Cooper inducted into Maritime Hall of Fame

Source: Alabama live
By KAIJA WILKINSON
Business Reporter

Angus R. Cooper II, chairman and chief executive officer of Cooper/T.Smith Corp., was inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame during a dinner ceremony Wednesday night at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey has for the past 14 years invited three to six "people of vision" in the international maritime industry to join the hall of fame, said Edward J. Kelly, executive director.

When the association's 450 corporate and individual members were asked for nominations, Cooper's name immediately came to mind, Kelly said.

"He's known internationally," Kelly said. "Everybody knows him, everybody likes him, everybody can tell you about a deal he beat you on, but more than anything else, he's trustworthy and hardworking.

"If he's handling your ships, he'll make it work for you, and he'll be honest in the bargain."

Jimmy Lyons, director of the Alabama State Port Authority, said he has watched Cooper/T. Smith grow from a regional stevedoring company to a substantial international enterprise.

Cooper Stevedoring, a Cooper/T.Smith subsidiary, now operates in 30 ports on three U.S. coasts, as well as in Mexico and South America. Services have expanded to include docking, mooring, warehousing and barge fleeting services.

Cooper/T. Smith also owns American Equity Underwriters Insurance Co. and the recently purchased marine and timberlands division of Kimberly Clark, which is headed by Cooper's son, Angus Cooper III.

"It's an honor to have someone from Mobile recognized by an old-line shipping group in New York," Lyons said. "He's one of only a handful of people they're honoring."

Cooper, 65, joined Cooper Stevedoring Corp. after earning his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama in 1960 and subsequent service in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Today, he is a member of the board of trustees for the University of Alabama system, and serves on an array of boards across the Gulf Coast and in Mobile, including UMS-Wright Preparatory School, Kaiser International Corp., Whitney National Bank and the D-Day Museum in New Orleans.

Past honorees with Mobile ties are the late Malcom McLean, widely regarded as the father of containerized shipping whose company bought Waterman Steamship Co., a company key to Mobile's growth in the 20th century; Jacques Saade, chairman of CMA CGM, a partner on the Mobile Container Terminal at Choctaw Point; Anthony Scioscia, president and chief executive officer of APM Terminals of North America Inc., which will operate the Choctaw Point terminal; and H.W. Thurber III, chairman and chief executive officer of Kerr Norton Strachan Agency.

The Maritime Association was formed in 1873 with the goal of promoting safety, security, and economic competitiveness of the port, Kelly said.

Joining Cooper in the 2007 Hall of Fame class were J. Robert "Bobby" Bray, executive director of the Virginia Port Authority; Nikolaos Efthymiou, president of the Union of Greek Shipowners; Capt. James J. McNamara, president of the National Cargo Bureau Inc.; Jung Won (J.W.) Park, president and CEO of Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd.; and Alberto Aleman Zubieta, administrator of the Panama Canal Authority.