The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-05-31
Quality of Product of the New Plant
at keokuk is Twenty Per Cent
Above Par All the
Time.
PROVES MUCH FOR CITY
Entire Big Plant Is Self Contained
and Everything But Coal Is o.
tanned on Property OF
Company.

| are at the Hotel Iowa for seYerai
days, having come here to see ioi
/ themselves the success OF the ne"
carbide plant constructed during last
winter by f. ]. Pagels, secretary anu
managing director of the Gas rank
| Recharging company
! The party is composed of dlrec-
tors stockholders and friends OF the
narent company, including Louis
/ Passls Colonel August Knoll, Jr.,
William ]. Duce, Chris Anewenter,
! Otto c. Bruhn and julius G. Butzner.
These came to Keokuk by tram
and few others drove through IN
automobiles, to arrive later.
| They are having kind OF httie
jubilation party at the manner IN
which the big carbide plant here Is
j working from the very beginning.
I The First One In Iowa.
| About a fortnight ago the first
carbide OF calcium to be made IN
Iowa came out of the electric fur-
mace at Keokuk.
] It generally takes several months
! to get an electric metalurgical plant
tuned up to good production. due to
! the multitude of details, each OF
which is vital to the processes used
] In less than a week the Keokuk
| carbide plant was not only MAKING
carbide equal to any old plant IN
the world, but steadily, of quality
which was probably never before
equalled in large production ana
! continuous runs.
The first day only few tons
were made, and the quality was
merely commercially merchandise
Twenty Per Cent Above Par.
/ The second day, and every other
4 day since, the output has been large
per unit, and the quality has been
remarkably high.
| Exactly, 1t has been twenty per
cent above what is considered high
standard OF continuous quality pro-
! duction.
The carbide has been testing
steadily 54, and 40 is considered
high grade carbide in the market.
Also, the electric furnaces have
| proved Of high efficiency, turning
out a large quantity of carbide In
ratio to the current used, and rum
ming steadily as to electrical charac-
teristics.
Proves Much For Keokuk.
The latest big manufacturing plant
to start operations in Keokuk has
proved something of wonder in the
remarkable success it has attained
within the first week or two OF its
very beginning.
This means a number of things
valuable to Keokuk. 1t proves that
here are available limestones capable
Of producing extraordinary carbide,
when some people were fearful that
the Mississippi river inestones
would have elements retarding the
carbide combinations and making
( the production expensive-exactly
I opposite to the fact now proved.
| It also proves that. even in war
times, determination and care and
competent supervision will make
new industry here profitable, in car
! bide of calcium as well as in other
! things that have been successful
here.
Becomes Really independent
| The new carbide plant belongs to
| the Gas Tank Recharging company,
of Milwaukee, for years very large
manufacturer OF acetylene gas for
| sale in steel containers.
| It has been buying it's carbide to
make acetylene, but decided to be-
come thoroughly Independent and
/ make it's own raw material for its
! Milwaukee plant.
| So 1t came to Keokuk, after max
I ing a careful investigation every
where, and built the big carbide
plant on the bank of the Mississippi.
F. ]. Pagels, secretary and managing
director of the company, gave the
new plant here his personal super
/ vision all the time, and deserves the
credit for its great success from the
! beginning.
: Here, his company has its own
limestone quarry, lime kilns, coke
ovens, and even container factory,
so that the only thing it buys is
coal and electric current, both very
. cheap here.
/ It is now employing seventy men,
/ and the prospects are that the fur