Page 61 - Gary's Book - Final Copy 7.9.2017_Active

executive vice-president, and Ray Bass, our DCAL president, and their wives
joined us for a 14-day trip to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and
Tokyo. On this trip, we met with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore to
discuss the possibilities of our making a major investment in a manufacturing

facility. The meeting lasted for a full day with discussions on financial incentives,
taxes, licensing agreements, labor laws, national population patterns, potential
skilled workers, and many other subjects. At dinner, I sat next to Bob Murphy, the
professional golfer, who just so happened to be in Jakarta at the American
Embassy at the time.

While we were in Jakarta conducting business, our wives got bored. They had done
all the shopping they could do, they had toured the area and visited the sights.

They wanted something new to do, so they decided to go to Bali. They all got
flight tickets to leave the next day. Guess who made the arrangements - my social
director, Sue.

During the four-year term, I opened offices in Manila and Seoul. Staffing grew
from eight to thirty-five, and revenues approached $55M with profit margins

netting 38%. Our real growth was achieved by signing up excellent new
distributors in twelve primary countries - each with its own staff of six to fifteen
employees. In some countries, I signed two to four distributors, usually by market
segments: lubricants and greases, automotive, consumer, or paint and dyes. Most
distributors were politically connected with a locked-in network of business
associations, which allowed for special privileges in receiving import and export

licenses.

Distributors allowed Dow Corning to not be “directly” involved with questionable
business practices as declared by the U.S. federal government. I slept well at night
because all my business dealings were “arm’s length” transactions. I wasn’t paying
anybody or bribing anyone. The distributors could do that; it was their role. Dow
Corning did not participate in these kinds of dealings. It was not illegal to have

“payoffs,” but if you did to acquire business through a reckoning, you were
required to report it to the federal government.

If you have traveled across the Pacific Ocean and into the Asian countries, you
realize how vast it is. You also know how long the intercontinental flights are.
From Hong Kong to Bombay is eight hours of flying. Most other flights are at least

56