The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-06-21
Description of Union Cement
COmpany's Plant.
An Immense Concern, Thoroughly Equip
ped and Ready for an Enormous
Business.

er the clinkers pass to a grinder where
the larger particles are mashed When
this process is completed the clinkers
go on to the s'ball" mill n machine
requiring so horse power to operate.
lined with corresgated steel and filled
with heavy iron balls the size of an
eyg and where further crushing is
done. T.is ball mill is nlled with Z
tons of iron balls and revolv, 2s times
per minute. The action of the balls
upon thu clinkers grinds the cement to
the fineness of corn meal. From the
ball mill the cement gees into two
tube mills filed with flint pebbles
about the sizs of eggs ana imported
espe; tally for this purpose from Nor
way These pebbles have a smoother
surfacs than the iron balls and in the
tube mills the cement is made finer
than fl ,ur. Upon le-ving this point
95 per cent of the cement can be sifted
through sieve of 10. 600 meshes to the
squsre inch and so per cent through a
sieve having 10000 meshss to the
square inch. From the tubs mills the
cement goes to a building filed with
bins of 26 900 barrel capacity. From
the bins it goes automatically by a
continuous belt to the packing room.
where it is sacked and tied ready for
shipment. From the time the mari
and clay is shoveled from the mari
beds to the time the sack is tied the
material is not touched by hand. The
capacity of tine plant is 500 barrels per
day and the product Is known as the
ALTA Brand.
POWDERED COAL.
The Union company plant consumes
20 tons of coal per day. They use Elk
River, a West Virginia coal which is
very soft and fine and which is un-
loaded from the car to an elevator
from where it passes to machine
where the moisture is removed from
six per cent to below one-half of one
per cent. The coal when thoroughly
dried is conveyed to a hopper and
from there fed into three mills where
it is ground to dust and taken by a
screw conveyer to several storage bins
from where it is famed by draft to the
rotary kilns where it ignites just as
would stream of so much gas and
is thoroughly consumed. The heat at
the opening Of the kiln AT the point
where the powdered coal enters is kept
at 2s00 degrees. At the other end of
the kiln where the heat passes out af-
, ter doing the necessary work it regis
ters 500 degrees This amount of heat
is necessary to carry off the gases that
form in the kilns.
THE LABORATORY
In the laboratory every batch of clay
and mari is examined as it comes
from the field and test of each run
of the finished stuff is made. 1.-THE
Alta" tests extremely high and is con.
sidered among the best cements on the
market today.
ELECTRIC PLANT.
The company owns its own electric
plant which furnishes an excellent sys.
tenn of lights.
CEMENT BLOCK OFFICE.
In the new future a commodious ce
ment block Office is to be constructed
where the officers of the company viii
be located.
CONCRETE PILLARS.
Many parts of the ponderous ma
chinery in the plant are set on cemen
pillars which stand 10 feet high ant
which We're erected when the tber
mometer stool 10 below zero. Today
they are as solid as granite.
TWO SWITCHES.
Two switches have been constructe,
by the Big Four railway from thei
Cleveland division main line and owe
these tracks cars are moved to be filled
THE OFFICERS.
lue oluccrs VI lne Comphnl arc 81
follows:
J. l.. Ballinger, President and Gen
eral Manager; J. A. Cruikshank. Vic
! President; Dwight Harrison, Secretar
; and General Counsel; ]. Z. Leonard
} Treasurer.
: Mr.. Ballinger, the manager, is
} Plain City man, interested in the bank
l ing, milling and manufacturing inter
[ ests in that city. Mr.. Cruikshank an
Mr.. G. E. Ritter, of Covington. KY.
g are at present promoting another C,
r ment plant in the state of Kansas an
a when this is completed, Mr.. Ballinge
n will act as its manager also. The me
: at the head of the Union company hay