Corporate Office HQ

Valvoline Corporate Office

Valvoline

Valvoline motor oil was founded back in 1866 by Dr. John Ellis, one of the pioneers for the refinement of crude oil. He originally hoped that oil would have medicinal properties but failed in that endeavor. The name Valvoline was incorporated in 1873.

Valvoline motor oil was used in the first North American car race held in Chicago, Illinois, in 1895 and by the early 1900s was the recommended oil of car manufacturer Henry Ford.

History

In 1950, Ashland Oil, Inc. acquired Valvoline and created an all-season motor oil that eliminated the need for different oil use in the winter.

The company has sponsored racing events and cars, including the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, NASCAR, and Formula One. Valvoline recently extended their support of Hendrick Motorsports 12 time NASCAR Cup winning champion driver Alex Bowman through 2022.

In 1987, the company introduced its own quick-service oil change locations, providing preventative maintenance for consumers, including oil changes, radiator flushing, batteries, belts, and transmission servicing.

In 2011, the company reported $2 billion in global sales. Valvoline has more than 60 processing and packaging plants around the world.

In July 2019, the company announced record third-quarter earnings, beating stock estimates of .32 per share profit at .37 per share.

An employee at an Asheville, Kentucky, Valvoline oil change center was fired in mid-July 2019, after listing a customer’s name on their invoice as “Pokahontas.” The post went viral on Facebook. The CEO called the customer to apologize and refunded the money spent at the location.

Valvoline is still owned by parent company Ashland Oil, Inc. and has headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky.

Manulife Financial Corporate Office

Manulife Financial

In 1887, Canada’s Prime Minister, John Macdonald, and Parliament incorporated The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. At the time, it was not unusual for politicians to be involved in private companies and it was not considered to be a conflict of interest.

As early as 1893, the company began selling life insurance policies outside of Canada, first in Bermuda, then Jamaica, Barbados, and Haiti. In 1958, shareholders voted to change the company to a mutual organization privately owned by the policyholders.

History

In 1999, its voting-eligible policyholders approved demutualization, and the shares of Manulife, the holding company of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, began trading on The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) under the ticker “MFC”, and on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) under the ticker “945”.

In April 2015, the company announced a partnership with DBS Bank, providing Manulife exclusive access to DBS customers in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia. In June of that same year, Manulife-Sinochem became the first foreign-invested joint-venture life insurance company in China authorized to sell mutual funds in the country.

In April 2016, Manulife became the first Canadian insurance company to offer life insurance to people who are HIV-positive, insuring people who have tested HIV-positive, who are between the ages of 30 and 65 and that meet certain other criteria for life insurance policies that would pay up to $2 million.

In August 2019, the Canadian government announced that it was altering the Patented Medicine Price Review Board. These changes should significantly reduce the cost of new medicines in Canada. Manulife supported this measure.

Also in August 2019, Manulife announced that its net income in the second quarter grew substantially, mainly due to growth in the Asian markets.

Manulife Financial is the largest insurance company in Canada and serves more than 26 million people around the world. Company headquarters for Manulife Financial remains in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In 1887, Canada's Prime Minister, John Macdonald, and Parliament incorporated The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. At the time, it was not unusual for politicians to be involved in private companies and it was not considered to be a conflict of … [Continue reading] about Manulife Financial Corporate Office

Rio Tinto Corporate Office

Rio Tinto

The Rio Tinto (Painted River in Spanish) has been mined for copper, silver, and gold since time began. Mining operations have been overseen by the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Iberians, and the Moors. Mining was abandoned for a period and rediscovered by the Spaniards in 1556. The Spanish government took over the mines in 1724.

Spain decided to sell the mines in 1872 and held an auction, which was won by Hugh Matheson’s British firm Matheson and Company. Spain relinquished any claim to the mine and the name Rio Tinto was put on the final paperwork in March 1873.

History

The Rothchild family came into possession of the mine in the late 1880s. They began expanding mining operations substantially. The company began diversifying, acquiring and creating other mining sites in the mid-1920s, including a copper mine in Rhodesia (now Zambia).

Other mergers and acquisitions include U.S. Borax company in 1968, Kennecott Utah Copper, iron and uranium mine North Limited of Australia, and the Cordero Mining Company.

The company is split into four divisions;

Aluminum
Copper & Diamonds, including gold and silver
Energy & Minerals, including Borax, salt, and uranium
Iron ore

In 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation and placed a $3 billion impairment charge against Rio Tinto regarding a coal deal they made in Mozambique. Rio acquired Riverdale Mining Ltd. The CEO was later forced to step down.

In early November 2016, Former mining minister of Guinea, Mahmoud Thiam, claimed that the head of Rio Tinto’s operation in Guinea offered him a bribe in 2010 in order to win back control of the Simandou mine and that his offer was supported by senior members of the company. The company is currently facing at least 4 class-action suits in the US demanding damages over the corruption allegations in Guinea.

The company has had record profits in 2018/2019 and is prepared to share more than $4 billion with shareholders. Rio Tinto is a duel-listed company that is traded on both the London Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange. Additionally, American Depositary Shares of Rio Tinto’s British branch are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, giving its listings on a total of 3 major stock exchanges.

Rio Tinto is the world’s largest mining and metal company, with operations on six continents, with its main focus being Australia and Canada.

The Rio Tinto (Painted River in Spanish) has been mined for copper, silver, and gold since time began. Mining operations have been overseen by the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Iberians, and the Moors. Mining was abandoned for a period and … [Continue reading] about Rio Tinto Corporate Office

SoulCycle Corporate Office

SoulCycle

Ruth Zukerman began teaching spin classes in 1996. She introduced her friends, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, to the classes and to one another. This trio of friends decided to open their own gym featuring nothing but spin classes. Pooling their cash, their first gym was on the Upper Westside of Manhattan, New York.

Villency Design Group designed the SoulCycle stationary bicycle using a “split seat” to relieve the discomfort caused by conventional bike seats. Equinox Fitness, a competing cycling gym, acquired a majority stake in the company in 2011.

History

Zukerman left the company in 2009, with Rice and Cutler selling their shares to Equinox in 2016 and stepping down from the company. The company has plans to go public but these plans appear to be stalled as of this time.

SoulCycle has more than 100 locations in 15 US states, Canada, and plans to open a new location in London in 2019. The company also launched its own channel on Sirius XM and Pandora, playing the music they use during the various spin classes.

In August 2019, Related Companies, owner of Equinox and SoulCycle, hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump’s reelection, leaving many cyclists outraged and calling for a boycott. In response, the company immediately made a plan for “free rides” to raise money for the charity of the instructor’s choice. Numerous other cycling gyms and gyms offering cycling classes, such as Hollywood Fitness Studios and Town Sports International Gym, offered free classes and discount memberships for those who want to boycott SoulCycle and Equinox.

To turn things around, the company put a new CEO in place in December 2020.

The corporate office for SoulCycle remains in New York City, New York.

Ruth Zukerman began teaching spin classes in 1996. She introduced her friends, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, to the classes and to one another. This trio of friends decided to open their own gym featuring nothing but spin classes. Pooling their … [Continue reading] about SoulCycle Corporate Office

Blue Bayou Water Park/Dixie Landin Corporate Office

Blue Bayou Water Park

In 1960, Sam Haynes Sr. opened a small amusement park named Fun Fair Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Best known for the rollercoaster The Wild Mouse and a mascot chimp named Candi, the park lost its small-town charm and closed in 1999.

However, Sam Haynes, Jr. moved a great deal of the park, including Candi, to a new location and started fresh with an amusement park named Dixie Landin’. Attached to Dixie Landin is the Blue Bayou Water Park.

History

Blue Bayou Water Park and Dixie Landin are open May thru September. The parks have 25 full-time employees that work year-round, but that number swells to 700 during the summer months, with most of the seasonal employees being local teens. Blue Bayou has 20 attractions and Dixie Landin 26, including 3 rollercoasters.

In 2011, both parks were fined more than $25,000 by the Department of Labor, mostly for violations involving the hiring of minors.

A woman was killed in 2010 after falling off the rollercoaster “Xtreme”, which has since been demolished.

Candi the chimp was on display in a cage most days at Dixie Landin’, smoking cigarettes and drinking sodas that park-goers would toss to her. The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in 2015 saying that Candi was being treated inhumanely and that the 50-year-old chimp should live out her days in a sanctuary. The Haynes family said they had tried to have Candi join a group of chimps at a local zoo, but she continually escaped and taught the other chimps how to escape as well.

Candi was well-known for her numerous escapes and apparently died suddenly in April 2017.

Hurricane Gustav caused some damage to both parks in 2008, but the park has just closed for the season and all repairs were done in time for the parks to reopen in 2009.

Blue Bayou Water Park and Dixie Landin are still owned and operated by the Haynes family. Headquarters remain in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.