Koil Energy Solutions Inc. (KLNG)

[JoeSmith]

Some historical info to load into project Veger. vejer?

Dr. William Randolph Cuming, 88

Cotuit —Dr. William Randolph Cuming passed away May 28, 2009 at the age of 88.

Mr. Cuming was born in New York City and grew up in Cedarhurst, on Long Island. After compiling an admirable academic record at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1942, he went to work for the Monsanto Chemical Co. in Everett. He stayed at Monsanto just six months, opting to join the Navy and serve his country in World War II.

Dr. Cuming was assigned to the aircraft carrier Gambier Bay as a lieutenant and radar officer. In October 1944, the carrier was involved in the Battle off Samar in the Philippines. The Gambier Bay was sunk by surface gunfire (the first aircraft carrier ever so destroyed), and Cuming spent two days clinging to a life raft in shark-infested waters before he was rescued. After returning to the US, he completed his enlistment as an instructor in radar and electronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After his enlistment, he earned an MBA from Harvard University, and then, with the help of Cherry Emerson, a fellow engineer he had met while at Monsanto, he launched Emerson & Cuming.

In the 1960s, the firm developed and commercialized a product called syntactic foam. This unique product consists of tiny hollow glass spheres called microballoons in a plastic resin binder. (Sometimes, larger plastic spheres called macrospheres are also used). Since this low-density product possesses many special properties, including the ability to withstand high pressure, it was useful as a buoyancy material for the burgeoning offshore oil industry.

E&C's first large-scale project was to supply buoyancy for a drilling program in the Santa Barbara Channel in 1968. Later, the product gained popularity in the oceanographic and marine industries, where it was used on a variety of subsea vehicles, including the Alvin. Today, syntactic foam is the buoyancy material of choice for all applications that require exposure to deep water, i.e., 1,000 feet or more.

By the 1970s, Emerson & Cuming had expanded from its American base into the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Japan. Seven factories and numerous sales offices had been established around the world, and the company had 700 employees.

After Emerson & Cuming was sold to W. R. Grace & Co. in 1978, Dr. Cuming spurned the lure of a comfortable retirement. Instead, he established a public sanctuary for endangered species of birds in Norton, drew upon his expertise in the use of materials for radar camouflage to embark on a new technological venture, and pursued his interest in real estate development, among other entrepreneurial activities.

The technological venture was Cuming Corp., a company he started in the garage of his home in Sharon. Soon Cuming Corp. was competing head-to-head against Emerson & Cuming, the company that he had been running himself just a few years earlier. Today, Cuming Corp. is the world's leading supplier of flotation and insulation materials to the offshore oil and gas industry. Its sister company, Cuming Microwave Corp., manufactures radar-absorbing materials and microwave materials for the electronics and aerospace industries. Among its areas of expertise is stealth technology, and it supplies a variety of parts that are used on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and other military aircraft. A subsidiary called Cuming-Lehman Chambers constructs anechoic chambers, which are rooms that are used to measure the radar cross section or radar signature of objects ranging from cell phones to aircraft. The two companies employ 270 people and have factories in Avon, Mass., and New Iberia, La., and sales offices in Houston, Texas, and Chambersburg, Pa.

A busy, hands-on executive, Dr. Cuming was a tireless worker who was still coming into the office right up until a few months before his death, when his health began to fail. He was respected and admired by all who worked with him.

In 1985, Dr. Cuming, along with Frank Sinatra, received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from his alma mater, Stevens. He also received the Entrepreneur Award from Stevens in 2000.

During his later years, Dr. Cuming was a great philanthropist. He gave generously of both his time and his money to a number of worthwhile charities and educational institutions, most notably Stevens. He also served as a trustee at Stevens for many years.

He leaves his wife of 51 years, Ruth (DeVenne) of Cotuit and Boston; a son, John of Boston; and a brother, Alfred of Athens, GA.

Donations in Dr. Cuming's name may be made to either of the following: Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030; and the USS Gambier Bay/VC-10 Association, 2228 E. Greenlee Road, Tucson, AZ 85719-2012.

Burial will be private, and a memorial service is being planned.
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