November 2001

The Cortland Companies: On, Under and Out of This World

The Cortland Companies sell to international markets requiring high strength, light weight lines, custom engineered ropes, cables, fiber optics, and assemblies for the aerospace, medical and marine markets. Operating three separate companies -- Cortland Cable in the City of Cortland, Puget Sound Rope in Anacortes, Washington and Cortland Fibron BX located in England -- The Cortland Companies design and manufacture Electromechanical cable and synthetic rope solutions for applications on, under, and out of this world. From highly engineered cables used by NASA in outer space to synthetic rope used in heavy marine and industrial applications, to umbilicals and hoses for offshore and subsea applications, to fiber optics applications, the Cortland Companies lives by its tag line - New Technologies for New Frontiers^TM.

At the helm of The Cortland Companies are husband and wife team, Chairman Ralda Adams and President John Stidd, who joined the company in 1987 and have transformed the operation with a series of entrepreneurial moves. Ralda, who holds a management degree from Cornell and came to The Cortland Companies with 25 years of management experience, has been the driving force behind company acquisitions. John, who holds an engineering degree from the US Military Academy at West Point, and is past president of the Cordage Institute of America, has focused on building the company by hiring key people with market knowledge and industry recognition.

Incorporated in 1981 in Cortland, NY by Dr. Peter Scala as a spin-off of the Cortland Line Company, the original Cortland Cable company grew on a solid foundation of excellence in both engineering and manufacturing. Under Ralda and John's leadership, supported with a strong management team, the company has grown from average sales of $450,000 per year to more than $17 million.

In 1996, with revenue growth averaging more than 35% per year, the company moved into a new 60,000 square foot facility situated on 15 acres in Cortland. Fueled by sales and engineering efforts, the company began to contemplate acquisitions. In 1999 it acquired Puget Sound Rope, with the combined resources offering a more diversified range of rope and cable than any other company worldwide. In 2000, the company acquired Fibron BX, a leader in offshore and sub-sea umbilicals, cables, and hoses, providing a gateway to the British and European markets. In March, 2000 the shareholders formed The Cortland Companies to manage the operations of Cortland Cable, Puget Sound Rope, and Cortland Fibron BX. The company continues to plan for future growth, most recently assisted by both Empire Zone designation and a $92,000 loan for new equipment from the Cortland County IDA's Revolving Loan Fund.

The Cortland Companies' customer list is impressive: NASA, the US Department of Defense, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and others. The Cortland Companies is the only company selected to design and fabricate satellite tethers which have been successfully deployed from NASA's Space Shuttle. The Cortland Companies designed and manufactured the rope system that allowed the successful deployment of the Mars Rover from Pathfinder on the surface of Mars, and NASA Space Shuttle flights are all equipped with Cortland-made slide wire safety assemblies which protect astronauts during space walks. Ongoing development assures that additional Cortland products will be included in future shuttle and space station missions as well as other critical defense projects. The Cortland Companies developed and patented the Plasma^TM and 12 × 12^TM processes for constructing ropes used in heavy marine operations, as well as cables for lowering temperature sensors into bore holes to monitor ocean floor geothermal activity.

"The mission of The Cortland Companies is to continually strive to build loyal customers and new markets by providing creative engineered solutions," according to John. "Recognized throughout the world as leaders in the custom engineering and manufacturing of mechanical and electromechanical ropes and cables, The Cortland Companies are committed to continuing profitability, aggressive growth, quality engineering and technologically superior manufacturing."