Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2001. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, among other businesses.

It began in 1947 as Ling Electric Company, later named Ling-Temco-Vought, followed by LTV Corporation and eventually LTV Steel until its end in 2001.

History

Ling Electric Company

In 1947, entrepreneur James Ling founded an electrical-contracting business, Ling Electric Company, in Dallas, Texas. He lived in the rear of the shop. After incorporating and taking the company public in 1955, Ling found innovative ways to market the stock, including selling door-to-door and from a booth at the State Fair of Texas.[1]

LTV Corporation

num employees	<20,000 (1961)

homepage	(2000 Archive, now defunct)

As part of a 1971 antitrust settlement, the company sold its Braniff and Okonite components,[2] and Thayer changed the company name from Ling-Temco-Vought to LTV Corporation. Thayer was succeeded by former Xerox executive Raymond Hay.

First bankruptcy

In July 1986, LTV Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. With $6.14 billion ($ today) in total assets and $4.59 billion in debt, it was the largest bankruptcy in US history to that point.[4]

The company went into a series of divestitures, most notably the entire LTV Aerospace division; the aerospace component retained the legacy Vought name as the independent Vought Corporation, while the missile component later became part of Loral Corporation [5] and later became the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control division. After the 1984 merger of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company subsidiary with Republic Steel Corporation, the company continued to exist primarily as a steel producer, renaming itself LTV Steel, and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1993.

LTV did not leave Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection until June 28, 1993, in what was described in 1999 as one of the longest and most complicated bankruptcies in US history.[3]

In 1999, LTV acquired Pittsburgh-based Copperweld Corporation from Imétal S.A. of France.[6]

Second bankruptcy

LTV Steel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, on December 29, 2000.[7] The company subsequently dissolved on December 18, 2001. Its assets were acquired in February 2002 by Wilbur Ross and merged with Weirton Steel to form the International Steel Group.[2][8]

Some of the railroad subsidiaries – Chicago Short Line Railway, Cuyahoga Valley Railway, and River Terminal Railway – went to ISG Railways, while the Ohio Central Railroad System acquired Aliquippa and Southern Railroad and Mahoning Valley Railway. The former Monongahela Connecting Railroad is now operated by the Allegheny Valley Railroad.

In 2002, Lombard Metals Corp, located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, purchased all the outside inventory totaling 224,000,000 lb of steel from 58 locations throughout the country.

former name	Ling-Temco-Vought
type	Public
traded as	LTV / LTVCQ (former)
founded	1947 Dallas, Texas U.S.
defunct	December 18, 2001
founder	James Ling
location city	Dallas, Texas (1947–1993) Cleveland, Ohio (1993–2001)
area served	Worldwide
industry	Conglomerate

Ling-Temco-Vought

History

Ling Electric Company