Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 37, Number 290, Decatur, Adams County, 8 December 1939 — Page 6

Vol. XXXVII. No. 290

HUGE CROWD VIEWS MODERN FOUNDU

EMPLOYES SHOW VISITORS NEW EQUIPMENT Decatur Casting Company Installs Continuous Vertical Core Oven , OPEN HOUSE HEI D The completion of • new oil fir- | ed vertical continuous core oven j which i ulminated practically tw.< years of improvement in produc- i lion fa< -illtl-" in The pec atnr Cast- ' ing Company plant was the main I occasion for the open House on Saturday. November 25 1*39 Many of the improvements and chances - In production fa< illties have not | only made for more economical op- . eration but have made for greater I safety and better, more healthful.! working conditions for employees In spite of inclement weather. 223'1 people visited the plant dur Ing the day The morning session ! of the Open House, from 9 to 11 was a special private session for employees and families At present the company employes 110 persons ; but the attendance of the employees and their families averaged 4 persons per worker with 434 in attendance in the morning session At the registration desk were fkmna Rowley and Edith Ervin of The Decatur Casting Company office. Mrs Martin l.lngler. daughter of President Don McDaniel, Hamilton. Ohio. Ihirothy Young, daughter of Superintendent Harry Young and Mrs Henry Bromer. wife of Manager H E Bromer. Ea-h person was asked to register on a special registration i ard made for the oc< aslon: rec elved a program to cover the Itinerary for the Inspection of the plant, not only the pro-' duction facilities hut also the customers' exhibits in which Decatur Quality Castings are used; safety and health displays and many oth er spec lai points of interest Eac h employee as well as eac h member of eac h employee's family was identified with a 2’«" celluloid badge mad* especially for the occasion. They were given free run of the plant so that each employee was able to show hie family where he worked and what he did During the morning session, the visitors enjoyed the movies taken at the employees' family picnic July 15. IPS* at Sunset Park. Dec atur. and also movies of the fourth game of the 1939 World Series which had been taken by Peter E Rentschler The afternoon session, from 12 to S. was for the public, but there was actually no let up between the morning and the afternocm sessions as friends and guests began to arrive before noon and continued to come until 5 SO in the evening. The employees again served as guides and escorts and furnished visitors with information on plant ' facilities and operations Special attention was called to the new lighting system in the core making and core assembly departments. Besides the many townspeople in attendance there were quite a few vlaltors from surrounding local communities. All of the supervisory force and • office personnel of The Hamilton Foundry A Machine Co.. Hamilton, Ohio, with which The Decatur Casting Company Is closely associated, came by spec lai has. Also present was Mr. Henry A. Rentschler who is Secretary-Treas-urer of The Decatur Casttag Company. Secretary-Treasurer of The Hsmilton Foundry A Machine Co. and President of the Cltlsens Havings Bank A Trust Co, Hamilton. Ohio There were quite a number of foundrymen from various parts of the country, particularly Interested In the new oil fired vertical continuous core oven The working eihlblt of the molding of cast Iron souvenir rooster paper weights bore out the Decatur Casting Company's slogan "Something To Crow About- Decatur Quality Castings " Core blowing machines blew Delco Products automotive shock absorber piston cores, bench coremakers made Westinghouse washing machine motor bracket cores; the new oil fired vertical continuous core oven was operated ala temperature <4 MO degrees F. With the conveyor chain moving at .M feet per minute. completing the cyclo In one hour 4d minutes Another working exhibit consisted of the cleaning of eastings with metal ebraa(Con tinned on following page*

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Aerial View Os Decatur Casting Company’s Plant P i :ii!«-d iliov.- Is th-- - til.r i:<-I ui-i ii-wjy r-mod--led !»• < attir Casting Company's plant, located on Dayton Avenue west -»f the Pennsylvania railroad ttai k« with switches leading dir- -t to the plan' Th-- plant was established here in I*2" and th-- Monitor type addition to the west was constructed in 192''

Safety Devices Are Displayed

The display of ' Protective Safety and Health la-vlr--- r«--d in this Plant'' is indicative of th-- organised safety and health work In th--plant All protective -afety and health devices used ate provided by the Company with the eX< eplion of steel toe safety "hoes. whl< h are provided by th-- worker Above the <ase Is a permanent display of metal safety and accident prevention signs Below th-- < ase Is a hospital stretcher or litter To the left of the ease i« an ' oil dust layer Throughout the plant are bulletin boards with the safety am) health posters provided by the National Safety Council, and health posters of the Indiana State Board of Health The safety and hygiene work is ' under a committee of workers and foremen who meet monthly The employees cooperate by making re< omm-ndations on safety and hygiene in the plant and these are acted on by the committee. The committee !■ assisted In its work by the National Safety Connell The company has a complete Industrial membership in this organisation. whi- h provides safety posters. safety leaflets, a small monthly publl-ati-m Th-- Safe Worker.” manual of "Safe Practices,” "Safety in Foretnanship,” series for supervisor" "National Safety News." a monthly publication ai; “Publice Safety Magazine ” Physical examinations nf employees. including x-rays, are part of the health program Steel toed Safety Shoe* were featured throughout the plant Each display showed not only the various types of Safety Shoes required for certain kinds of work but also showed a sectioned Safety ! Shue to show the construction The Safety Shoe display In tbe clean- , Ing room was viewed with particular Interest, as It included ■ shoe of William Thornton's who avoided a crushed foot on September •. 1939. On this date a 350 pound motor block casting was dropped c>n the steel protective toe of his | ihoe, and the only damage done was tn tear through the leather toe cap down to the steel with no injury whatsoever to his foot. The life size mod*! of ■ hand blaster showing the protective operator of the band-blast room safety equipment provided for tbe

Three Scenes Showing Actual Operations At Newl y Remodeled Decatur Casting Company’s Plant.

*'"aJL'*’ 1 A Z' J — * Z ’b C ~ w _ iou>lu mtafr j--*LV M ' ■ Ito Mk hB f~ - £»*_ -ea,« I i; • num /..■'?.< r ?■ ■.‘•/\?? . Working eshlblt, pictured above, shows Ed Rich operating the ■ larger of the two wheelbarrows. cleaning with metal abrasive, Delco Products automotive shock absorber pistons and R F. Ro wear and Company, Inc meter covers.

M -r#tl T~~" L*, W~3 v*. 803™ I ■ «w * v 1 v w~ aßßcrßr* -> • i SEmI Photop igh aliov- -li. w- h.- o tn.- c.flu jals of th- company all of Hamilton Ohio in .-"end cnc • at the Open 11 ous- — Hen Secretary Treasurer, left peter E Rentschler Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, center Don McDaniel. President, right Harry Young, superintendent of the Decatur fasting Company, was associated with these officials at the Hamilton Foundry and Machine Co from 1903 until 1921 when he came to Decatur In the background is the electrically lighted permanent display case of “protective Safety and Health Devic esc ( iw <1 In This Plant" which shows no only the protective equipments provided by the Company, but also examples of defective tools equipment end safety piotectiv- devices that ar- unfit for use i ■BB” HBH • Ta ■■■■ Photograph above shows Guy Tester. Paymaster, left, showing to H E Bromer. Resident Manager, a damaged safety shoe that had prevented an Injury In the background Is the main safety shoe display talde Each one of the display tables throughout the plant carried a sectioned safety snoe and the safety shoes proper for the worker in that particular working classification. Guy Tester handl-s First Aid In the plant was standing adjacent to the room | see caatinga before and after blastwhere the visitors could enter and ing with metal abrasive steel grit

ON L Y DAI L Y N EWSP AP E R IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Friday, December 8, 1938.

ill ■'"• .„! In the center picture Kenneth DeArmond. left, la blowing Delco Products automotive shock absorber piston cores while at the right Paul Ixibslger, bench coremaker la making Westinghouse washing mschlne i motor bracket cores. ’ E Zimmerman, right, aqueeaer molder, is molding the cast Iron I rooster souvenirs given to those In attendance J.M2 cast Iron rooster souvenir paper a eights were distributed during the day.

I LOCAL COMPANY FOUNDED 8Y FOUNDRYMEN Established In 1920 By Rentschlers, Pioneers In Business Since 1875 PLANT HAS GROWN’ The Decatur Casting Company. Incorporated In 192". has continued the reputation of Its organisers In maintaining the tradition of qual- ' Ity lasting* whhh dates back to the prede- eaaor of the present gen- ■ -■rations of Rentschlers operating this foundry and The Hamilton Foundry A Ma-bine Company at Hamilton. Ohio In 1*75 the Sohn and Rentschler partnership started and continued until the Great Miami flood In 1913 washed away everything but the pig Iron In the yard This partnership gained a national reputation by reason of Its quality castings serving companies throughout the -■astern half of the Cnlled States who were users of light quality castings The business developed so that It was Impossible for the old Sohn and Rentschler partnership to handle all of the quality precision work that was available to It In I*9l George Adam Rents< hl-r with hl« son Henry A Rent-s-'hler. now Secretary and Treasurer of The Decatur Casting Company and The Hamilton Foundry A Machine Company, Hamilton. Ohio, organised The Hamilton Foundry A Machine Company to take care of the excess work that Sohn and Rentschler could not handle and to go into the manufacture of larger typo caatinga, particularly the smaller machine tool fastings for the Cincinnati machine tool area In 1907 Gordon S Rentschler l now President of National City Bank. New York Cltyi son of George Adam Rentschlor came with tip- Hamilton Foundry A Ma< hlno Co. and In 191* Don M< Daniel came from Link Belt. Indianapolis, after having been trained In the precision requirements of Link-Belt products where he had served as plant engineer for a period of * years Prior to that he had spent four years In the Indianapolis plant of the National Malleable Casting Company, in I*2o Peter E Rentschler became the third generation of Relitscblers In the foundry business and was Instrumental tn the organisation of The Decatur Casting Company. Ail of this background in the manufacture of quality castings laun-hed the new enterprise to produce Decatur Quality Castings and to maintain a standard for light gray iron castings unexcelled In the Fort Wayne area. In 1920 The Hamilton Foundry A Machine Company was serving General Electric Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana with fractional horse power motor eastings, light meter castings and other castings. To more economically serve this important customer and provide more Ideal facilities for furnishing fractional horse power motor castings to the I»ecatur General Electric division ’, The Decatur Casting Company I purchaaed the property of the Ward Fence Company on Dayton . Avenue west of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The building was remod- • eled. a large three story cupola I- building erected and regular opera-

Industrial Exhibits Featured Open House |» 1 ****■*'[ a “•* ” ~ yK Sife 8 sews at?- &' ■■MBrUKU y •-r -t' r-r ---iriKr™. ..-. u —--I >■ . -fl '"-•'Tniinti|jiii_M l||lf Photograph shows --iistom-rs' exhibit of flniwh.il i-r.-tu.in ~...... .. used. This photograph "hows H F Bowser ACo In- exhlbli in h- , ks-,,.., A Mfg Co Lima. Ohio, to the left. Sti- rninn-M.iiico? Mtg Co chi. -g,- | Hat of exhibitors were aa tUlowa ■

Lawn Mower Co.. Muncie. Indiana, lawn mowers S. F Bowser A Co.. Inc. Fort Wayne. Indiana, pumps, etc. Delco Products. Division of Geni era I Motors Corp. Dayton Ohio, i auomotlve slun k ahsorl-er pistons Goldman Pressing Machine Co New York City. N Y . valves Great States Corporation. Shelbyville. Indiana, lawn mowers

. — —— CONTWIUOUS VERTICAL OVEN CORE BAM BF • * 1 Br . J E> eshsujb ——*■ MB| -J V 1 rl &r . 9 Q ts I E t*' !& Bn I Ij ' ■ wM I jfl " i I I Photograph ahnwi th* unloading of corM and diy<-r» fn>:n „igll laor. regular operator. To the right la ahown Arthuur Murat Co • I»•: ((| lieArmond blowing Delco Products automotive ahoi It abtorber pl«' are Delco Products automotive shock absorber piston cores r d ~ Kkl Westinghouse washing machine motor bra< ket cores that Mt* making ethliilt This working eihlbit ahowe th-- n- av« ,t above. n|w>ratlng at a temperature of Soo degr- es K with th- <m>ve> completing a cycle In one hour and forty minutes

I ' tions began in July. 1920 Aa business developed in 192" I as an emergency measure, the I old Decst ur Furnace, Foundry A > Machine Company on Elm Street I was operated In I*2* to have suffi-1 r dent castings to furnish custom- * er'a requirements and while the i west bay was being built which * added a capacity of >0 sque-zer - molder floors In late 1*29 i At tbe present time the employ- * ees of Tbe Decatur Casting Com

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Magnavox Co Inc Fort W.yne Indiana, loud speak- r« t Nh--rman Man-on Mtg C - Chi -ago 111 and St Marys. Ohh. off • Ice equipment -. Warner Machine Products, |-, Muncie. Indiana, automotive ;nini| - Westinghouse Ele>tri< Mfg t Lima. Ohio, fractional hoiswashing machine, pump aid tI frlgt-rator motors

patty number 110 but within " • last few years. In 1937. 19" * employed. The company manufacture- c.ings for gasoline pump*, nifractional horse power motor* omotlve shmk absorber i-lc automotive pump parts, lawn tn -» era. transformer pots, build hardware, oftk-e equipment an-! other light casting* The averse--’ casting weight is 1«» pound- I’-''b gray Iron and semi-steel casting--

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