Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
July 13, 2016 02:00 AM

Marking the passing of a legendary CEO

Bill Bregar
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Rich Williams

    Stanley Gault made for great stories throughout his 11 years leading Rubbermaid Inc. After he retired in 1991, the housewares maker just was not the same.

    He died June 29 at age 90.

    Gault had a small-town air about him that fit with Wooster, Ohio, the headquarters town of Rubbermaid. Wooster is a county seat that blends industry, farming and the lovely College of Wooster, Gault's alma mater, where he served on the board of trustees from 1972 to 2000.

    He wasn't exactly folksy. You've got to be all-business when you take a company from sales of $309 million to $1.5 billion in a decade. But Gault and his wife, Flo, were approachable in his hometown, at the grocery store, the library.

    And Rubbermaid was able to make that hugely ambitious growth profitably, and with amazing consistency: Under Gault, the company put together an uninterrupted string of consecutive quarters and profit exceeding those of the year-earlier quarters.

    For investors, Rubbermaid was a safe bet. Steady. Stable. So was — and still is — J.M. Smucker Co., in Orrville, Ohio, not far from Wooster.

    Gault returned to his roots in Wooster after 31 years at General Electric Co. He had clashed with Jack Welch, certainly not the first person to do that, or the last! When GE named Welch for the CEO, Gault left, then joined Rubbermaid.

    At Rubbermaid — which had been co-founded by Gault's father — he cut costs and shook up management. He was tough. But most importantly, he pushed for new product development. Rubbermaid was a major innovator in plastics housewares, while still retaining its base in rubber products like shower mats. Rubbermaid's booth at the International Housewares Show was a must-see for retail buyers.

    Gault's retirement from Rubbermaid lasted only six weeks, when he became chairman and CEO of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

    Rubbermaid's saga after Gault has been well documented, but it bears repeating. Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Schmitt, who assumed the top spot in 1993, often displayed a harsh, cold personality, according to media accounts quoting former executives.

    Even so, in 1994, Fortune magazine named Rubbermaid one of America's most admired corporations. Then the following year, Schmitt and Rubbermaid management made a major blunder: They challenged Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over pricing and shelf space. Wal-Mart pulled Rubbermaid products and replaced them with housewares molded by competitors, especially Sterilite Corp.

    Rubbermaid got some of the Wal-Mart business back, but Sterilite has seen impressive growth ever since.

    To be fair, plastic housewares were becoming a commodity, as mass merchants exerted pricing power under Gault as well. When resin prices fall, big-box retailers notoriously demand price cuts from suppliers, but when resin jumps back up, well guess what, price increases on store shelves for laundry baskets and good containers ain't gonna happen. (Any plastic processor knows that story.)

    And for any executive, it's a hugely difficult task coming in to lead a company after a well-regarded leader like Stanley Gault.

    Newell Co. bought Rubbermaid in 1998. Five years later, Newell Rubbermaid Inc. closed the Wooster plant, wiping out 850 jobs. “Exodus shatters city, firm bond,” read one Plastics News headline. One local newspaper quoted Gault as being “extremely distressed and disappointed.”

    But to Gault's credit, he remained active in Wooster. He bought a venerable downtown department store, H. Freedlander Co., and stayed active with the college. He probably did much more, without much fanfare, in his low-key fashion.

    A local boy made good.

    It's tempting to say that they don't make leaders like Gault anymore. But the plastics industry is full of them — good men and women who lead their companies using good business sense, while providing jobs and helping their local communities become better places to live. For proof, look at any of the finalists, or the winners, of the Plastics News Processor of the Year Award.

    These business leaders might not get the fanfare that comes with running a Rubbermaid or Goodyear. But they mean a lot to their companies, employees, and hometowns, as did Stanley Gault.

    As a footnote: Welch, who started his GE career in 1960 at GE Plastics, was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2006. Certainly the Plastics Hall of Fame has room for Stanley Gault, too.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    There's no Iron Throne, but POY winner gets a nice trophy
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    2
    Industry sees Biden bioplastics goal as serious signal
    3
    Report urges treaty to regulate plastics like pharmaceuticals, limit growth
    4
    One injured in explosion at Ineos cumene plant in Texas
    5
    Engineering resin prices close the first quarter with a drop
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified