January 2013

NJM Celebrating 100 Years

We continue with NJM and McCutchen Industries - a serialized story that tracks the roots of NJM and a fictional New Jersey company as they have grown together.  Everything about NJM is historically accurate.

Dividends Amid a Divided World • Chapter 2 of 12

As owner of McCutchen Industries, Rob McCutchen's cost for raw materials to manufacture ball bearings was a business expense he had thoroughly expected. However, lost production time and medical costs for injured workers had been a very serious concern for McCutchen until he had discovered NJM. In fact, McCutchen Industries had survived its first several years in business in New Jersey partly due to the personalized service provided by NJM.

Though NJM itself was still in its relative infancy, by 1918 NJM had proven to McCutchen to be a solid and stable company upon which he could rely. A medical clinic owned by NJM was very close to McCufchen's factory. The doctors and nurses at this facility demonstrated great competence and care in diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating his injured workers.

Rob McCutchen truly felt that NJM's workmen's compensation coverage had helped him avoid some of the employer-employee friction he noticed that was more prevalent in other companies in other states. His workers were productive, safe and happy by comparison.

The horrific Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 was still a fresh memory. That tragedy was a pivotal event in helping to usher in the new workmen's compensation laws. McCutchen was comforted in knowing that NJM's safety experts had inspected his facility and offered him valuable tips on how to help reduce the frequency and severity of workplace injuries, thus making his facility safer for his employees. Consequently, his insurance premiums had even gone down a bit and McCutchen was able to invest those savings into new equipment that helped him run his factory even more efficiently.

Those investments paid off immediately - the federal government contracted McCutchen to produce ball bearings for vehicles used by the United States as it became entangled in the Great War already being fought in Europe. This was a boon to McCutchen, but it only partly offset his diminishing sales that resulted from the devestating impact the War was having on businesses overseas.

McCutchen's profit margins became tighter as 1918 progressed, though he would soon receive some encouraging news. Despite all the challenges of the economy, and in keeping with its original mission, NJM had declared a dividend on his workmen's compensation insurance policy. This brought additional value to McCutchen's relationship with NJM, and his confidence that he had chosen a superior workmen's compensation provider grew stronger. In this case, a 20 percent dividend on a large workmen's compensation policy was a great surprise and a welcome source of much needed revenue. Little did McCutchen know that NJM would continue paying dividends to policyholders in every single year without interruption for the next 10 decades.

The Great War gradually drew to a close, and both NJM and McCutchen Industries emerged stronger. Fortunate returning veterans would find McCutchen a solid company and a very appealing source of employment, and NJM was a significant factor in helping McCutchen weather the storm. A new era of prosperity was about to begin.

Next month: The Roar of Industry Awakens Demand

Vincent Schweikert, Vice President & Publisher
973-882-5004. ext. 110
v.schweikert@njbmagazine.com

Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief
973-882-5004. ext. 104
a.birritteri@njbmagazine.com

George Saliba, Managing Editor
973-882-5004. ext. 106
g.saliba@njbmagazine.com

Lisa Fragati-Criscuolo, Advertising Manager
973-882-5004. ext. 108
l.criscuolo@njbmagazine.com

Gloria Owens, Account Executive
973-882-5004. ext. 109
g.owens@njbmagazine.com

Doug Prefach, Account Executive
973-882-5004. ext. 102
d.prefach@njbmagazine.com