Posted on June 14, 2016
Ellicott Dredge Enterprises is pleased to announce that its parent, Markel Corporation, (NYSE: MKL) has earned a position on the latest Fortune 500 list, at number 476, with over $5 billion of revenues. This selection marks Markel’s first time ever on the list. Until relatively recently Markel was exclusively an insurance company.
Ellicott Dredge Enterprises is part of Markel Ventures (MV), the non-insurance operations of Markel. Markel Ventures, with over 7,000 employees and over $1 billion in revenues, earned over 70% of that revenue from manufacturing operations including Ellicott.
Ellicott sells portable suction dredges through the following brands: Ellicott, IDRECO, Mud Cat, IMS, Liquid Waste Technology; and mechanical dredges though the Rohr brand. Representative recent deliveries include a 26” 4000 HP (2983 kW) dredge to the government of Bangladesh and a 800 HP (600 kW) dredge to a South Pacific island.
In its 30 years as a public company, Markel has posted outstanding financial returns with a growth rate in book value of 14% per annum, compounded, growing from $16 million to almost $8 billion! Current market value exceeds US $13 billion. Earnings over that same period have grown more than one hundred fold, from $5million to almost $600 million.
Markel’s strategy for its non-insurance operations (MV) is to “buy, build, and hold.” A subsequent sale or exit is not part of the MV business model. Its companies are financed with permanent capital using little or no debt, providing management maximum operating flexibility. Markel invests permanent capital in businesses that meet the following criteria:
1. Profitable businesses with good returns on capital
2. Talented management teams and a culture of integrity
3. Reinvestment opportunities and capital discipline
“Ellicott, a 130+ year old company with established management and market-leading products and technologies, meets these criteria well,” said Ventures CEO Mike Heaton.
Ellicott President and CEO Peter Bowe noted that having the backing of Markel gives Ellicott customers the comfort of knowing that Ellicott will be around another century to serve them and support their growth, through good times and bad.
