The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1915-04-30
New Industry That WIN Bssin
Operations in MaRkats
Shortly


from Thursdays Daily.
Clanking of hammers, rattle OF
| picks and shoyels, and the quick or
| ders Issued to the busy men. mark
| the rapid strides being made toward
| the completion of the new plant OF
! Minnesota Pipe and Tile company. be-
ing In course Of construction on the
property recently purchased by this
| company on the banks of the Blue
Earth river In West Mankato, and
which will be one OF the largest fac
| tories for the manufacture of tile and
pipe I'm the country. The river bed
gives an almost unlimited supply OF
| the best sand for the manufacture OF
a high grade product. and the most
modern OF machinery will rapidly
transmute the rough material into the
we'll finished tile and pipe. for which
there Is great and world wide de-
mand. When visited by Free Press
reporter this morning the place was
n busy spot OF industry. forty five men
/, being at work under the direction OF
J. A. Mclaughlin, secretary and treas
urer OF the company, who has removed
here from his former residence I'm
Iowa, TO make this city his home.
One OF the most interesting fea-
| tures OF this new factory will be the
dredging OF the river for the sand
which Is used I'm the manufacture OF
the thing. The barges are now re-
ceiving their last coats OF paint, I'm
readiness to be fioated on the river.
! The large. or main barge or dredge.
is equipped with an eight inch sand
dredging pump, driven by n $50 horse
power motor. having a capacity of
twenty-five yards an hour. Tho dis
charge pipes will be floated on the
small barges, and the dredge win work
all along the river bed. the distance
between the two bridges. or from the
first railroad bridge to within $50 feet
, OF West Front street. The big boat will
be anchored to the banks by means
!, OF cables, and the sand from the river,
which will be ninety per cent water.
will be forced through the pipes to
the shore, where discharge pipes will
carry thhe water back to the river.
below the bridge.
From the Omaha railroad q spur
track Is being built, running past the
sand loading bin. I'm order that the
cars may be, backed up, and the sand
loaded I'm the ears, dropping To the
ears through shutes. There will be
two bins, one on each side of the
track, holding ninety yards OF sand
and gravel each. The sand will be
deposited i'm the bins from the eight
inch discharge pipe, as II Is pumped
up by the dredge, and passes through
the pipes laid on the smaller barges.
and Il will pass through a screen,
/ which will enable the company to
grade the sand, screening II as fine
as q quarter of an inch, and separat-
ing sand from gravel mp to one and a
half inches In diameter.
Running from the spur track west
of Girvin street depressed. or load
, Ing track Is being laid. and is OF a
depth allowing the floor of the cars
TO run level with the ground. which
will permit of the rolling OF tile from
the storage ground upon the cars.
4 Track will also be used for the taking
] of cement from the cars to the ce-
ment bin with belt conveyor. Coal
can also be unloaded directly into
the coal bin from this track.
BY June 10 the company plan on
having their tile making machinery
installed I'm readiness to start the
manufacture OF tile. and all machinery
will be operated by electric motors.
, The company has planned their own
factory. and II is being built under
their own direction, as practical ex-
perience has taught them exactly
what Is needed for obtaining the
greatest results from the least effort
and many handy and labor saving
ideas are being Incorporated into the
general scheme of arrangements.
! Much interest will be aroused by
the large sand storage tank, which
will hold $50 yards of sand, and un-
der which will pass conveyor belt,
allowing the sand TO drop from the
bin onto the conveyor belt, and thence
TO the bucket elevator. which eievates
Il into the small bin. from where il
drops TO the mixing bin by force OF
gravity. This large storage tank is un-
der such great pressure at all times
that the walls and the floor are be-
Ing built sixteen inches through, and
will have six tons of steel used in
reinforcing. The sand will only be
handled once by a shovel. and that
! will be after IL has been mixed into
cement concrete.
The plant will cover large space
OF ground. running north and south.
parallel with the river. about 1.02S
feet, and about 4S4 feet wide. One
large building will cover the offices
and factory. and Is being built with
a concrete foundation, and a structur-
al steel frame. with hollow tile box
wall construction. The front OF the
building will be about 132xS2 and a
half feet, with a private office parti-
toned of at one side. The rear OF
the building will be somewhat mar
rover. measuring from the jut of
about lao feet back. and 100 feet wide
/ The length of the entire building will
be about 232 and a half feet. The
main work room will be SO and half
by 125 feet, and the curing rooms. OF
which there will be four, are each 20
feet wide by. 140 feet long. making a
total curing space of 1O0x140 feet.
Equipped with the most modern OF
machinery, and operated under the
direction OF skilled workmen. and ex-
perienced management. the factory
will be able to convert sand pumped
from the river bed In early morning
hours. into the finished tile by two
o'clock the same afternoon. The out