The Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey sponsored a tribute to Malcolm P. McLean, founder of Container Shipping and George F. Lowman, chairman and chief executive officer, Farrell Lines at the International Hall of Fame Awards Dinner on the evening of May 12, 1999. Held in the Delegates Dining Room of the United Nations, the gala event honored McLean, who is the founder of Container Shipping as Man of the Century and Lowman, who received the Hall of Fame's premiere Humanitarian Award.
Described by Forbes Magazine as "one of the few men who changed the world," McLean founded the trucking company that bears his name in 1934 - which later became one of the largest trucking firms in the U.S. After divesting his company to establish McLean Industries, he introduced what would later become an innovation for the 20th Century - container shipping through Sea-Land Service. Using his own means, McLean established this concept which eventually set Sea-Land up for rank as the world's largest shipping company. Sea Land was later sold to R.J. Reynolds in 1969.
McLean continued his presence in the maritime industry almost 30 years later when, in 1992, he formed the foundation for
Trailer Bridge - the first company to construct vessels specifically for 53 ft. (16.1 m) containers.
The only individual, (according to New York Exchange Officials), to have found five public companies -- three of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, McLean has garnered an impressive list of awards and citations throughout his career. Namely, the American Legion Merchant Marine Award, presented to McLean in 1958 at the White House by then-President Dwight Eisenhower, as well as an appointment in 1970 by former President Richard Nixon to serve on the Commission on International Trade and Investment Policy.