Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-12-01
ERECT LARGE PLANT
To MAKE "BAkELITE"
CONTINUED from page II

DIR. B~aekeland Inventor.
DR.. Baekeland is the inventor
the product with which a revolutio
is planned in the manufacture {
many articles now made of hard rut
Der, celluloid, gum and porcelain
1t appears almost incredible to tn
average layman that in the compost
ton of bakelite two such liquid sub
stances as carbolic acid and formal
dehyde, can make a substance en-
tirely devoid of color and taste tina
can be made hard or flexible, tina
may be used with colors and chemi
Gals to form a long list of articles o
manufacture.
Bakelite is amber-like. 1t can b.
made into pipe stems and they cal
only be detected from genuine ambe'
by the expert. Some of the uses II
which bakelite can be put follow
Electrical insalators, nodded goods
pump valves, valve discs, acid-proo
containers, acid-proof machinery
parts, acid-proof coating or lining
impregnating wood, l~acquering wood
lacquer, varnish, billiard balls, jew
elry and transparent fancy goods
telephone and telegraph appliances
buttons, eyes for shoes, pipe stems
electric meter boxes, etc. In its DIFF.
ferent forms bake1ite offers the ad.
vantages of hard rubber, japanese
lacquer, cellu1oid, and in many re-
spects excels the properties of these
products. 1t is not merely a mixture
like so many rubber or shellac COM
positions, but a well-defined chemi-
cal substance of specific properties,
adding thus an important member to
the industry of plastics.
DR.. Baekeland, the inventor of the
process, has a record of more than a
| quarter of a century of research in
the field of pure and applied chemis-
try. To those outside of the chemt-
cal profession he is more particularly
known through his inventive and
industrial achievement in the indus
try of so-called gaslight Photographic
papers, of which velox is the best
known representative.
The Chemical Comp ound.
The word "Bakelite," taken from
the inventor, was selected as a sim
pier trade name for the longer and
less %expedient chemical name Foxy
Ba-
kettle is made in three forms, on
venlently known as grades A, B. and
c. Bakelite A is the initial raw
material and exists in liquid, pasty
or solid condition. If heated at a
sufficiently high temperature it
changes to grade B and then to c.
All A varieties are still soluble in.
alcohol or acetone or in caustic soda
and behave as true resins.
Bakelite B is an intermediate
solid product. 1t is neither so hard
nor SO strong as c and may be easily
mistaken for solid A, but being diff
ferent from the latter on account of
it's insolubility. 1t is infusible, al
though the application of heat may
temporarily soften it without, how
ever, bringing it into fusion. This
grade is specially characterized by
the fact that although infusible it
will soften under the action of heat
and then will mold and WELD to-
gether if pressed in a hot hydraulic
| press. /.
Bakelite C is the final product, re-
sulting from the application of heat
on A and B. 1t is. no longer a-resin,
although it may resemble amber. 1t
has maximum strength and maxi
mum resistance to chemical iniu=
ences.
Several Years Trial.
Preparatory work connected with
the industrial side of the process has
been going on with strenuous appli-
| cation since 1907 on the quiet. The
/ three largest electrical concerns in
| the country have tried 1t for various
| electrical purposes and. found it to
be Just the thing in many cases.
| Other big corporations of the coun-
try, including the shoe trust, have
tried and found bakelfte above their
expectations.
Louis Nj. Rossi in Charge.
The company now occupies q
building in the former Ramsay ship
yard. Louis NJ. Rossi, who has been
connected with Roessler & Hasslach-
| er interests for the past eight years
is the works manager and will be
generally in charge. The main
offices of the company are at 100
William street, New York city, where
there are at present a number of In
teresting samples of bakelite on ex-
hibition. The general working offices
will be established in a new brick
office building now in curse of con
struction at Fayette and High
streets. A temporary office has been
fitted up at the westerly end of the
present works,
Start Operations January 1.
The local plant will be the only
one of it's kind in the United States
Operations will be started in some o.
its departments about the first of the
year. Hydraulic machinery, stills
and other apparatus are being in
stalled. The formaldehyde, of which
q large quantity is used in its manu-
facture, will be conveniently secured
from the Perth Amboy Chemica,
Works and other products used in
the process will be shipped here. Al
the outset about twenty men will be
employed In the temporary plant and
the Roessier & Hasslacher dock will
be used for shipping purposes. II
the course of a year or so the work
ing staff may be increased tenfole
and a private dock with a vast plant
Will be erected. The new buildings
will be of brick and so CONSTRUCTED
that they may be enlarged as neces-
sity demands.
win Build Additions.
The lease of the New Jersey Bri-
Al