The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-03-02
Local Plant Acquires Foundry Part o.
Building at Twelfth and Johnson
Streets for Making
Castings.
TO EMPLOY MANY MEN
Between Thirty-five and Fifty VIII be
Employed to Start With in
This New
plant.

The Pechstein Iron Works has
leased the foundry space of the build
ing at Twelfth and Johnson streets,
from the Simplex Ice Refrigerator
company. for the manufacture OF small
castings. This will allow the expan-
sion of the Pechstein foundry TO en-
able the company to take care OF It's
orders, which have been growing rap
idly, and virtually means the es.ap
ishment Of another plant OF TINS cnai
acter in Keokuk.
Thirty-fiye to fifty men will be en-
ployed in the new plant ana tneIo
will be new machinery Installed, poth
in the foundry on Ninth street. anu N
the new Twelfth street addition. 1ne
new plant will offer an excelienI op-
portunity for men who wish 10 leaIn
this trade and who want to get lnto
something permanent OF this cnarac-
tier, officers of the company say.
The new foundry will be USED Ior
the manufacture of small or light gray
iron castings. The heavy cas- nSs'
from fifty pounds and up will De maze
at the present foundry. me nehter
ones from fifty pounds and less Will
be made at the new addition.
Double Present Capacity.
1t will mean the doubling OF the ca
pacity of the plant at present. from
eight tons per day at the present the
main plant will increase to ten tons.
with FIVE to eight tons being turned
out in the newly acquired plant. rive
more machines will be installed at the
two plants, making possible com
bined output of from fifteen TO elgn-
teen tons every day.
| 1t is impossible to increase the ca
lpacity of the present building because
of lack of room. Orders, hawever, are
piling up to such an extent that an
expansion was mandatory. Ten
| thousand feet additional Of floor space
and moulding space is acquired by
the new lease. The new building
will not be equipped with cranes and
appliances for handling big castings
as the present foundry is, so that all
| of the big work will be done at the
present quarters.
It is planned to run the first heat IN
1.-THE newly acquired portion of the
plant next Monday 1
1 Began in 1917.
! The Pechsteln Iron WORKS Is one OF
iKeokuk's biggest industries, and
valuable asset to the city. 1t really
needs a visit to the plant to show one
how vast an industry it is, but even
! a casual observer can see the need for
expansion with the varied amount OF
work that is being turned out. The
plant which is complete and modern
! in every way, is being run now at its
greatest capacity. but is unable to
keep up with the long procession of
orders and contracts that come in with
every mail.
| The plant was incorporated in Feb.
ruary of 1917, and at the first it en-
ployed twenty men. Now it has sew
enty on its pay rolls. The first cast.
| ings amounted to something like nine
tons per week, but this has grown now
to anoutput of close to nine tons per
day. Orders are received from, and
goods supplied for territory in Iowa
Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Mis-
souri,.
Through the ability and aggressive
ness. of Paul T. Pechstein and Thee
dore Meyling, the Pechstein plant has
become one of the big industries OF
Keokuk, and with the acquisition Of
the new foundry. will be one of the
biggest factories here.