The Washington times., 1906-01-28
MODERN METHOD
OF MAKING BOTTLES
Interesting Trip Through
the Factory Of
OLD DOMINION GLASS CO.
Mammoth Plant in Alexandria, Va,
Which Turns Out Two Car
Loads Daily.
OLD DOMINION GLASS CO.


when one stops TO investigate does he
find how really ignorant he is
Mark Twain has written a story
called a Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthurs Court" 4 which a twentieth
century man is Knocked back into the
sixth century" This Yankee teaches
King Arthurs court number of
things. If you OF l should suddenly be
Knocked back" into isome bygone age,
what would we know thoroughly enough
10 Introduce some OF our present-day
luxuries an 1ecessities TO our less IA
vored anCs1 Sars? For example. how
many of us would know how to intro
duce that Indispensable article. the glass
bottle? Did va. or stop TO think of
st?
1t occurs 30 but few people that this is
q slant industry in America; it is GER
tainly one of the most interesting.
A recent trip through the mammoth
plant OF the Old Dominion Glass Compa-
ny. located in Alexandria. Va. was in
the nature OF a revelation TO the writer
This plant covers four or five acres,
and employs not less than two hundred
and nifty blowers and holders. Here ev-
erything ia the manufacture Of the glass
bottle may he seen. First the visitor
Is carried 10 the enormous sand pits,
where hundreds of tons OF giisteuing
white sand is being hauled away 10 be
mixed with soda, ash and lime in chemi-
cally exact proportions. This mixture
which has 10 be carried out with great
accuracy in order 10 secure the best
results. requires the employment Of a
special chemist for that purpose. 1t is
then placed in an enormous furnace or
retort. Here ii is bJecJed TO "a tenn
peratuTe that il almost inconCeiVable
u Wi rll N-rtF1 hat
mass has 10 be brought to 4 tempera-
Iule II 800 degrees before it viii fuse.
This intense heat is obtained by burn
ing unreHned coal gas under heavy
pressure. AT this plant there is "a sep
arate manufacturing department FOR
TINS gas ana here many tons of coal are
consumed daily in order 10 get the nee
sssary amount Of gas.
As the sand, lime, and soda ash
Iuse into liquid mass. il flows
10 the end OF the furnace where
swarty workmen. scantiiy clad. stand
with long iron pipes. They dip
the ends Of these pipes Into the
@hl[S-hot mass and draw CUT a
small bulb OF it, This they roll on |
slabs until il coOls TO an orange color. 1
II Is then thrust into mold and the /
g!asS blower initiates the huh making IL /
MI the recess. The bottle is then taken /
out OF the mold with D!nCers and placed |
upon pair of scales. Here one must
stop To marvel. Every bottle tips the +
scale ana makes IL balance absolutely. !
II Is this feature that enables the glass J
blower t. make from eight TO ten dollars (
q day. II he should get the fraction Of 4
Gu ounce ihole or the liquid mass on the /.
tiiu OF the IRON pipe, the thickness Of I
the bottle would vary and Of course i
me weight would be n variable quantity /
me hrst question that comes to the I
MIND Is. WIZ ~hould there be such ac-
cufacy IN W. Mt? The instructor tells /
you If there were more glass i'm one /
bottle than another. the capacity Of I!
each VIII vary. How dense you have
been not 10 have thought of thisl
After the bottle is weighed it is placed 4
~ holder and another skilled work /
MN nan mods the mouth and neck. The !
completed bottle IS then placed in an /
Snnedilng furnace. This furnace is on.
or the special features Of the Old DO
nuIlo9 Glass Company having been in /
vented by a member of this firm and
used exclusively by them so thar Tho
increased heat. which is generated nv
saS anneais the bottles better and much .
stronger than other systems After ba
ing annealed. il is sent 10 the sbiunfrp
room 70 be listed and Grated and ssrf
over me world TO be used BY an unthink- /
The condition OF the laborers al rbe
plant OF the Old Dominion Glass Fac
loly IS a matter Of interest TO the vfsi-
TO- IHere are two shifts. each working
from eight TO nine hours "a day Three
men form team. two blowers and on
mouth maker These exchange places
Curing the day as the heat at Tho
ii!iou'H OF the furnace becomes more or
me amount of work turned ont Ac- |
Count OF the work is kept an The shin /
ping usoartment AS the bostles do nor
nave = distinguishing mark ON Them |
The via .tOr is puzzled to know how each
cam gets credit for its work He asks I
Sother question that makes him feel I
stupid When the answer comes that i'm /
q factory IKE the Old Dom licD Glass
company where the orders are So Iarge
ana varied each team makes a different
Elnu OF bottle. Not less than fifty diff
tsItnt SYKES or bottles are daily manu-
lacIured here Boys operate t6e mold
ers and place the bottles in the anneal-
ing furnace.
The writer was surprised 20 learn that
NOT single serious accident had ever
occurred at this plant though II bss
years
This factory IS the largest south of
Now Jersey Its daily output Is i'm the
neIghooThood Of two carloads The
number of bottles of course varies as
II takes much longer time to make
the large bottles than il does to make
The small walls \ team. however.
turns out from five to six thousand
small bottles a day.
The Old Dominion Glass Company
makes speciality of beer and soda |
bottles. which are not only guaranteed
10 stand the highest pressure from
within; bat also the hottest steaming
NOT less than 1000 holds are kept by
The nrm. These vary in size and style
from the one dram druggist Vial TO a
ffteep-sallon carboy.
The history of the OLD Dominion Glass
I ompSny IS IS interesting as the manu- /
iacture of its bottles II was stablisb-
ed flve years ago with the following Of
ncerS: IL h. Field president: George |
II. SchWaFZmann, mana ger: Lorenzo |
Noltord, superintendent. and George d |
secretary and treasurer. Three
months after the factory was erected II
burned 10 the ground, not leaving one !
stick above tho other. This occurred /
one Sunday morning in February. on
Monday morning teams were busy haul
ing in lumber for the erection of the ]
present plant This progressive shirt
enc business alertness has distinguished |
he Old Dominion Glass Company /
throughout It's operations. and such a |
policy, as may be imagined has re- |
suited in an enormous trade from every
section Of the country.
ne tlrm advert.ses in the leading in
nustrial and trade PAPERS Of the country :
with good results. They nave made Il !
sreclalty Of the soda water bC.tle trade
NO nfm Is doing more toward develop
ing Inc industrial TEXTURES of Washing
ION and contiguous territory than this !
nahuiacturN. It's success IS an inspira-
lion and an inducement To other con-
Germs l.