Thomas Evans has acquired a reputation as a financial genius and corporate entrepreneur as chairman of the Crane Company. With stakes in steel, cooper, oil and gas, coal, and cement, among other things, Crane’s initial plumbing business now represents less than five percent of the company’s operations. Evan’s strategy has been to buy into companies in the extractive industries where assets are reported well below their worth, to assume control, and eventually build a substantial profit.

Although only distantly related to the Mellon family, Evans started his career with Gulf Oil Corporation, a Mellon holding, following his graduation from Yale in 1931. At Gulf, he borrowed some Gulf shares at a low interest rate, and within a few years made a small return ($15,000) on his investment. His next move was to buy the defaulted bonds of the H.K. Porter Company, manufacturer of locomotives. By World War II he had become the major stockholder and was turning the business around through diversification.

In 1955 the company was selling $80 million worth of rubber products, electrical and steel materials, and Evans was ready for new acquisitions. The first was the Crane Company, and old-line plumbing manufacturer. Within four years he gained control and began an equity tie-in between Crane and Porter.

Evans maintains Crane’s New York headquarters as the base of his operations, and has made over eighty acquisitions to date. Crane’s sales since 1972 have risen by over forty percent to over $1.2 billion. The company has manufacturing plants in six countries, employing approximately 19,800 people. Porter’s sales have remained stable at around $300 million.

In recent years Evans has spread into areas outside the industrial field. He holds a majority interest in a St. Louis-based television station, Evans & Co., and a brokerage house. He also owns a Virginia horse-breeding farm. Sport is not the object, however, as with Evans there is one main concern. “We call it the bottom line,” he says.