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The ORE BIN Volume 27, No.2 February, 1965 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OREGON PORTLAND CEMENT CO. ByF. E. McCaslin, President The following article, "itA Brief History of the Oregon Portland Cement Co., " was a speech presented to th~ Oregbn Advertising Club of Portland on October 21,1964 by Mr. F. E. McCaslin, president, Oregon Portland Ce ment Co. It is reproduced here for two reasons: 1) to illustrate the vital role played by this segment of th.e state's mineral industry in the development of the Northwest, and 2) to impress upon the people of Oregon that our mineral industry encompasses more than the mining of the glamour minerals gold, sil ver, and uranium. Cement, limestone, sand and gravel, shale, clay, stone, and silica -- all are mineral materials essential to the growth of the industrial world and all are available in Oregon. As this article indicates, the companies engaged in supplying these basic materials are often business concerns formed by local citizens who have a gen uine interest in their communities. In short, these are good businesses and a credit to their region. This article is timely in that 1965 marks the 50th anni versary of the Oregon Portland Cement Co. The Oregon Department of Ge ology a~d Mineral Industries congratulates the Oregon Portland Cement Co • . for its part in the building of the state and wishes it well in the years to come. Hollis M. Dole State Geologist Introduction IIPortland cement is the product obtained by finely pulverizing clinker, which is produced by calcining to incipient fusion an intimate and properly proportioned mixture of argillaceous and calcareous materials, with no ad dition subsequent to calcination except calcined or uncalcined gypsum. II This definition is not as austere as it sounds. It really means that we take two different types of rock, one a high-grade calcium {or calcareous} rock and the other containing iron, aluminum, and silica, found in clays or shales and technically known as argillaceous rock. We crush and mix 25 them in proper proportions, then change the product into a slurry form by grinding the mixture into an extremely fine powder mixed with water. The slurry is then fed into the upper end of a sloping and revolving kiln. In some plants the kilns are as much as 450 to 500 feet in length. Into the kiln at the lower end is injected a flame, frequently produced by natural gas, which develops a temperature of 2,5000 to 3,0000 F. The product which comes from the kiln, after an approximately two hour exposure, is called "clinker. II The clinker is treated to a finish grind ing process, at which time gypsum is added to control the setting time of the finished product. The material produced is portland cement. History of Portland Cement In the days of the Roman Empire, a cement was used to produce con crete that rather closely approached the concrete of today. The ruins of many structures remain to attest to this fact. The Roman Forum, the Appian Way, the Aqueduct, and numerous other structures contain cement in some what the same form as we know it now. During the Middle Ages the secret of making this type of cement seems to have been lost and not re-discovered until the 18th century. As early as 1756, Englishmen were working with mortars in an effort to develop a hydraulic cement -- a cement which would harden under water or when water was applied to it. One of the earliest of these experimentations was carried on by John Smeaton, an English engineer and builder of lighthouses, who discovered some of the intricacies of the process by heating mixtures on his kitchen stove. In 1824, Joseph Aspdin, an English bricklayer, who had been experi menting since 1811, took out patents on an improved cement. He called it portland cement, because it resembled in color a building stone found on the Isle of Portland, an island off the English coast near the town of Leeds, England. One of the important parts of Mr. Aspdin's discovery was the ne cessity of burning-his hard limestone at high temperatures. The first portland cement to be produced in the United States was prob ably made by the Coplay Works at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, around 1866. Shortly thereafter, several plants were built in the Lehigh Valleyof Pennsylvania, which is still the largest producing area for portland cement in the country. It was not unti I about 1900 that the quantity of cement manufactured in this country equalled the imports from Europe. In 1900, 8,482,000 barrels were manufactured in the United States. This figure grew rapidly. In 1910 it reached 76,549,000 barrels. Last year it was expected that the consumption of portland cement would reach an all-time high of 365 mi Ilion 26 barrels with a value of $1,171,000,000. The rated capacity of the industry today is approximately 481 million barrels. Thus, it will be noted that the cement business, in our generation, has become one of the major industries of the country. Some 60 separate companies operate 180 plants in 39 states and Puerto Rico. The greatest concentration of plants is still in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, where 17 now have an installed capacity of 42 milli.on bar rels. On the west coast, .the cement industry achieved its foothold between 1909 and 1920. Plants were built in the Los Angeles area, northern Wash ington at the town of Concrete, and in eastern Washington at Metaline Falls and Spokane. The 0 r g ani z a-t ion 0 f Q. P • C • The first news in Portland about the Oregon Portland Cement Co. was broken in the August 2, 1908 issue of the morning Oregonian. The announce ment was made that portland cement was at last to be manufadured in Port land. The Oregonian article mentioned the site of the plant merely as being in the suburbs of Portland on the Willamette River, where both rail and water transportation were available. Actually, the location was in Oswego. The origin of the new industry took place at a meeting of the Portland Commercial Club, now the Portland Chamber of Commerce. Tom Richard son was manager of the Commercial Club at that time and at that meeting he introduced C. W. Nibley of Salt Lake City to the prominent business men of Portland. Mr. Nibley was president of a cement company in Utah. A considerable amount of money was pledged for construction of the new cement plant. It was not unti I 1909, however, that th e Portl and Cement Co. was incorporated with the following directors: Aman Moore, Alex Nibley, Edward Cookingham, Tom Richardson, Andrew C. Smith, C. E. Ladd, W. F. Burrell, Paul C. Bates, Wirt Minor, A. L. Mills, Joseph N. Teal, T. B. Wilcox, W. A. Gordon, J.C. Ainsworth, and George Lawrence. Construction work began on the plant in 1910. Machinery and equip ment were ordered and the project appeared to be on its way. The new portland cementwas·to be known as the II Red Rose Brand. II The organization was headed at that time by Aman Moore. Difficulty was experienced in assembling the total necessary funds to complete this approximately $2,000, 000 project. That was a rather substantial sum for those pre-inflation days. In fact, it would be comparable to some $8,000,000 today. In 1915, R.P. Butchart of Victoria, B.C., who was a·prominent finan cier in Canada and president of the British Columbia Cement Co., Ltd., of Victoria, became interested in investing in the Oregon plant. Incidentally, the famous Butchart Gardens are located in a former lime-rock quarry of the 27 Aerial view of Oregan Portland Cement Co . quarry and preparation plant at Durkee, Boker County. High-grade limestone is shipped by rail and truck to sugar refineries, paper mills, and metallurgical plants in the Northwest. (Photo courtesy of Photo-Art) Aerial view of the Oregan Portland Cement Ca. plant at Oswego, Clackomas County. Note proximity of the plant to roil, highway, and deep water transportation, all used in delivering cement to Northwest customers . (Photo courtesy of Western Ways) B.C. Cement Co. at Tad Inlet, near Victoria. Mr. Butchart was soon joined by Charles Boettcher of Denver, Colorado, president of several ce ment companies in the Middle West. A complete reorganization of the company took place, the name was changed to Oregon Portland Cement Co., and the brand name of the prod uct to "Oregon." Incorporation of the company under the present name took place August 15, 1915, which will result in the company's achieving its 50th anniversary this year. The new directorate in 1915 contained some of the ori gi nal names and some new ones. They were: R. P. Butchart, Edward Cookingham, George Lawrence, Arthur H. Devers, F.I. Fuller, A. S. Pattullo, Chester V. Dolph, and L.C. Newlands. Lawrence C. Newlands came from Victoria, B.C., to become vice president and general manager, a position which he held until 1-937, when he became president. He held the position of president until his death in 1942. I was chosen as his suc cessor in September of 1942. The first several years of operation were difficul t, due to the various factors of low volume, the entry of our country into World War I, resultant high labor rates, etc. However, following the close of the war, business became better and all past dividends were paid up and have been paid regu larly ever since.