used to win and now he wins. I’m prepared to give up the reins and let him go.*[27](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477308-556173400-27)"

"It was massively difficult. All the restructuring was destroying the basics of New Zealand’s historically protected economy. Most businesses I owned were wiped out: Ceramco and Atlas ultimately disappeared. It’s a wonder we didn’t go broke. But I’d dealt with import licensing for years; I knew how sick it was. No bloody way was I going to keep my sad business alive at the expense of getting New Zealand sorted out. We didn’t lose money because we didn’t fight deregulation; we saw where it was going and worked our arses off to liquidate those businesses that were losing their whole economic rationale before they were valueless. Those that waited, like Winstones, were the ones that really struggled."

"In his address as chairman of the combined company in September 1987, Gibbs took the opportunity to state the company’s objectives and philosophy, which first and foremost were to increase the wealth of shareholders.[52](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477308-556173400-52) From that, everything else flowed; in order to maximise returns, the business had to achieve excellence in its relations with employees, customers and the community. Gibbs didn’t want to follow the fashion for venturing beyond New Zealand and Australia; he’d seen too many failed attempts by New Zealand companies, including Ceramco, to conquer the world, and concluded that it was too difficult to be excellent everywhere."

"His experience at Ceramco, and at St Martins Properties, a much smaller company which had floated just before the crash and had suffered accordingly, taught Gibbs that he didn’t enjoy being a chairman of public companies. Regulations were onerous and he was forever obliged to explain himself in the press. As well, he felt particularly responsible when friends and family had put their money in, relying on his abilities; people like Jill Holt, the widow of his old friend Jim. She’d invested in St Martins and after the crash stood to lose most of her investment. She recalls that much to her relief Gibbs bought the shares back off her at the listing price, as he did with others she knew. ‘Some people,’ she says, ‘said that it was nothing to him, he was rich, but the fact is that most men in his situation don’t do what he did. It was very nice of him.’[37](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477346-006497775-37) Having done the rounds, Gibbs concluded that chairing a private company where only the principals had shares, such as Freightways, was much simpler."

"Towards the end of Gaynor’s period, aside from his major investments in Freightways and Ceramco, Gibbs’ portfolio consisted of a pile of cash, in excess of $100 million, and other public shares worth a mere $1.2 million. Gaynor remembers his boss worrying incessantly about the relatively insignificant parcel of shares. Gibbs, he says, was not a natural passive investor.[36](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477346-006497775-36) Meantime, Gibbs had made it his goal never to be in the position where he couldn’t write out a $20 million cheque that could be cashed the next day."

"Jenkins suggested that Gibbs turn his attention to the two places in the world with excellent low-volume, specialist cultures for car making: northern Italy and the British Midlands. Since Gibbs spoke no Italian, it made sense to look first at the Midlands. In the UK half a dozen companies, including Morgan, Aston Martin, TVR and Lotus, manufactured cars in low volumes. They were supported by engineers with the sorts of skills and mind-set that Gibbs needed. The decision was made; Jenkins merged his business with Gibbs’, and Gibbs and Jenkins became partners. The project moved across the Atlantic. In Neil Jenkins, Gibbs had found a Trevor Farmer-like figure to help him with the car project. Since the engineering challenges fascinated him, Gibbs would have a more hands-on role than he had had with his former businesses, such as Freightways and Ceramco, but he’d long since learnt that he needed a trusted and capable partner on the spot."