Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-21
The Portland Cement Fac
tory at Ell TOro.
The Company Incorporated for
That Purpose.
Largest Factory of the Kind in the
United States.
The Process of Making Portland Cement.
The Clay and LIMERICK Beds on
the Rawson Ranch.


of Orange county for the incorporation
of company for the manufacture of
Portland cement. The enterprise is one
of unusual moment, and is worthy of de-
tailed description.
The company is known as the G.
Leonardo Portland Cement Company of
Los Angeles. The capital stock OF the
company is 100000, of which $125, 200
has already been subscribed. The di-
rectors are n. P. Eisenmayer, of San
Diego John w. J. Culton, of San Diego );
G. Leonardo, of Los Angeles; Frank ].
Captain, of Los Angeles, and Adolph A.
Nuelle, of Los Angeles.
The factory will be located at Ell Toro,
thirteen miles south of Santa Ana, on
the Southern California line. The beds
of clay and lime rock-the two constitu-
ents which enter into the manufacture
of Portland cement-are in the Also
cafion, on the Rawson ranch. They are
distant about mile and half from the
railway station of Ell Toro, near which
the factory will be built. A narrow
gauge railway will be built, connecting
the deposit beds with the factory.
These beds were discovered some time
ago, and an effort was made by J. A.
Fairchild to organize company to start
factory. The effort was unsuccessful.
1t was at one time supposed that the
mission fathers knew how to make this
cement, and that the materials were OBJ
tanned from these beds. Mr.. Leonardo,
however, says that the cement made by
the fathers and used by them in the
manufacture of fountains and in the
facing of stone walls was merely a mix
ture of sand and lime, which hardened
by long exposure to the elements.
The factory which the company pro-
poses to build will have capacity of 400
barrels day when two shifts of men
are worked-as is the usual custom in
such factories-for twenty hours day.
1t will probably start in working only
ten hours day and employing sixty to
eighty men. The buildings and ma
chinery will cost $125,000. The COM
pany owns tifty-seven acres of land ad-
Joining the railroad track, on which the
plant will be located. When completed
it will be the largest cement factory in
the United States.
The process of the manufacture of
Portland cement is seemingly simple,
but it requires for perfect success great
degree OF skill and experience on the
part of the director of the undertaking.
These qualities are we'll combined in the
person of G.. Leonardo, who has been
engaged in the business for many years
in the best factories of Germany, and
who recently started small factory at
San Diego. This is known as the Jamul
Portland cement factory. 1t has very
recently started into operation, but has
already made a satisfactory record in the
quality OF the cement that it has turned
out.
For the making of Portland cement
there is needed certain quality of lime
rock and fine blue clay. These are
assayed to ascertain in what proportion
they must be mixed for the right result.
They are then ground up in burr mill
and thoroughly mingled together.
Water is added, and the paste is run
through brick machine and made into
| blocks of convenient size. These are
burned in kiln until they are reduced
to cinder, or "klinker." The klinkers
are then pulverized, and the result is
Portland cement.
The machinery which has been or
dered for this process-the pulverizing
of the klinkers-is what is known as the
bull-mill. the latest and most improved
form of mill for this purpose. 1t con-
sists of large drum, into which the
klinkers are poured through a hopper.
Inside there is quantity of steel balls.
The, drumi is set to revolving rapidly,
and as the fine particles are knocked off
they fall through sieves into receptacle,
from which the cement is drawn off for
packing.
All of the machinery will be of the
latest and most approved type. The
kiln will burn coal. Various improve
ments have recently been made in the
European factories for the economizing
of COAL and Mr.. Leonardt will start in a
few days for Germany to inspect these,
as the fuel question is one of the most
serious with which the enterprise is
confronted.
At the present time the Portland
cement used on this coast is brought by
way of the Horn from England, Belgium
and Germany, where the principal fac
tories of the world are located There
are only three factories in the United
States, at Philadelphia, Pittsburg and
Allentown, Pa. The duty on cement is
twenty per cent, but at existing freight
rates it does not pay to bring the
product of these factories west of the
Rockies. This opens large field for
the market of the new company.
AS an example of how great an indus
try the manufacture of this cement has
become in Germany it may be men
toned that the establishment of Dyck-
erhoff & Sons, at Amoeneburg- -on-the
Rhine, turns out 1000 barrels day, and
it's plant covers 200 acres. This com
pany manufactured the cement of which
the base Of the Bartholdi statue was
constructed.
The G. Leonardt company expect to
have their factory in operation in eight
or ten months.