Roy James Carver
Roy James Carver | |
---|---|
Born | December 15, 1909 Philanthropist |
Known for | Founder of Carver Pump Factory and Bandag |
Spouse | Lucille Young (m. 1942) |
Children | 4 |
Roy James Carver (December 15, 1909 – June 7, 1981) was an American
Personal life and career
Carver was born on December 15, 1909, to James and Laura Carver in Preemption, Illinois. In 1927, he completed high school in Moline, Illinois. After earning a BS degree in engineering from the University of Illinois in 1934, Carver became state engineer for Illinois. In 1938, during the Great Depression, Carver and his brother Ralph started the Carver Pump Company in Matherville, Illinois. The company created self-priming pumps, and it soon supplied the United States and Allied Forces navies during World War II.[1] Due to the need for a larger facility, the company was moved to an abandoned sauerkraut factory in Muscatine, Iowa. Carver also lived in Muscatine, and shortly after moving there he married Lucille Young in 1942. The two of them had four children.[1]
Carver bought the North American rights to a manufacturing process for tires created by Bernard Anton Nowak as a part of Bandage, Inc. The process "cures or vulcanizes rubber tires at lower temperatures than other retreading processes". After Nowak died in 1961, Carver bought the worldwide rights to the process and gained full ownership of Bandag. Bandag became one of the top American corporations in the early 1970s. In 1973, the company earned the 909th spot on Fortune's top 1,000 companies. During the late 1970s, Carver created more than 850 dealership franchises in more than 50 countries.[1]
Carver bought a villa in Cannes, a 25,000-acre ranch in Central America, two yachts, and multiple airplanes.[2]
Philanthropy and death
Carver primarily donated money to people in Iowa, and it was noted in the
Carver died of a
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58729-724-3.
- ISBN 0941016188.
- ISBN 978-1-4396-5592-4.
- ^ "Roy J. Carver 71; Iowa Businessman". The New York Times. June 18, 1981. Retrieved August 15, 2020.