• History • Enduring Values • A Tradition of Management Expertise • The 21st Century
John and Mary Longyear left to their five surviving children not only a legacy of vast natural resource wealth, but also one grounded in a solid foundation of ethics and management expertise.
This foundation is especially important for a group of businesses focused on natural resources. The effect of market conditions on natural resource-based industries can seem amplified; if there's a nationwide decline in manufacturing or homebuilding, for example, prices for iron ore or timber can plummet. Likewise, a boom like that experienced after the end of World War II drives prices and production skyward.
The family members and trusted colleagues managing the Longyear businesses from the time of Mr. Longyear's death in 1922 have returned time and again to the founding principles of his company. Create Value. Maximize Performance. Leverage Opportunities. Encourage Sustainability.
These values not only helped the businesses endure the Great Depression, they also helped the company meet the demand caused by World War II and the post-war building and manufacturing boom.
In the 1950s, long before it became popular, Longyear leadership developed a sustainable harvesting plan to ensure the long-term value of timber resources. At the same time, Longyear interests on the Mesabi Iron Range were instrumental in creating value from taconite, a low-grade form of iron ore that ultimately replaced other forms of ore depleted after World War II. This shift not only created value from an ore type previously considered worthless, it also helped maximize the short- and long-term performance of the mineral leases, especially as new mines were developed in the succeeding decades.
The 1970s were prosperous, in large part because of the demand for taconite pellets. The 1980s, however, saw heavy industry fall into a recession that deeply cut demand for mineral and timber resources. As various Longyear interests were battered by the changing economic fortunes, they returned again and again to their founder's values to help them weather the economic cycles.