The age-herald., 1899-06-04
BIRNINCHAM'S NEW INDUSTRIES
 LARGE AMOUNT IF WORK DONE
The Little Suburban City G Ensy the Center of ha Great
 est Stir and Activity


 ferred to are operated by the same firm and will be branches of the Alabama Ce- ment company
 If the business will come up to expecta- tions, it is intended to bring these branch factories to Birmingham and consolidate them with the plant at Ensley. Ten acres of land have been bought by the company and the space will be entirely taken up when this consolidation takes place.
 The mill at Ensley will be the largest of it's kind in the world. The minimum daily output will be one thousand barrels, and it is proposed to gradually increase this to fifteen hundred barrels.
 An engine of seven hundred and fifty horse power will be put in. The machinery of this plant will be of the best and most modern and will be of such intricate na- ture that 1t will do most all of the work automatically, so that little if any actual labor will be performed.
 Although there will be no less than seven buildings erected, only about seventy-five men will find employment, ten or twelve or whom will be experts. It will be in every way a mill constructed on modern lines. One man will, on an average, produce thir- ty barrels per day, whereas the best Of it's competitors will only be able to get out twelve barrels per man.
 About one hundred thouand dollars IS being invested. The combined salaries or all the men employed, including the travel ing representa- tiVes, will approximate four thousand dollars per month. The output of the plant will be so large as to exceed the demands of this section of the country and a large export trade will be relied up on to keep the mill in operation.
 Cuba and Porto Rico will be supplied, and large government contracts Will give the mill sufficient work for years to come. The experience of the past few years has shown that the use of cement Is getting more and more popular, and with the fn- creased use an increased demand will take place. At present it is used in the con- struction of sewers, wells, sidewalks, aque- ducts and in many other ways.
 It was the intention of the management to have the plant in active operation by the 18th of July, but as they are several weeks behind in the work of construction at present, the opening may not take place until sometime in August. The mill, when completed, will be a handsome addition to the many other industries now springing up at Ensley.
 The Rod and Wire Company
 Some distance to the left of the steel plant another scene of great activity comes into view. The partial outlines of a large building can be observed At the further end brick masons were busy adding one tier of bricks after another At the near end hundreds of men were busy eXcavat- ing; dozens of wagons with yelling and at times cursing drivers, were carrying away the surplus earth.
 Information elicited the fact that this building, when completed, was to be used as a factory for the Rod and Wire com- pany. One of the principle outputs of this concern will consist in wire nails. The same method will be pursued in regard to machinery as in the steel plant.
 The best, the most modern, the most im- proved machinery will be procured.
 The management intends to make this factory the equal, if not the superior, of the best of that kind in the country.
 The quality of its output is to equal, and if possible, to excel that of any competing firm.
 The plan at present is to have the works ready for operation by the time the steel plant has it's opening Between eight hun dred and a thousand men will find em- ployment at these works. Its monthly pay rolls will amount to thousands of dollars which will find their way into the coffers of merchants and the channels of trade.