Newspapers / Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.) / Feb. 25, 1955, edition 1 / Page 3
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FEBRUARY 25, 1955 5!3®Wi PAGE THREE m mmm^ Ijff- /• V ;. > /V ‘-'^' ■**V'.XikM/? .* J--V •->” . -' - rl, RESIN PLANT—Continued additions to this building which 'vas erected in 1947, have more than tripled resin plant capacity. ■'Approximately 145 million pounds of resin have been made here. THE POTTSTOWN PLANT—^This aerial view of the Pennsylvania plant shows the building which houses tire manufacturing and plastics processing operations, the pilot and resin plants, the powerhouse and the warehouse. Featuring Plant Cities — Pottstown Tire Plant, Plastics Company In Eastern Pennsylvania Area By D. E. Story, Editor, Firestone News, Pottstown, Pa. Located in a huge bend on the Schuylkill River is the Pottstown plant of The Firestone -^ire & Rubber Company and the Firestone Plastics Company. The building which houses the tire manufacturing and plastics processing operations Was built for the Government during World War II and was used for a time to build aircraft Toward the close of the war in 1945, Firestone leased the property and in J50 purchased it. Investment for the original building and equipment, plus building of ne resin and pilot plants and other additions to buildings and equipment now totals many rnillions of dollars. Roger cate of Merit. Roger S. Firestone is President of the Valley Forge Council Boy Scouts of America. ^ ^ AT THE PRESENT time metal working industries continue to be highly important to Pottstown. However, Firestone has the largest employment, with a payroll of over one million dollars per month. The 1950 census gave Pottstown an official rating of 22,598 but four adjoining townships bring the total population of the immediate area to about 35,000. The Borough is serviced by two railroads and bus routes to nearby communities. Pottstown has two very attrac tive and well-operated hospitals which serve the community. S. Firestone, a director O There are 44 churches and other places of worship representing all the major denominations. The school system is made up of a junior and a senior high school and seven elementary units, and two parochial schools. Total school enrollment is 5,346 pupils. The nationally famous Hill School is located here and has an enrollment of nearly 500 boys each year. This preparatory school for boys is of special interest to Fire stone since both Leonard and Ray mond Firestone attended the school. Pottstown is 35 miles from Phil adelphia which affords unlimited educational, cultural and social opportunities. the Company, heads both the plant and the plastics com- He is assisted by Ernest T. Wandley, Vice-President of the plastics company and Plant Man ager of the tire plant. 1947, when the plastics com pany Was moved to Pottstown, it "^as necessary to build a pilot plant and a resin plant to assure an adequate supply of high quality J'esin for the manufacture of plastics in the calendering, extrud- and injection molding fields. •Additions to the resin plant in 1952 more than tripled its capacity increased the types of resins synthetic rubber polymers P^'oduced. This operation was ex panded to include the sale of |®sins to other plastics manufac- '^I'ers and resin consumers. ste INCREASED DEMAND for to supply the needs of the ^esin plant and additional tire machines led to a million- oilar expansion of the power plant 1953. The new steam generator either oil or pulverized soft and has a rated capacity of '^>000 pounds of steam per hour. du Th e Pottstown tire plant pro- ces tires and tubes for passen- cars, trucks and buses and ^lous kinds and sizes of tires d tubes for all industrial pur poses. The plastics company produces film and extruded thread and Under the trade name, Velon, ^ ^ resins under the trade name, ®^X0Ti, . iex IS used for luggage cover- Upholstery and similar items. ^ is used for items such as ^^ower and window curtains, rain- table cloths, garment bags, 5 Puance and furniture covers and of otber items. ^truded thread is used for woven fabric applications such as seat covers, screening, scouring pads, curtains and webbing. Polyvinyl chloride resins under the trade name, Exon, are adapted to many uses such as film, sheet ing, treatment of wood and paper, protective coatings, paints and toys. The company supplies large quantities of latex for rubber base paints. The most recent application of Exon resins is in the chemical resistance field where they are used in making tanks, fume ducts, pipe and pipe fittings. Some idea of the size of the plant may be gained by comparing its consumption of utilities with an average city. The Firestone plant uses as much water as an entire city of 30,000 inhabitants, which could be a community about one and a half times the size of the Borough of Pottstown. The water for the plant is obtained from wells on the property and from the river. The many activities of the Potts town plant include such organiza tions for the employees as: two men’s and a women’s bowling league, a softball league of eight teams and a Firestone Male Chorus composed of 25 voices. Added to these are the Firestone gardening program and the Red Cross blood donor program. Firestone was the first major industry in the Potts town area to join the Red Cross blood program, and it has proved very beneficial to the employees. Two daughters of plant employees won Firestone scholarships this year. * * * THE PLANT SPONSORS a Cub Pack, two Boy Scout Troops, and an Explorer unit, and sponsors, on a district basis, competition for the Harvey S, Firestone, Jr., Award and the Firestone Certifi- REMEMBER! ynp rHE m liil w I III (iUALITY IS FHJST—This scene in the tire Inspection Department suggests the employees’ be lief in production of quality products. DOWNTOWN POTTSTOWN—This is a view of High Street in Pottstown, looking east. It shows the main business district of the city. ROGER S. FIRESTONE (right), President of the Plastics Company and General Manager of the tire plant; and E. T. Handley, Vice-President of the Plastics Company and plant manager of the tire plant, observe a thread extrusion operation. CURING TIRES—Joseph Skrocki is shown re moving a tire from a mold in the new curing line at the plant. Since the Pottstown plant has been in uperation, nearly 36 million tires have been made.
Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Feb. 25, 1955, edition 1
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