The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-08-18
HIGH GRADE STEEL
MADE IN SALT LAKE
New Process in Use by Silver
Brothers Is Simple and
Economical.
GOOD RESULTS CERTAIN
Development of the Industry
Would Save Millions to
Utah Each Year.
GOOD RESULTS CERTAIN

The development on a vast scale o.
the steel industry in the intermountair
country, with Salt Lake as the great
plant and industrial center, seems i'm
minent through the successful intro
ductiop here of new process for con
verting pig iron into steel of the finest
grade and the establishment of plant
for casting every pattern that the steel
world demands.
For manv years iron castings have
been put on the market IN the inter
mountain country, made by intermoun-
tain firms. but steel plants have been
confined to the east of middle west.
The demands Of the wide intermountain
country have been fed for the most part
by eastern concerns and the fact that
steel is rapidly replacing iron in mod
erp mechanisms leads TO an idea Of
the millions that go forth from Utah
each year in the purchase of steel.
Vast Possibilities.
The fact that steel castings of all
kinds can be produced here as well as
in the east and st a certain lesser cost
TO intermountaln consumers because Of
the absence of shipping charges, pre-
diets great demand that heretofore
has gone east and which, in turn, would
mean the rapid development of Utah IS
vast iron resources and the establish
ment here of numerous steel plants,
which would vie not only for the inter
mountain market. but outside trade as
well. This would mean more workmen,
bigger payrolls, a new industry of i'm
mense worth, q saving of vast sums
to western consumers and largo profits
to those engaged in the industry,
For several months past Silver Broth
ers Iron works has been operating a
modern steel plant, first as an expert
said to be more efficient and econom-
ical than others, and later as an estab-
]ished plant. from which castings of
high grade steel are being furnished
railroad, smelling, mining and other
companies
Detail of Process.
The pig iron is placed in a huge
cupola Or furnace and heated to about
1900 degrees Fahrenheit. In the molten
state it is run off from the cupola into
a large ladle of five tons capacity.
From there it is transferred in the
molten state to great converter; At
this stage the new process is followed
by adding to the molten steel num-
ber of special alloys or chemical acids,
which are ignitable when oxygen is
blown against them. Through an cleo
trica1 apparatus oxygen is blown
against the metal and alloys in the
converter and the result is to increase
the temperature Of the metal from 1900
degrees to from 5000 to $500 degrees
without additional fuel or flame. The
retained heat of the metal, fed by COM
bustion of the alloys and oxygen,
serves the purpose without furnace. The
blowing process requires a half hour
until all impurities of the iron are
eliminated, leaving high-grade steel
The molten steel is then placed in a
ladle Of three tons capacity, controlled
by bottom valve and suspended from
an electric travelling crane, by which
the ladle is moved to any desired loca-
tion in the plant, for pouring the metal
into molds. The finished product is
obtained from the moldings or rough
castings through the usual modern pro-
cedures.