from the resume of:
Phillips V. Bradford, Sc.D.
Description of work at Phelps Dodge Industries, Inc.
Phelps Dodge Industries, Inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corporation, possibly the largest producer of copper and related products in the world. Phelps Dodge Industries was a holding company for 17 different manufacturing companies that extensively used cooper as their primary resource. Electrical communications wire, power distribution wire, magnet wire, copper tubing, copper and brass plumbing fittings, copper sheet, copper rod, and decorative copper items were all among the products manufactured by Phelps Dodge Industries.
My assignments
I was the energy products development officer at Phelps Dodge, with responsibilites to review the means by which the company could use less energy in the manufacture of its products. I was also charged with the responsibilities for preparing the business plan and organizing an effort to develop and manufacture a unique design for an all-copper solar absorber plate. The importance of these projects was highlighted by the fact that I reported directly to the senior officers of the corporation and often to the Board of Directors of Phelps Dodge Corporation in the output of my efforts.
Saved a lot of energy
A substantial amount of capital expenditures (hundreds of millions of dollars) were made in order to reduce the energy consumption of the company as the result of many of the recommendations overseen by my office, which marshalled the resources of most of the R & D efforts of each of the manufacturing units. Phelps Dodge is today one of the most energy efficient producers of copper and related products.
Built a profitable plant for producing the all-copper solar collector plate
The Phelps Dodge Industries plant constructed at Anaheim, CA, to fabricate sll-copper solar absorber plates, with the capable efforts of John Zivic, a former manager of the company's Los Angeles copper tube mill, was to my knowledge the only profitable effort in solar energy among any of the Fortune 500 companies. Its profitable life was short-lived as the business suffered after the solar energy tax credit was rescinded. The plant was sold shortly thereafter.
Prior to the removal of the company's headquarters from New York to Phoenix AZ, via Greenwich CT, I was involved in consolidating or closing most of the research labs in the company. The entity that was Phelps Dodge Industries no longer exists, but was absorbed into Phelps Dodge Corporation.
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