General
James Corrigan, Jr.Bio
jCORRBCORR@AOL.COM
October 16, 1990
James H. Corrigan was a typical Duke engineering student; he studied his thermodynamics during the day and partied with SAE brothers at night.
However, after three years of working toward a mechanical engineering degree, Corrigan realized that engineering might not be the right field for him. It wasn't that he disliked engineering; it was just that he decided that his niche was in sales. He simply enjoyed interacting with people more than he liked designing air conditioning systems for buildings. Consequently, after completing his BSME in 1947, Corrigan took a sales position at Revere Copper & Brass, Inc.
Even though he was never a practicing engineer, he feels that his engineering education has enhanced his professional career over the years. Corrigan points out that, "Engineers are problem solvers." He continues by explaining that an engineering education demands that a student learns to decipher and deal with different types of problems. Engineers analyze and construct; they must also develop, build and redesign. As a result, an engineering degree requires knowledge in different techniques of solution manipulation.
To Corrigan, "business becomes a problem solving exercise, and problem solving skills are essential." His education at Duke played a key role in the development of these skills.
Corrigan also added that his education illustrated the importance of teamwork. There were times when one mind could not visualize every aspect of a homework problem. Consequently, Corrigan realized that by working together, the results were more accurate; he also realized that there were many different approaches to the same problem. As a result of this teamwork, the product or answer was more complete.
This idea has stayed with Corrigan over the years, and has played an important role in his climb up the ladder of success. At present he is the President and CEO of Mebane Packaging Corporation. While his own ingenuity and shrewdness may have helped get him him where he is today, without the support of his "team", even a genious could not have climbed to the top.
Looking back at Corrigan's career, we see a long list of professional accomplishments. He began his career in sales for Revere Copper & Brass, Inc. In 1961, he left in order to take a position as General Sales Manager of Keller Industries. Two years later Corrigan joined Maule Industries in Florida as Vice President and Division Manager.
In 1967 he left Maule Industries to begin his lengthy stay at R.J. Reynolds, Inc. He entered RJR Archer, Inc. as Vice President and General Manager of the Metals Division. Three years later, he was promoted to President and CEO of RJR Archer Inc. In 1976, Corrigan became the President of RJR Foods Inc. His last position change within this corporation came in 1978 when he was appointed as Assistant to the Chairman & CEO of RJR Industries Inc.
Near the beginnning of the 1980's, Corrigan decided it was time for a change. He left RJR to become President and CEO of Mebane Packaging Corporation, a company built in 1969 by a group of investors. However, when Corrigan joined the corporation, it was having financial difficulties. As Corrigan explains, it was a chance for him to build his own business and set his own pace.
Corrigan sold Mebane's plants in Richmond and Raleigh and began to rebuild the corporation. His strategy for rebuilding was to market the strengths and sell or redevelop the weaker portions of the plants.
His strategy was very successful; today business is stable as Mebane Packaging is out of the hole financially and into a profit zone. The corporation, which has two plants, one in Greenville and the other in Mebane, makes offset printed folding cartons. It produces cartons for such well known companies as Bausch & Lomb, Actifed, No Doz, and Dark and Lovely hair care products.
Since each little carton must go through approximately ten steps before the final product can be put on a supermarket shelf, making the cartons is more detailed and complicated than it appears at first glance. As a result, every employee in the plant has a specific task. Whether it is run-fling the machines which cut the cardboard, mixing the dyes for the coloring and lettering on the carton, or actually designing an advertisement, everyone has a role, and according to Corrigan, no one phase of production is any more important than another.
This philosophy is the essence of Mebane Packaging. Mebane Packaging is a small company with approximately 350 employees, and every employee is treated as an equal.
As Corrigan walks through the plant, he stops and talks to every employee he runs into. He does not only communicate on a professional level, but also on a personal one. He knows everyone's name and he does not portray himself as king or a president; instead, he is just one of the guys. While Corrigan is a businessman, his visits with his employees also makes him a friend. This is the uniqueness of Mebane Packaging.
"People are important in a company. The guy that sweeps the floor has to do his job right or else the office looks bad. We are a team ... People in the plants are smart. They know how the plant is running better than we do in the offices," explains Corrigan.
When Corrigan leaves his large family at work, he goes to his home in Winston-Salem. He lives in the city with his wife Barbara and their three children: James III, Ann, and Michael. Jim, who graduated from Duke in 1980, is married and has a little girl of his own. He resides in Virginia and is an assistant basketball coach at the College of William and Mary. Ann is also married, and is the mother of two girls. She lives near her parents in Winston-Salem. Mike attends the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where he is working on his acting career.
Even though Corrigan has a busy day in the office, his evenings are far from free; he has served as President of the Winston Salem Chamber of Commerce and currently is the Director of United Way within his community.
Corrigan is also very active within the Duke community; he is the Chairman of the Dean's Council for the School of Engineering, a member of the Advisory Board for the Fuqua School of Business, a member of the Washington Duke Club, the Engineering Class Agent for the class of 1947, and a basketball season ticket holder.
In addition, Corrigan and Dr. Timothy Jacobs of the Civil Engineering Department are planning a quality control project using Bayesian applications. This research project will be underway shortly, and will also give Duke students an opportunity to visit Mebane's plants for some hands-on experience.
In his spare time, Corrigan enjoys playing golf and tennis. Recently, he has also become quite an avid traveler. He enjoys trips to the beach and the mountains, but his favorite place is Ireland, home of his ancestors. In addition, he finds London and Paris interesting. Corrigan also enjoys visiting Baltimore, the city in which he spent his childhood.
As far as future plans are concerned, Corrigan hopes to continue at Mebane Corporation, as well as continue his travels with his wife. Also, he wants to teach and advise young executives in his corporation so that one day they will be ready to take over the company. This results from his philosophy that there is little accomplishment in building a company which collapses and goes bankrupt after he retires. Consequently, he plans to stay with the company until he feels it is in sound hands.
Corrigan's success can not only be attributed to his sound business skills and effective problem solving skills, but also to the philosophies by which he lives.
First, "work only with a quality organization, one that is committed to making quality products."
Second, "understand your own place in the organization ... make sure your ideas are compatible with the company's philosophy."
Third, never forget that "every person is important in a company."
Fourth, "worry about the job you have ... learn all you can from it. Keep your eye on what you are doing. Don't put your eye on the presidency if you are going to be president in five years, it will happen, but you have to pay attention to the present, not the future."
Whether or not these philosophies are ones everyone should live by is uncertain, but Corrigan followed them and it has led him down the path of success.