The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-03-29
.OWENSCOMPANY
OPERATING NOW
Nearly YAIT'PEAK
100000 Bottles Repre-.
sent Shipments for the
Present Month
LAST SHOP 10 START.
Officials Believe Prosperity
in Glass Trade Signals
Return to Normal
.15,000,000 Bottles Repre.
LAST SHOP TO START

!
With shipments for the present
month scheduled to run to nearly
100000 bottles. an unusually
large number for this time Of year,
THE Owens Bottle Co. plans to start
on Monday or Tuesday the twelfth
machine at its Fairmont factory.
which will put the plant on log
per cent operating basis.
The necessity for capacity pro
duction, felt for the first time in
many months, Is believed by off.
cials OF the company to signal the
return OF business prosperity. The
general depression, which did NOT
affect the bottle business SO much
as other branches OF the glass mar.
ntacturing industry, struck its hard
est blow at the local plant late "
1.-The fall Of 1920.
Midsummer OF last year found
orders increasing again, according
to the officials, and business cou.
tinued to be fairly good throughout
the winter OF 1921.1s22. AT one time
lin the last year has the Owens plant
I here run on less than so per cent
Of its capacity. Six machines were
kept going throughout the winter,
officials realizing, they state, that
orders for condiment ware must
Eventually return to normal.
The number has been gradually
increased until the present time
when eleven Of the twelve ma,
chimes are In operation, and on the
first Of next week the last Shop
will be started up. This will hard.
ly mean the employment OF addt.
tional men, however, as practically
a full force Is now working.
That the returnito normal Is gen
eral throughout the glass industry
and particularly in the bottle hGsi=
ness, wastthe opinion expressed thi:
morning BY W. G.. Cole, local plant
mana ger for Tie Owens Bottle ca,
Were running 100 sIperi cent
now. practically" said sMr. Cole,
stand II looks as 10 we were going to
continue. I attribute this to the
fact that some of our customers
who are handling lots Of ware, are
now back in the market. Many OF
these men held OF from buying lin.
til absolutely necessary, waiting for
price reductions.
The demand for articles such as
we put, out-condiment ware, in,
cluding salt.cellars, salad dressing
bottles, and so forth-is continu.
Gus, In spite OF depression in other
lines Of business. We are not only
getting orders from our old custo.
mers but from many new ones.
I'VE are shipping 100000 gross
OF bottles in March. This is a good
production, above the average. The
bottle business is not one in which
sales are regular, the same FOR each
month. In certain months sales al.
ways run very high. March. how
ever. is not usually one of the big
months.
II see no reason Tor the 1920 de.
cline other than the general bust
ness depression. There was really
less specific reason for a decline
in bottle sales than in other lines,
as ] have explained. Products like
steel. and iron may fall of in sales
for other reasons such a depres.
sion In the building trade. but such
a depression would not affect the
sale Of bottles.
I'm my opinion the return to pros.
perity has no indication OF being
merely a temporary flurry-It
should be permanent. Other bot,
tie factories I know Of are recover.
ling equally as well as We are, and
/ am informed that the glass trade
throughout the country is returning
to normal. Business conditions IN
most parts OF the United States
seem to be much improved"