| History of the ICOA In 1980 Matt Antonovich began a serious attempt to compile a history of the early years of the ICOA. Here is some of the information that he uncovered: In a Ledger marked "Years October 1954 to May 1957 - Receipts" and under a heading "Entrance fee" there are entries of $150.00 for each of the following: 1954 H.J. Baker and Bro. World Commerce Corp. Spencer Kellogg & Sons Deutsche-Rizinus Oelfabrik (Boley & Co.) Soc. Anonima Com'l Walter L. Willner Co. 1955 Ramkrislna Sunderlal Ltd. Mitchel Beck Co., Inc. Baker Castor Oil Co. J.H. Redding Inc. Kilachand Devchand & Co. Sarabhai Agencies 1956 Brazilian Industrial Oils (to CIDAO,SA as of 8/6/70) Indian Produce Ltd. Shree Hanuman Jailings Ltd. Industria Resegue do Oleos Vegetais Ltda. Dr. Charles V. Bacon Total = 17 members On the same page, following the last entry above is the reference to the transfer of accounts from the Linseed-Castorseed Association of New York to the International Castor Oil Association, which took place on May 1, 1957. Information from a letter to then Secretary/Treasurer Matt Antonovich from Walter Willner on October 29, 1980: The first ICOA Constitution was unanimously adopted at the April 18,1957 meeting. Dr. Johan Johansen, then Vice President of Baker Castor Oil Co. was President of the Linseed-Castorseed Association at that time and "had the vision and foresight to change this Association into the ICOA". The ICOA wrote the By-Laws and a uniform contract. Those who worked on this early contract were Dr. Johansen, Fred Hediger, Pres. of Garnac Grain Co.; Richard Ewald of Bunge; Billy Mills of H.J. Baker & Bro.; and Walter Willner of Willner Co., division of Balfour, Maclaine Int'l Ltd. In May 1957, Bunge Corp joined the newly formed ICOA, as did George Uhe Co. Rohm & Haas joined in June 1957. According to Matt's research, the records are not very clear on dates etc. in the period between 1957 and the date of incorporation -December 14, 1962. In fact, there are few files. Between 1957 and 1961 the office of the Association was conducted by two paid personnel in rented space in a New York office. On January 5, 1962, the Directors voted to close the NY office, but the final move was not made until May 4, 1962 when Dr. E.H. Bluman became Secretary/Treasurer and operated the office from his home. Since then each succeeding Secretary/Treasurer has been doing the same. Ed Turncliff was appointed Secretary/Treasurer in December 1972, upon Dr. Bluman's death, and served until January 14, 1975 when Matt Antonovich was elected. He held the position through 1980 when David Dingley was elected. The International Castor Oil Association was formed as an unincorporated association on May 1, 1957 and functioned as such through December 14, 1962. On that date, the members associated themselves into a corporation, under an Act of the Legislature of the State of NJ entitled "Corporations and associations not for profit"-Title 15 of the NJ Revised Statues. The name of the association became The International Castor Oil Association, Inc. and the stated object and purpose of this corporation was to promote the production, trade and use of castor oil. (This purpose remains the same today). The officers of the (unincorporated) Association on that date were: President H.A.C. Rauchfuss Woodward and Dickerson Inc. Vice Pres. M.F. Antonovich Wallace & Tiernan Inc. Directors: D.S. Abbey J.H. Redding D.G. Aldridge American Export Lines Inc. R.D. Ewald Bunge Corporation M. Squires Brazil Oiticia Inc. The December 14, 1962 meeting of The International Castor Oil Association (the 6th annual meeting) was held at the Produce Exchange Luncheon Club in New York City and was chaired by Mr. H.A.C. Rauchfuss. 20 members were present and 16 guests. The Secretary/Treasurer was Dr.Ernest H. Bluman, retired from Harchem Division (later part of Union Camp). The main item on the agenda was the matter of incorporation, which had been recommended by the Board of Directors to the membership on October 19, 1962, in the form of a resolution. The resolution was unanimously approved by the 20 members present. The number of trustees of the corporation was set at 7 and the trustees for that first year were: President H.A.C. Rauchfuss 1203 Andover Rd., Philadelphia, PA Woodward & Dickerson, Inc. Vice Pres. M.F. Antonovich 51 Owens Rd., Mahwah, NJ Harchem Div., Wallace & Tiernan, Inc. Directors: T.H. Blackbourn 919 Lafayette Ave., Union, NJ Baker Castor Oil Co. J.H. Egidy 9417-239th St., Bellerose, NY Columbus Lines, Inc. R.D. Ewald 67 Manchester Rd., Eastchester, NY Bunge Corporation W.W. Mills 83-80 118th St., Kew Gardens, NY J.H. Baker & Bros. R.A. Nagel 13 Long Lane, Malvern, PA Spencer Kellogg & Sons At that meeting a moment of silence was observed to honor the memory of Mr. A.P. Mason, whose connection with the Castor Oil business and with the Linseed-Castorseed Association and the International Castor Oil Association covered a span of 50 years. The Certificate of Incorporation was endorsed, filed and recorded on January 9, 1963. In a letter dated January 12, 1963 to the membership, Sec./Treas. Dr. Bluman announced the incorporation and two new members of the Association: Fred Kolb and Biddle Sawyer Corporation. Matt Antonovich's records indicate that the membership rolls steadily increased from a total of 11 at the end of 1955 to his last year as Secretary/Treasurer, 1980, a total of 57. Now, for the past few years, the rolls have shown a decline and the number in 1997 stands at 36 members and 5 Associate members. "Not to be overlooked in any memoir of the ICOA are the names of our current members (1980), who, with the other charter members, saw fit to divorce the castor oil activities from the Linseed-Castorseed Assoc. to form the ICOA: Cidao S.A. (Brazil) Deutsche Rizinus-Oelfabrik, Boley & Co. (Germany) Kilachand Devchand & Co. (India) Charles V. Bacon, Inc. (USA) H.J. Baker & Bro., Inc. (USA) Bunge Corp. (USA) Moore-McCormack Lines (USA) NL Chemicals (Baker Castor Oil Co.) (USA) PVO International (USA) Spencer Kellogg Division (USA) Union Camp Corp. (Harchem Division) (USA) Willner Co. Division (USA) Woodward & Dickerson, Inc. (USA) There were others, of course, who dropped out over the years as their interests no longer were involved with Castor Oil, and some who have re-joined. We should honor the gentlemen from the above organizations for their foresight in creating an organization intent in bettering commercial relations between the members despite their conflicting self interests. If the members during the next 25 years can do as much, the Association will have served its purpose." Quote from M. Antonovich's ICOA History. As stated, the original ICOA Constitution was adopted in April 1957; revised April 1960; revised January 1962; revised October 1964; revised September 1967; revised December 12, 1975; revised March 2, 1981; revised May 1, 1981; revised January 19, 1982; revised December 5, 1991; June 29, 1993 - complete revision into Constitution and ByLaws; revised October 1995; revised June 1996. The first Contract of which there is a record was in 1954, then 1960, 1968, and the current contract was written in 1994 with an effective date of Jan. 1, 1995. A minor revision of this contract was approved in Oct. 1996. In June 1981, an informal meeting of crushers, traders and brokers in castor, who were attending the International Assoc. of Seed Crushers in San Francisco met. We believe that this was the first meeting outside New York. In May 1982, the ICOA held its first overseas meeting, in Munich. 35 people, 25 companies, 5 directors or their representatives attended. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the mutual concern of those in the industry, lack of growth in castor oil consumption, to define the reasons for this and consider a proposal to solve the problem. Mr. Goupry spoke on behalf of the consumers and Dr. Janson on behalf of the crushers. According to then President, Robert S. Hawkins, the centerpiece was a proposal to establish a Castor Oil Research and Marketing Organization under the ICOA to promote the more efficient farming of castors through a staff of agronomists on an industry wide basis. (apparently this proposal never was approved/completed). After that time, there were numerous meetings held outside the US, until the 90's they were held in conjunction with the IASC Annual Meetings. Some of the sites were: New Delhi, Vancouver, Rio de Janiero, Rome, London, Paris, Bombay, and Costa Rica. Presentations were made by members of ICOA at these meetings on the technical, scientific aspects of the Castor industry: growing, production, consumption etc. In March 1987, the ICOA Board of Directors approved a Research and Development program. Funds were allocated for Messrs. R. Logan and R.L. Vignolo to develop updated technical brochures on castor oil and castor meal technology. The 2 Technical Bulletins of the ICOA are the fruit of that R & D program: The Processing of Castor Meal for Detoxification & Deallergenation (1989) and The Chemistry of Castor Oil and Its Derivatives and Their Applications (1992). At the November 5, 1987 Board Meeting, the Board voted to hire Robert Vignolo as Consulting Executive Secretary. His duties included primarily the Research and Development program, to develop a program for public relations to promote the ICOA and the use of castor oil, and to develop an ICOA Bulletin that covers world happenings in castor oil. There have been technological advances in the running of the ICOA office, inc. computer, fax, scanner etc. which have enabled the Association to stay in closer touch with its far-flung membership and to have an efficiently run international association with officers and directors from all over the world. Besides ease of communication with members, it has also improved communication with those outside, i.e. in related fields and those requiring information on castor. Currently, a home page for the Association on the Internet is being prepared. So our story continues into the 21st century. International Castor Oil Association |