Document MqGgJ89xKRq4dO2XJgj76Jey

f. I \Vo 3/30/73 ALL-STATE LEGAL PAD CO INSULATIONS STORY as seen througn Due eyes oi H. P. Iloopes I cama to Berkeley in August of 1931 to complete r.-.y chemistry education at the University and to find a job to feed and keep the rest of my body. I went to work as a laboratory assistant at 45c per hour (5c more than minimum because of being in the laboratory) for the Paraffine Co., which after five name changes on my paycheck ended in the present name of Fibreboard Corp. My insulation career began in 1946, vrorking through Irv Hov- gaard and Sam Abrahams, the latter of whom reported to the Vice President of Plant Rubber and Asbestos Co., Mr. R. H. Chase. The Emeryville plant started production in Movernier, 1941 as Plant Rubber and Asbestos Co., who had their,start in 1917,in Redwood City, developing a process of recovering a suitable magnesium car bonate using the bittern, the residual solution from the adjacent solar harvesting of salt from sea water. The actual date is obscured, but most accounts place the begin ning of "85% Magnesia" insulation in the 1CG01s, since the patent for it was granted July 20, 1886. The "modem" process by the 1920's for making Magnesia vras a pan-molding steam-setting of basic magnesium carbonate as we did in Redwood City or as a filter press presess. All slabs and half sections or segments made thusly required milling to final dimensions having dry density of 22-26 lbs. per cubic foot and a milled loss of 25-30%. i Work vras started at Research, Redv/ood City in the 1930s to re fine and chemically control the f'.nal basic magnesium carbonate by 2. forming ar. intermediate step of a needle-like crystal of magne sium carbonate trihydrate. This was successful, ancl a light den sity precision molded final product could be produced. The en gineering firm in San Francisco of L. S. Ilosenor built the 12 mold station Lmveryville Plant based on laboratory bench work skipping a pilot plant step. Uc received 2000 gallon tank trucks from Westvaco at Newark, California of magnesium hydroxide, carbonated the diluted hydroxide in tall conical bottom tanks with 9-117> CC>2 taken directly off the super heat coils of the large boilers of the Paraffine Co. complex. This teal: about 3-5 hours and at a definite titrated end point we had beautiful crystals about 3-5 p wide by 10-15 p long. Batches were mixed with asbestos (and later borax to raise the use temper-- - ature limit to 6Q0F.) and stored in the present "Smith Mixers", weighed into snail "smith mixers" above each station, preheated with "live" steam, and then set in the present type molds in a "quiescent" period for 22 minutes. The cycle time started around 26 minutes. By the time we stopped manufacturing "85; Precision Molded Mag nesia" in April, 1966, the volume of sales was so low that it was uneconomical to produce even though we had reduced the complete cycle time to 13 minutes with many processing changes ever the original plant operations. This light density product (11-12 lbs. per cubic foot) was taken almost 100% by the U.S. Navy during the war years for ship work, due tc its improved qualities (particularly density) -- in fact they 3. v;rotc a new class in the specifications just for the product. This made it a proprietary item. By means of a disclosure letter we had each of our competitors in the plant and offered them an engineering license agreement. The competition at that time included the fol lowing : Johns-Manvilie Keasbv-Mattison Ruberoid Philip-Carey Ehret Hundet The last three named took licenses and built precision molding plants immediately after the war was over. The first two went off on their own development programs. It was the late 1950s be fore either had a light density product. The third never tried to make Magnesia. Again, in Redwood City and before the Emeryville plant was built, various methods of making a light density diatcmacecus silica and/or a lima silica insulation ware being explored. No real pro gress was made until a pilot plant could be built at Emeryville. There is even more chemistry and control need here than in the light density Magnesia. Strange approaches were proposed; i.e., dry mixing of unslaked lime and earth using the heat of reaction to preheat,cold slurry with steam heated fingers preheating the slurry as the fingers ware in and out of the slurry. I (v/ith soma help) convinced the then president of Plant Rubber and Asbestos that re search must present a process for calcium silicate that could be made in the magnesia process equipment--except for induration. 4 Eighteen months later, in April of 1948, v/e began the manufacture of Caltherm for I200i`'. vise. By May, 1953 the name change to Cultcmp came because of a late trademark filing by us. (Kcasby-Mattisc had filed Kay-therm earlier but did not get into production of a calcium silicate until the late 1950s.) Our two products complemented each other and many jebs had Caltemp inner layer and Magnesia outer layer. Magnesia's death v;as slew starting but accelerated at a rapid rate tov:ard the end mainly because of distributor-user inventories. There are still applicators tcaey v:ho will swear that "rxr.e cf the new cr.es worked as well as Magnesia". Johns-Manville made the last USA magnesia It is st ill being mr.de in England and on the centime: :b ly the greatest impact on magnesia was Kaylc, ir.trc in 1949 - oy Cwsr. s Illinois made at Berlin, Mew Jersey. With 13 i "do* and pony" show, they captured the new and ye Q design engineers, with one product for use to 1200 F. Calcium silicates had their ir.troductcry problems ,, They ware harder to cut or saw, they couldn't be "hammered" over rivets and welds, they didn't hinge, etc. Kaylo had several product failures due cost probably to overselling (within four years the entire manu facture and sales was turned ova-q to Owens-Corning). Ue had two big on-site' shrinkage failures in 1956. Pabco Caltemp high quality could probably best be traced to the intensive work of the four research chemists then in the divi sion, who formed a task force to determine the cause of on-site 5. shrinkage and to eliminate; this type of failure forever. It v:as a dramatic time. Suffice to say the final solution mas found to be the lime to silica molar ratio in the product. A control test was devised (and is used today) to routinely determine that Pabco passes and to learn how competition compares -- which is usually poorer. The following is a list of names of men who have been or are in Insulations Research: Sam Abrahams Rube Lewon Lou Collcnge Royal Mattiscn Gus Dinkfeld 0. D. Smith George Lechich John Eutler Bill Jacques Ed Torbchn Fred lie id 1 George Mummy Ka:: Doss Fred Karklin Ollie Brown Bill Meyers Sig Cohen Frank Heil Jo Ann Dunlap Charles Miller Bob Beck Jim Blair Jack Weber Jess Meal Bob Broun Bill Kaye Murvin Frandy Paul Graham Bob Lun Bill Weller Larry Killoran Vern Edwards Bill Riesenberg Vedat Suer Harry Hoopes The operating plant since 1945 has changed cons! Magnesia (85% Easic Magnesium Carbonate and 15% Asbestos) was being run seven days, 21 shifts per week since.it started. I believe one March we produced a record amount of $2S3,000 List. 18112-2 was the largest pipe size and 2111 was the fastest moving. We still had a large business with the railroads for steam engine boiler lagging. This was a curved and tapered milled block made at Redwood City. Actually, all milling'was done at Redwood City until we shut it down, January, 1957. 6. Probably the earliest process change was from 1007, chrysotiLa asbestos to 100% amosite. This took about two years and improved the quality and heat soaking performance. Starting with a grade known as M-l, we "suffered" through the war with many variations requiring special processing equipment until 1968, when we began the use of an opened and graded SIC fibre processed in South Africa By 1969, this was pressure packed and flatted in water repellent coverings. The following is a list of foremen and quality control men in the plant, both now and in the past: Emeryville Foremen John "Peretci Fred Heidi George 'dummy Paul R.OSS Eenny Mass Mick Simatovich Harry Deahl Dick Smith Lyle Brown Ai Oliver Larry Killoran Bud Halverson Mike Parker Ray Rlnggenberg Lyle Gibe Ten Clancy London Evans Mancie Herring Lou Gavazra' Jin Morgan S.uality Control Men Larry tCilloran Bob Back Bill Parks Ray Fo:; Ray Pvinggenberg By the time Caltherm (Caltemp) came along we had soma major building changes. The second and third floors extended about 40 yards East and the first of four batching systems was built. Tills v:as a tank and a tube directly above the East Smith Mixer. This system was replaced by the two tank stand-by system still present. 7. Then we developed the cut-off carbonating tank moving system into the East ''Magnesia1' mixer. Finally, we have the present flow-cycling system in 1971. This v;ould be a good time to name the maintenance engineers who are or have been in the plant. They are the following: John Cunha Warren Coolbaugh Earl Spotsvood Bill Kaye Bruce McKay Vern Edwards Bill Reisenb^rg Kan Cahill Larry Spencer Jay Keyland Bud Courtney By the time R&D had been able to formulate Caltemp to mast 1350F. (vs. 12C0F.) and finally 15C0F. "voices" began to be heard of health hazards due to asbestos in the bodies of workman. Asbestosis, like silicosis, has been accepted by most states as a com pensatory disease for many years, but new plaintiff attorneys were beginning "third party" suits chiming that the manufacturers of in sulations should hava warned the workers that they were handling a hazardous product. Most recently O.S.H.A. has issued and revised its famous paragraphs beginning with Title 29 Part 1910 on the subject. In the meantime and with 1350 Super Caltemp we ware awarded DuPont's stamp of approval for their inhibited calcium silicate typa 102.1 We had always complied x/ith their general specification 102.0, a regular calcium silicate, but this gave us an entry with our regular production to all DuPont jobs. Our licensee, Ehret i Co. (now Keene Co.), xv-as also approved. Neither Johns-Manvilie regular Thermobestos cr O.C.F. Kaylo x-jould meet these stringent requirements of not only having a high xrater leachable silicate y '-*r* . -'ir' h 8. ion but abj passing a performance test submitting the insulation to six days against stressed austenitic stainless steel at 210F. when immerse .2 in water containing 1500 ppm of chloride ion. Tha phenomenon or halide (chloride) attack is not fully understood and there has been much work done in tha last ten years, but DuPont is satisfied that if a calcium silicate insulation contains sufficient water leachable silicate (20,000 ppm minimum with an expected average of 25,000 pom), it will always pass their rigid performance test. Tha military, Atomic Energy Commission, and now Bachtel have written leaah.abla chlcrida caximuns and leach-able silicate ninimums as well as performance tests for any type of insulation used over austenitic stainless steels. In fact, soma branches of the mili tary and A.!hC. are taking tha attitude that their purchases must all meet that a requirements. The parfcrmar.cc tests of i-U. groups other than Er.Pcr.f are not as strir.gant as tha latter,, Pabco Super Caltemp Type HA is approved for MIL-I-24244, A.E.C., and Bechtel, We expect to have Dugont approval the first quarter of 1973. In 1953 we extended our licensees to the Chemical and Insula ting Co. in Darlington County, Durham, England. This plant today is i still caking a high percentage of Magnesia but their calcium sili cate (Paratcrp) has increased by five times since 1953. They pay royalty only on calcium silicate. We had an interesting period during 1960 in which the three licensees refused to pay royalties on the basis that the original patents had expired. A settlement was reached based on a brief file! by Marion Plant of Brcbeck,Phlegcrs & Harrison, attorneys, as a 9. result of our joint visit to the Philip Cnroy plant which showed they were using an active patent. The revised agreement spelled out the patent coverage with the licensee's right to accept or not use any new patents issued to us. Induration of calcium silicate is necessary. Our molds are open to atmospheric pressure and are jacketed with moving hot water at 210F. During the quiescent period in the mold a gell is formed sufficient conversion of the lime and silica to make a handleable form or shape. Temperatures of around 400F. or higher are neces sary to complete this reaction to the final calcium silicate mar.ohycrate. This can only be done in an autoclave type vessel. (As we began plant experiments, the men corrupted the word "indurate" to "indurator" thereby ignoring the technical name of a utoelave.) Pvt;; mnteri.cl, formulation, end process changes hav e allowed to maintain cuali y of Che finished product and drop the time at 200 gpsi (3S6F.) to three hours from twelve hours (for the first entarimemtj^. As asbestos shipped to us became processed and classified at the plant in South Africa, we began to be able to reduce the per centage in Caltenp from approximately 12% by weight at the start to approximately.67^ by the time we stopped using it in September, 1971. There are many reasons why Pabco--a long way from the major eastern markets--has been able to compete in a market dominated by the two large volume manufacturer;, Johns-Hanville end Owens Corning Fibreglas. Service and ingenuity. In the mid-forties and fifties when Kr. R. H. Chase as general manager of Plant Tvubber and Asbestos 10. began establishing the E.S.U. (Engineering Service Units) principle throughout the midwest and eastern seaboard, service and quali':v were hi.s two main selling points. Service, specifically rr.eeti -; a promised delivery date, was almost unheard of by distributors. If a distributer could be convinced to try our "new light weigh.. Magnesia", Rube gave them a promised delivery date--and we met it. From that point on ws might give long or short delivery dates, but vze met them; and most important, the customer was ours. r..h? had E.S.U^in Cleveland, Eoston, NewYork, Philadelphia, and Rak.'igh, North Carolinn--with the North Brothers distributing and applying our products throughout the southeast. Me also expanded throughout the midcontinent and west where we are presently marketing. The second factor or ingenuity which helped expand our in.sulatiens revolved around patents, packaging, and shipping. As mav.'.lcned, our original process and product was patented and subsequently licensed, but royalties were continued by subsequent patents.cn calcium silicate process and product and by equipment patents that have continued royalties through today. These include the patents on Removeable Meld Liner, "spider" cr Open Core Plug,` Chrysoti.7.2 and Fibre Glass for Amosite Asbestos, Rubber Cone Preheaters, and Calquartz (for sodium hydroxide). I have just learned that our asbestes-frea formulation and process patent will be issued. No other insulation manufacturer has protected his packaged product with the care of Pabco. Fjeing a friable product, calnf-.m silicates need not only ingredients of a nature to hold them together during handling, but the package must be able to withstand k h- 11. the shock of roeyh treatment all along the wav unril it i.s in place on the ,icb. Tubes in cartons to "solidify" the pack were first used by us. All or the rail car shipments leading the plant have at least two cates in them which divides a full car into three cars for minimum damage in transit. Y.'ell, the job that began in 1931 for me is coming to a close, but the v;orl; and new' problems vm 11 continue in good hands. Two things are now accomplished that mean very much to me. A lCCk acceptable asbestos free Pabco Super Caltemp with patent coverage is first, and the second is Du Font 102.1 specification approval of cur product for use on austenitic stainless steels. Finally, I hope the log is kept up to date for use and back ground of the present and future managers of our division. K-