The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-05
COMPANY STARTS
WITH BIG CAPITAL
The Standard Portland Cement
Company's Plans
WILL START WORK SOON
Industry at Leeds in This County VIII
Be on Extensive scale-lnter-
esting History Of Port
land Cement.
WILL START WORK SOON

The STANDARD Portland Cement company
is about TO start to work on its plant
at Leeds. in Jefferson county. This will
be one of the most extensive Industries
in Alabama and will employ large num-
Der of skilled workmen. 1t will represent
100000 of capital.
]. r. Hanahan. the president and treas
urer of the company has prepared the fol-
lowing interesting history of the manu.
facture of Portland cement.
At Leeds, England, in 1924 John Aspdin
first received the patent for the manufac-
ture of true Portland cement. For the
next decade, little advance was made in
the actual manufacture of the material,
but in the 70s there We're a number of
works in Germany and England. Not UNI
Ill 1878 did American engineers begin man
ufacturing this material, which is now
revolutionizing the construction of every
kind and description.
1t was not until 1890 that very much
Portland cement was made in the United
States. In 1890 there was produced in this
country &c., 800 barrels Of Portland cement.
In the year 1905, just passed there was
produced over thirty-one million barrels,
a development which is more marvellous
than that of the iron or steel industry,
or that of any other Industrial among the
very many remarkable developments made
in the United States. This is an increase
Of 100 fold In the space of twenty-five
years. This remarkable development has
been brought about entirely by the Amer
lean practice and methods of producing
Portland cement
Early European Methods.
The early European methods of produc.
ing cement was by entirely different ma
chinery, on account of the low cost OF Ia
Dor and very high cost of fuel. The Amer
lean engineers have developed their sys-
tenn of making cement to deal with the
high cost of labor and comparatively low
cost OF fuel. Under the American prac-
tice, the material is not handled by Ia
Dor, but is handled by machinery auto
matically, from the time the crude ma
terial is dumped into the crusher, until
finished cement is put in bags ready to
be loaded into the cars.
This great industry developed around
what is known as the Lehigh region OF
Pennsylvania, very rapidly after the
American methods had been proven sue
cessful, and to this day, at least 90 per
cent of the Portland cement made In
the United States is made in the behigh
region of Pennsylvania. The enormous
consumption of cement has been increased
largely by the decreased cost of the same
In 1880 the cost of a barrel of Portland
cement at the works was something like
$3.50, the cost now is in the neighbour
hood of $1.50
With this gradual lowering of the price
of cement, there has set in a secondary
development which Is due largely to the
heavy nature of the material, necessitat-
ing a large freight rate for distribution
from the Lehigh region throughout the
southern and western states. This sec
ondary development is gradually gaining
Roadway, because the materials for the
manufacture of Portland cement are pref
ty well scattered over the country, and
factories are beginning to spring up
wherever there are local markets for large
quantities of cement, and which are good
distribution points. In this secondary de-
vedopment, the south has played very
region of Alabama presents good field
for the manufacture of this article, as 1t
supplies large quantities of raw material
of all kinds at low cost and at the
same time 1t is the largest manufacturing
center now In the south, and the con-
sumption of cement at this point is grad
ually increasing To supply this long felt
want. the Standard Portland Cement
company is building at Leeds, Ala. A
strange coincidence is that Leeds was the
first point In England at which cement
was made, and the first point In the Biz
mingham region is Leeds. The raw ma
terial from which the Standard Portland
Cement company will make their cement
are Trenton limestone and Devonian
shale. These geological formations being
well exposed at and around Leeds, Ala.
These materials. namely, hard limestone
and shale are more largely used for ce-
ment making than any others.
Extensive Development.
Out of rs Portland cement factories,
making Portland cement in 1904, So used
this class of material. Wherever 1t Is
possible the factories which formerly
used mari or rotten limestone, are now
seeking the hard limestone and shale. The
plant of the Standard Portland Cement
company will be built with the latest en-
cheering improvements and will be fully
| equipped with all machinery that Is nee
essary to make high grade Portland
cement. Mr.. f. H. Lewis, engineer OF
stanton, Va, will construct the plant
and after it's construction will be its
general manager. Mr.. Lewis has spent his
lifetime in the building and manufacture
of Portland cement. and his authority
upon Portland cement wherever the lit