stories the story of what it takes to create a new right from scratch what does it take to build a steel mill many things and many people  first rolling in the soaking that furnace is at the primary mill they are then rolled into smaller sections called brooms and slabs the slabs are rolled into  hot strip mill here is where the coil strip is called rolled into sheets for automobile bodies and tin plate blooms are rolled into billets and small slabs on another continuous mill power house laboratories and general offices the plant is so laid out as to allow for threefold expansion of the cities in the future tomorrow as well as today's needs are plann for and build for what did it take to build this mill first of all it took engineering planning and designing was a big challenge for fairness works is the largest fully integrated steel mill ever to be built at one time this planning wasn't accomplished overnight it involved years of discussion study and work by the engineering department in cooperation with the commercial and operating departments our site was chosen upon which to build the mill the big bend of the delaware river involving more than thirty nine hundred acres was picked for a number of reasons first of all the mill would be nearer many users of steel then to being on the east coast would be an advantage in receiving raw materials by barge and ship and sending out the or by water there were excellent rail facilities and some of the finest highway routes in the eastern part of the united states there was plenty of fresh water available which is essential to still making operations and there were plenty of people in the community who would be good steel makers the beginning of actual construction was mar groundbreaking ceremonies on march first one hundred fifty one united states steel was given an official welcome to the community by the state of pennsylvania as well as by the neighboring state of new jersey mr felos in his address said to the new neighbors of pennsylvania new jersey you have already made us feel that we are welcome and established members of this community and i hope with all my heart that you may always have reason to be as proud of us as we are proud and privileged to be your it took steve twenty five thousand aged beams were driven deep into the earth to get a solid base upon which to build a foundation it takes water to run a steel enough water is used in this mill to supply a city of one million three hundred seventy five thousand people it is claimed as it comes from the delaware river purified again before it is return it takes transportation seventy five miles of rail way line twenty miles of road and several miles of conveyors were built just to move materials within the plan build this till now but these were only the men working at the site actually some two hundred prime contractors were needed each of these in turn handed out sub contracts to ten other firms on the average and many of these used subcontractors many of these contractors were small businesses having fewer than five hundred employees in fact two contractors employed only two workers apiece one other was an individual no one else on his payroll so behind the ten thousand men working at the site were nearly three million men in twenty seven different states who played some part in building the machinery the equipment and the facility yes more than a hundred thousand companies of every possible size were employed in building this mill it stands as another monument to american enterprise and the close cooperation between big business and small business took more than eighty thousand engineering drawings to guide the construction and installation work but drawings alone were not enough it took the continuous activity of a corps of engineers with skill and knowledge to supervise new job opportunities new employment new payroll a new steel mill also attracts new housing and fairless hills is typical of the growing new community it was designed by one of the nation's leading authorities on urban planning such a new community brings with it new schools and churches new stores medical facilities and recreation areas and a growing community offers many board job opportunit taking them around and explaining the mill to them all this is part of being a good neighbor and part of being a good neighbor is sitting down with other neighbors and discussing common interests working with planning commission school boards hospital and welfare committees and many others in a cooperative effort to solve the problems at their opponent community welfare neighbors meet each other half way these problems are more easily solved and the whole community better it takes men to operate a steel mill even while construction of perilous works was in progress the first of the six thousand people needed to run them were being hired most of these came from nearby communities steelmaking is a new career for the majority of they were trained by experience steel makers would come from other united states steel plants throughout the country sections were held was key personnel to build a training program which would equip new employees for their new jobs and career meanwhile buildings continue to take shape and equipment was installed in those buildings which were complete farris made frequent visits to look over the thirty nine hundred acre this was land that once raised broccoli and spinach but twenty months after ground was broken a steel mill was rising however it was yet to be done  moving equipment still crawled over the brown earth some foundations were still being poured one building was still but little more than an empty shell of corrugated steel considerable steel making equipment stood waiting to be installed much more she had to be done but much had also been accomplished and there are unmistakable signs that the completion of the mill was not too far off already scrap designed to operate at seven thousand feet per minute or of the express train speed of eighty miles an hour was ready to go into operation the most modern smoke and gas cleaning equipment available had been installed on the open heart furnaces to help keep the atmosphere clear for our neighbors a mountain of over stood ready for the blast furnace a cook oven was lighted brought up to operating temperature and cold was push yes mr ferris found reason to offer congratulations to a man typical of the many who were helping to build the new steel mill in bucks county pennsylvania in the same tradition the number one blast furnace was named for now the eldest of the sailors frightened children and so nancy was chosen to light up her f and so now we come to the moment that all of us have been waiting no one can say how long this furnace that we are li hopefully that will be for many many years to c lake this steel mill can produce one million eight hundred thousand tons of steel a year customers large and small will finish it into products for our national defense they will also make it in the pipeline cars bridges automobiles refrigerators telephone wire toys and the thousands of other things we need in use in our daily living this was the beginning with this beginning the new neighbor on the