The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-14

Eariy m 1V4O cOnStueratiOn was given to refundlng the s.. SSO,OOO par value of outstanding 6hc Debentures due January l, 1946, by Q new issue bearing Q lower interest rate. Accordingly . registration statement was pre- pared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and In July there was sold . new Issue of $l0,OOO,0oo principal amount of 3h% Debentures, due July 1, 1850. The issue was underwrltten by . banking group headed by Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorp0. rated, which paid the Company par for them, the public offering price being 102, and they were promptly and successfully mark eted.
 Proceeds of this sale enabled the Company to pay off the $7,- S5O,OOO outstanding 51ses Deben- lures on September 16, 1940, at the cali price of 1O4, and provided after incidental expenses, ap- proxlmately Sl,750,0O0 additional cash. It appeared advisable to Ob- tain this new money to provide for the large capital investment and extra working assets needed for the increased business in prospect, more particularly that for National Defense. Total in- terest cost tO the Company in succeeding years will be substan- tially lower as . result of this transaction.
 During the previous World War the Company manufactured many articles for the Army and Navy with marked success. The exper- fence thus gained Is largely avail able today, though very little such work has been done In the past twenty years and little of the re- qulred machinery has been kept. To place the Company in q posi- ton to aid In the National De- fense there has been spent or will presently be spent about $3,700,- 900 in addition to expenditures for other plant development. Of this sum about SSOO.OOO Is for improve ment and increase in the capacity of the power house at the main plant, which will put it on a highly efficient basis with lower power costs. An amount of about $l,000,000 Is to be expended for additions to the casting shop In the mills department, increasing it's output about 259t; 1t Is be- lleved the mills can handle this extra amount with little added machinery by working more days in the week. The resulting in- crease in mill capacity, while not all justified by normal business prospects, is urgently desired by the government as Q part of It's program of expansion in brass mills to meet ordnance requlre- inents. The remaining expendi- lures are mostly for general man. ufacturing machinery.
 We had, at the end of the year 1940, a balance of about $16,O00,- 900 in sales value of prime con- tracts with the United States Government for items for the Ma ti0nal Defense after having de- livered such items to the value of approximately $3,30O,00O during the year 194O.
 AS the principal products made by us for National Defense pur- poses are sufficiently different from our commercial work to re- quire for their production new equipment set up In special de- partments, it Is not expected that much interference with our usual business activities will be caused thereby.
 Our factory In the suburbs of Birmingham, England, has con- tinued at Q high rate of opera tiOi, though subject to the alarms and difficulties at present prevailing there. It produces air valves and allied products which are c0nsld- cred by the British Government to be necessary for war purposes. should It's operations be inter- rupted we are prepared to furnish the same products from our Tor onto factory, which formerly sup- piled the British market, and this can be supplemented, if necessary from our United States plants.
 By Order of the Board of
 Directors,
 JOHN II. GOSS,
 President,