
During our twenty-fifth anniversary, we salute the
many investors, customers, business partners, and
employees who together have succeeded in building one
of the world's foremost equipment leasing
corporations: PLM International.
1972-Professional Lease Management,
Inc. begins operations by managing its first railcar
lease. The Company also successfully completes its
first investor railcar management program.
1979-The Company, now known as PLM,
Inc., completes the sale of its fourteenth investor
railcar management program, increasing its managed
portfolio to more than 2,000 railcars for 1,000
investors.
1981-PLM, Inc. expands its offerings
to include the PLM Transportation Equipment Partners
series of investor programs, diversifying its managed
portfolio to include aircraft, trailers, and
containers, in addition to railcars.
1983-PLM, Inc. becomes PLM Financial
Services, Inc., a publicly-held company.
1986-The Company, in response to
changes in the economic and tax environments,
successfully makes the transition to income-oriented
investor programs by offering PLM Equipment Growth
Fund, the first in a 10-year series of diversified
transportation equipment leasing programs.
1988-PLM International, Inc. is
formed from the consolidation of 21 PLM
Transportation Equipment Partner programs and 3
program syndication and equipment leasing
subsidiaries: PLM Financial Services, Inc., PLM
Transportation Equipment Management, Inc., and PLM
Railcar Management Services, Inc. The remaining
subsidiary, PLM Railcar Maintenance Company, is spun
off into Transcisco Industries, Inc. in exchange for
shares of PLM.
PLM completes its first international
lease for a Boeing 727 commercial aircraft.
1989-PLM's owned and managed
transportation equipment portfolio surpasses the $1
billion mark, operated on behalf of over 75,000
program investors and shareholders.
Although sales of the PLM Equipment
Growth Fund programs remain strong, the overall
limited partnership syndication industry begins to
contract. Seeking to diversify its revenue sources,
the Company establishes PLM Rental, Inc., its
short-term trailer rental business.
1991-PLM completes the acquisition of
the assets of Resources Trailer Leasing, Inc. (RTL).
With the integration of RTL's assets, PLM Rental
operates the fifth-largest trailer rental company in
the United States through 10 locations nationwide.
1992-PLM's current management team
implements the first half of a two-part strategy to
improve performance by focusing on strengthening the
Company's financial position. The process begins with
the sale of older, underperforming transportation
assets to reduce total indebtedness.
1994-PLM's Employee Stock Ownership
Plan (ESOP) and preferred dividend are eliminated;
total debt (excluding debt related to the ESOP) is
reduced by 43% over two years; the 3.4 million block
of PLM common shares originally owned by Transcisco
Industries, Inc. is sold to PLM and independent
investors. PLM completes the acquisition of an 80%
interest in Aeromil Australia. PLM Rental is now the
third-largest retail trailer lessor in the United
States and operates the largest fleet of on-demand
refrigerated trailers in the country.
1995-PLM embarks on the second half
of its strategy by focusing on expanding and
diversifying its revenue sources. The American
Finance Group, Inc. (AFG) subsidiary is formed. Total
Company debt is further reduced; PLM begins the first
of a series of common stock repurchase programs.
1996-PLM suspends investor program
syndication activities and announces a new strategic
plan to expand three core business operations: AFG,
PLM Rental, and equipment portfolio management. The
Company repurchases 1.7 million shares and reduces
the number of common shares outstanding by over 22%
since the first repurchase plan in 1995.