Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-10-23
BIGGEST ELECTRIC
CAR FACTORY
Makers of Detroit Electric Who
Have Local Branch Are
Largest of Kind


While Detroit is famed as the CEN
! ter of the automobile industry. 1t Is
perhaps not so we'll known that for
years this city has held within its
bounds the largest factory in the
world devoted to the manufacture OF
electric pleasure vehicles This plant
is that of the Anderson Electric Car
Company, builders of the Detroit
! Electric.
In this plant, covering eleven acres
| of floor space, are produced more
than one-third of all the standard
electric pleasure cars built to-day.
Not only is this factory the largest
! of its kind, but 1t is also the most
completely equipped with up-to- date
machinery and devices for securing ac-
! curate and rapid production. 1t COM
gasoline car factory that can be
| named.
Large production has made it both
| practical and wise to equip this fac
\ tory with the best-known facilities in
automobile building. From the start
| the Anderson Electric Car Company
were firmly convinced that a car that
\ is actually manufactured is superior
| to car that is merely assembled. The
! development of the electric car indus
! try has proven this principle TO he
| correct
No doubt few people are aware OF
| the fact that most electric pleasure
| cars to-day are assembled proposi
| tfons. In the case of a small manu-
| facturer there is really no other al
| tentative than to assemble the cars
because large investment in machln-
| cry and factory equipment is of course
unwise for the small quantity pro-
| ducer.
For years the makers OF parts for
gasoline cars have centered their ef-
| forts in the direction of building these
parts efficiently and as cheaply as the
| manufacturer of the complete car, and
| to large extent they have succeeded.
However. no such efforts have been
| expended in the electric car field.
That is to say no parts makers have
| been working to standardize parts for
| electric pleasure cars. The natural re-
suit is that the builder of an as
sembled electric is forced by circum-
stances to purchase many parts that
were designed and built primarily for
use in gasoline cars.
George Bacon, chief engineer of the
Anderson Electric Car Company,
states: I'm view of this situation we
! have preferred from the start to build
lht DStIOlJ EleCIElC as a DndnuIaC-
tured car, not as an assembled car.
We have preferred to produce our
own parts instead of buying miscel-
laneous parts in the open market and
putting them together. Large pro-
duction, of course, has enabled us to
do this, whereas if our production
were small 1t would be folly to choose
any other course than that OF assem-
bling. We consider the record of the
Detroit Electric in sales and in serv-
ice due largely to the fact that il is
a manufactured car.
In the Detroit Electric factory are
built bodies, motors, controllers. rear
aXles, front aXles and batteries. as we'll
as small parts required. because by
actually manufacturing these parts. we
are able to secure absolute machine |
accuracy in all the essentials instead
of near-accurate hand work
we have worked on the basis that |
larger production makes possible bet |
ter Workmanship, lower manufactur-
ing cost and lower selling cost.
AS an indication of the care given |
10 cars in this factory, every front
axle is specially treated in the grind |
ing and polishing departments before |
paint is applied. This furnishing re. |
moves any scales or rust so that when |
the axle is painted, the paint retains |
its luster and smoothness, instead of |
chipping off as is so often the case.
"One of the features of the Detroit |
Electric factory is what is known as |
the silence room Here every motor |
is given test before being actually |
paced in the car. The motor is at |
tached TO the rear mechanical svs-
tenn and set in motion. No motor that |
falls of absolute silence in operation ia |
allowed to pass.
Another indication is the careful
inspection that is observed through |
out the factory is the department in |
spectors' written report One of them
on one of the vanadium steel foot
pedals reads, 'Milled out too much |
NOW as everyone knows. a foot
pedal is not considered a vital part OF |
car Moreover there is not one
chance in hundred thousand of any- |
thing ever happening to that pedal. 1t |
might nave been given an Q. K. with |
perfect security yet 1t was returned |
as defective and scrapped. simply be- |
cause it fell short of being absolutely |
accurate.
Every vital part of Detroit Elec- |
trio cars is built in the Detroit Elec- |
trlc plant Within two years over one |
hundred thousand dollars has been in |
vested in the latest improved machin- |
cry FOR the economical handling of |
this work.
THE men who form the aluminium |
for Detroit Electric bodies are the
HiSHeSt grade wOrkmen emDloVed |
anywhere. They receive six to nine
dollars day. They are artists rather
than mechanics.
Aluminium is used for the window
mouldinss, the roof. the body panels |
the hoods and tenders where strength
and lightness are essential. In addi-
tion to being strong and light. aIumi- |
mum lends itself readily to artistic |
shapes. Approximately two hundred
thousand pounds of aluminium is used
In this work per year.
AS evidence of what we think of
the difference between a manurac-
tured and an assembled car. we be- |
lieve II is safe to say that one of our
1915 Detroit Electric models has
three times the working life of 1910
model. This is largely because this
years models are more completeIv
manufactured in our own shops than
ever before, and because of large pro-
duction we have been able to install,
the most improved methods of manu-
facture."
The Anderson Electric Company re.
Gently established an local office AZ
Linden and Shrub streets, in charge of |
c. B. Hoffer.