BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — One of Alabama’s most legendary business icons, Garry Neil Drummond, passed away Wednesday morning after months of heart issues and a recent cancer diagnosis. He was 78 years old.
For 50 years Mr. Drummond oversaw an international business empire that frequently placed his company on the list of the world’s most valuable privately owned companies.
The Drummond family built a multinational coal juggernaut off of a $300 loan from Walker County Bank in Jasper, Alabama, using three mules as collateral on the note.
“Using mules hauling small carloads of coal from the mines, Heman Drummond founded this Birmingham, Alabama company in 1935,” Forbes explained in a 2010 article. “Drummond now operates mines in Alabama and Colombia, controlling reserves totaling over 2 billion tons. The company mines both steam coal (for sale to electric utilities) and metallurgical coal. Drummond’s ABC Coke plant in Tarrant, Alabama is the largest single producer of foundry coke in the U.S. The firm’s real estate arm is involved in the construction of commercial and residential developments.”
Mr. Drummond began working in the mines at the age of 15, ultimately rising to be the third-generation CEO in 1961 and taking the company to previously unfathomable heights.
Forbes ranked him the wealthiest individual in Alabama for several years, with a net worth right at $1 billion.
Mr. Drummond had in recent years endured fierce opposition from the U.S. federal government, which drastically increased regulations on the coal industry. His company continued to thrive by diversifying its holdings and continuing to run one of the most efficient mining operations in the world.
“Drummond Company has lost an exemplary leader and our industry a great visionary,” said Mike Tracy, president of Drummond Company’s mining division. “With his foresight and dedication, our company has grown to be one of the world’s premiere energy producers.”
Mr. Drummond was a long time member of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 1989, the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 1997, the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame in 2010.
Mr. Drummond is survived by his wife Peggy Drummond, four children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, one brother and a host of nephews and nieces. He is preceded in death by one son, three brothers and two sisters.
