ECUSTA FA PER AND FILM! GROUP
FORTY YEARS AGO THIS YEAR, LAND ALONGSIDE THE DAVIDSON
RIVER WAS CHOSEN AS SITE FOR THE NEW ECUSTA PAPER PLANT
THE TRANSYLVANIA TIMES
A Newspaper Devoted to the Best Interest of the People of Transylvania County
Paper Plant To Locate
On Davidson River Site
i ShZiwm b S^«. Ecusta Corporation Will Close
Pi Youll Always Find Her Wailin'!
Transaction Thursday Morning
■ Pure Mountain Water Was
Deciding Location Factoi
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Be Carried In The
: Times Later
In search of the best, found
ers of the former Ecusta Paper
Corporation found the answer
to their needs in Transylvania
County.
The people of the com
munities, the endless expanse
of forested mountains, and the
inviting streams fed by those
mountains, held promise that
at Pisgah Forest were those
qualities with which to build
for the moment and for the fu
ture. The decades to follow
showed the promise fulfilled,
an interweaving of resources
and events, communities and
industry.
Now, four decades later, the
Olin Corporation businesses at
Pisgah Forest are makers of
products that reach markets the
world over. Headquartered
alongside the Davidson River
are the Ecusta Paper and Film
Group and its operating com
ponents, the Ecusta Paper and
Film plants. Together they pro
vide employment for 2,800 per
sons at Pisgah Forest, and an
annual payroll in excess of
$36,000,000.
The late Harry H. Straus,
founder and first president of
the Ecusta Paper Corporation,
exemplified Ecusta’s corporate
responsibilities to the com
munities by directing that the
new company pay Transyl
vania County ad valorem taxes
long before the schedule for
payment that had been ar
ranged. This principle has been
perpetuated over the years
through appropriate fundings
with company resources and
This Special Edition of the Olin News has been assembled for
you. We want you to share the experiences of the people you may
know who were among the Ecusta pioneers. It is for those of us
who were not around 40 years ago so that we, too, can appreciate
the history of present day Ecusta Paper and Film and realize the
worthy impact our industry has had on individuals and com
munities. As you read the articles, you’ll relive the Great De
pression days, World War II and other historical aspects of the
times, good and bad.
We have passed through 40 years of history, and the eighties are
now upon us. As we advance through this period, let us work and
live for this next decade to be promising, fillfilling and memorable.
encouragement of employee
participation in community af
fairs. Such commitment helped
to account for the growth that
produced today’s Olin at Pis
gah Forest.
Within months of the startup
of cigarette paper manufactur
ing, Forbes Publishing Com
pany of New York issued a
white paper with this preface.
“An immigrant becomes a
salesman, and solves a prob
lem that had scientists hang
ing on the ropes. Result: A new
U. S. industry makes us in
dependent of one more foreign
source of supply.”
The Forbes paper described
Mr. Straus and his new com
pany as follows:
“Harry H. Straus, a six-foot-
one mountain of physical and
mental energy, came here from
Germany when he was 18 years
old to learn English. But he is
one of those men who, what
ever their native land, were
really born to be Americans.
“He learned English quickly
enough, but he never went
back. And as his contribution
to his adopted country, he has
created a new industry which
makes jobs in a region where
there were few before, gives
farmers a new cash crop,
turns waste into wealth, frees
America of dependence on pre
carious imports and points
toward further industrial
developments of high impor
tance.”
In March, 1940, after the
French instructors had left Pis
gah Forest, Mr. Straus issued a
message to all Ecusta employees
stating his confidence in the
work force, the future of the
products, and the workers’ re
sponsibility to the community.
This is quoted in part:
“From my daily inspection
of the products which we are
turning out, I am very glad to
tell you I feel we are doing
good work and I compliment
all of you on it.
“There are many ways in
which our paper can be made
more satisfactory to the ulti
mate customer. We will never
reach perfection, but I can not
help again impressing upon all
of you that we must concen
trate on quality and watch it
every minute of the day and
night.