Smyrna times., 1953-11-05
PRICE COMPANY
OPENS PLANT
Formal Opening and Dedica-
tiOn Held at New Plant
Tuesday Afternoon
COMPANY FOUNDED 1884

ternoon, attended by approximate
ly fifty guests who toured the
plant, after which a dedication SER
vice was held in charge of the Rev.
F. S. Bancroft, rector of st. Pet
er's Church. Among the special
guests We're D. L. Rucker, Director
of Information, the National Fer
tilizer Association, Washington;
William Watson Harrington, for
mer Chancellor of the State of Del
aware; Huber DEM, Delaware
State Chamber of Commerce, Will
mington; Raymond A. Bowers, of
Lewis c. Bowers & Sons, Prince
ton, N. j.; William Schaffnit, Sted-
man Foundry and Machine Co.,
Aurora, Indiana; and William E.
Hanley, Equitable Security Trust
Company, Wilmington; also, Clark
M. Knotts and Charles. M. Gee, of
the National Bank of Smyrna.
Acting as hostesses were Mrs.
Henrietta West, Mrs. James R.
Ford, Mrs. Warner w. Price, Jr.,
and Mrs. Warner w. Price, Sr.
Also present were Warner w.
Price III and Anne Carroll Price,
children of the president, and Mrs.
L. M. Price, widow of the founder.
Modern Plant
The new fertilizer plant was
built by Lewis c. Bowers and Sons,
Inc, of Princeton, N. j., the main
plant being 180' by 64', with stor-
age and office area 80 by 40, in
addition, of steel frame with con-
crete pre-cast panels; storage and
Office area of steel frame and con-
crete block walls. The machinery
by Stedman Foundry and Machine
Company, employs the most mod
ern fertilizer manufacturing meth
'ods available, including the use of
liquid nitrogen solutions which are
sprayed into mixed fertilizers. All
machinery is powered by electric
ity. The plant is located on Della
ware Route 300 two miles west of
Smyrna on a six-acre tract at in
tersection of Route 800 and the
Pennsylvania Railroad. The new
plant receives materials by rail or
truck at east end of plant where a
private rail siding is located. Ma
terials are dumped into receiving
elevator, raised into building by
chain-bucket conveyor, rehandled
by belt conveyors which store ma
terials in different storage bins
within the building.
High Batching Bins
When mixed the materials are
placed in high patching bins, pro-
portions of each chemical weighed
into each ton, then screened and
mixed in rotary mixer, removed by
bucket elevator and stored in large
bins for curing. After curing, the
fertilizers are again screened and
are either bagged by automatic
bagging machine, or placed in
spreading trucks for delivery to
farms. The entire operation is
handled by modern labor saving
machinery in an efficient manner,
increasing the company's capacity
to produce fertilizers of the high
est type available. This is a far
cry from the mixing methods used
at the time of the companys
founding in March 1884, when ma
terials were derived from ground
bones, guano, and other animal re-
fuse, handled by wheel barrows and
shovels. The modern plant uses
chemicals found in natural mineral
deposits or produced synthetically.
Along with the use of modern
chemicals containing basic foods
are used new chemicals containing
minor elements for plant food.
In addition to the manufacture of
fertilizers, the Price Company acts
as a distributor for various insec-
ticides and weed killers, seen as a
natural sequence to help customers
follow through on lowest cost pro-
duction of crops.
Company Founded 1884
The company was founded by
Lewis M. Price at Smyrna Land
ing in 1884. At that time all ma
terials were received by boat and
many deliveries were made by
boat. MFR. Price continued in busi-
ness until 1924, when he sold his
interests to his son, Warner w.
Price, Sr., VINO had joined him in
partnership in 1921. At the death
of the latter in 1888 the business
was incorporated and during the
past twelve years it has been head
CONTINUED on Page Five)