Document pBMqzd8B8vV5zZa9pxMXomBBX

MONTHLY NEWS 58th Floor, New York Office BULLETIN AMERICAN CYANAMID & CHEMICAL CORPORATION The Azusa Plant is located one mile west o the city of Azusa and twenty miles east of Los Angeles. This location was se lected because of convenient sources of water and electricity, adequate railroad facilities, and particularly because it is approximately the center of the citrus dis trict of Southern California. The plant was constructed for tne production of liquid hydrocyanic acid and equipment for its use in fumigating citrus trees. The liquid was handled in drums, each contain ing eighty pounds. These drums could be transported only by auto truck, hence the importance of a location near the center of the area to be served. Liquid hydrocyanic acid was first manu factured commercially by Dingle Brothers in Azusa in 1917. Patents and rights were acquired from the Dir.gles in 1919 by the American Cyanamid Company, and their small plant was dismantled and construc tion work started on the present plant in January, 1920. The plant was completed and manufacturing operations started in the summer following. AERO Brand Cyanide had been used by the Dingles in 1919, so their experience was of much value in the operation of the new and larger plant. Fumigation operations are seasonal, with most of the work being done during the summer and winter months. Timing of the fumigation is dependent upon the tree and fruit condition as well as upon the life cycle of the insects to be destroyed. Be cause of limited storage cajiacity and the undesirability of storing large quantities of hydrocyanic acid, plant operations con- 0220 ,! i : if h 1 Poq t MONTHLY NEWS IUUETIN form largely to fumigation activities. Manufacturing is carried out on an aver age of about 100 days in each calendar year. The Dingle Brothers had conducted their business under the name of the Owl Fumigating Company.* When this was taken over in 1020 by the American Cyanamid Company, the name was changed to the Owl Fumigating Corporation, and business connected with hydrocyanic acid for citrus tree fumigation was carried on under that name until 103-1. The name of the Corporation was the cause of some confusion since no actual fumigation work was done by the Corporation. Hydrocyanic acid was sold to fumigating contractors who carried out the orchard operations. In 1934, the hydrocyanic acid business was in cluded in the activities of the American Cvauaniid and Chemical Cor|>oration and the Owl Fumigating Corporation ceased to exist. Early in the twenties, hydrocyanic acid came into extensive use for sanitary and industrial fumigation. It was used for the fumigation of food products, cotton, to bacco, warehouses, mills, lxiats, railway cars and numerous other products and structures. The liquid hydrocyanic acid (*) lid. Note : The company teas named the Owl Fumigating Company because all the fumigating in those days was done at night. used for these purposes was ship|>ed in ICC cylinders by rail and by Ixtat to all parts of the country. There have been fluctuations in this type of business, but still each year many thousands of pounds of hydrocyanic acid are shipi>ed in cylin ders. CYANOGAS was first used as an i secticide in 1923. From that time down the present, Azusa has had an importa part in the development of its various ficlof use, such as citrus tree fumigation, sc fumigation for wireworms. vineyard dus iug for leaf-hop|iers and ground squirr control. Owing to the compactness < citrus tree plantings in Southern Cal fornia. and the relative ease of supplvin all citrus areas with liquid hydrocyan acid, CYANOGAS has found most of it usefulness as a citrus tree fumigant i other areas. Facts developed by exper mental work with CYANOGAS in South cm California provided the backgrouu for its successful use in other countrie where citrus trees are grown. The entomological laboratory at Azus has Iteen used extensively in the study o various insect pests and methods for con trolling them. Results of some of the in vestigations have been published in th< Journal of Economic Entomology and tb< California Citrograph. An entoniologica service regularly extended to our custom ers involves orchard checking and deter mination of insect mortality as the result of fumigation. The machine shop at Azusa is one of the most important units in the plant. Pumps and equipment for handling and applying hydrocyanic acid, and various Front Row--left to right: Kellogg Krebs, J. G. Patterson, P. J. Ronan, C. F. Bonnet, Middle Row: J. N. Stone, fV. D. Merrill, C. J. Kirkland; Top Row: A. F. Kirkpatrick, F. K. Howard, E. R. Hulbirt. 0221 MONTHLY NEWS iULLETIN Tog* 3 types of dusters for using CYANOGAS have been- developed in the shop. This equipment lias also been fabricated in the Azusa shop for use in California, and for similar use in Spain. South Africa, Australia and other countries. The shop also makes equipment for use in the mining industry, such as the Fagcrgren Flotation Machine ami the Clarkson Re agent Feeder. Within the past year, a new activity in the nature of service to oil wells in the process of drilling, has l>een developed at Azusa. This has involved laboratory work to acquire the necessary technical data, and sales service in the use of phosphates for mud conditioning during the drilling o|ierations. This activity has liven extended from California oil fields to oil fields in Texas and other states. Employers aI. I'lisa for JO yrnr.f Front Roto--left to ritilit: H. R. llulhirt, E. C. Mitchell. Otoctt Callahan, Mary C. Hart, J. /'. O'Xea'. Middle Roto: J. R. Evans, H. G. Rasmussen, C. D. Moon. Top Roto: W. C. Grant, P. /. Roman, IF. I. Rury. The Azusa Office is headquarters for sales of a wide variety of chemicals throughout the West and Pacific Coast States. This business is conducted under three main divisions: the Agricultural Chemicals Division which includes insec ticides and fertilizers, the Industrial Chemicals Division, and the Metallurgi cal Chemicals Division. At present, the activities in each of these three divisions arc varied and extensive. In 1920. hydro cyanic acid was the sole product handled at Azusa, and today it is still a very im portant item in the business, handled through the same office. In addition, cyanogas, cyanamid. phosphates, syn thetic resins and other chemicals for the paint and lacquer industry, cyanide and dotation reagents have all come to occupy important places in the business totals. W'hile hydrocyanic acid has been and still remains the main product of manu facture at Azusa, facilities have been added for making other products. Most important of these at the present time are some of the Acrofloat Reagents. The original personnel of the Owl Fu migating CortKiration in 1920 comprised twenty iiersons, and of that original group eleven are still in active service. With gradually increasing activities, the number of employees has been enlarged to ap proximately seventy-five at present. The initiative- and efforts of the Azusa em ployees have liecu successful in develop ing new and profitable uses for American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation products. From a single chemical product used for one specific purpose in 1920, Azusa activities have expanded to include many phases of chemical industry and the application of a large mimlicr of chemical products. WINNER OF SLOGAN CONTEST IS ANNOUNCED Dr. James H. Williams of the Patent & Abstract Dciiartnicnt at Stamford won first award in the re cently concluded Slogan Contest. "Molding The Future Thru Chem istry" was the prize-winning effort, and, as all will admit, it is a vivid and catchy phrase. For his efforts, Dr. Williams will receive a Schick electric razor, encased in BEETLE, the same rmxlcl which recently won a top award in the annual Modern Plastics Show. in addition, the judges decided to give BEETLE encased electric clocks to three individuals who sub mitted slogans which received Hon orable Mention. The fortunate three are: Eugene J. Adams of Charlotte, and Miss Beula Baer and Richard Glenn, both of the New York Office. In appreciation for the spirit of c(x>i>eration shown, all those who entered the contest will be given Zephyr Autodexcs, also made from BEETLE plastics. The Bi'M-ettv wishes to thank the contributors for the replies received and hopes the prizes will be enjoyed by all. Congratulations, again, Dr. Williams! IT IS MOVING DAY IN THE NEW YORK OFFICE Mr. J. H. Morrison, our office manager, will l>c very glad when it is all over. Mov ing a great num!>er of desks and various tyjies of office equipment to different loca tions, planning for new partitions and floor layouts, combatting painters' strikes while running into a shortage of office supplies due to the tremendous increase in govern ment and industrial office expansion, etc., is no small task. However, at the date this Bulletin ap pears, the smoke should have blown away, and the "all dear" signal given. When it docs, the New York Office will not recog nize itself, as changes have been made on each floor. In the interest of better working condi tions and also to allow for future expan sion. many departments have been moved bodily from former locations. The biggest shift was taking the Chemical Construc tion Corporation up to the 62nd floor from the 61st. Other departments feeling the force of the upheaval included the A. C. & C. Sales, Legal, File, Production, Min ing, Budget and Technical Departments, the Structural Gypsum and Beetle Prod ucts Divisions, and part of the Ledcrle office on the 61st floor. Also, Calco's New York Sales Office on West Street will be moved to the R. C. A. Building--to the 62nd floor, where, we hope, they will be very happy. Aside from moving the degiartments named, many individuals have lieen trans ferred to new offices, among them, Messrs. Dinkins, Banks, Lowery, Coolidge, MacAdam, Eastman, and Drs. Beard, Jaeger, Daniels, Hamblin, Mayor and many others. For further information, we refer you to Mr. Morrison. But if you should receive a stony glare, don't say we did not warn you! MISSPELLING If there is any reader of the Bulletin who has not discovered that MEI.AMAC, our new resin made from Melamine, was not sjielled correctly in the September Uiq.i.F.TtN, let him be so advised. In fact, the mistake was repeated six times, which fact makes us six times as apologetic as we would normally feel. Congratulations, Organic Sales Depart ment. every last man of which called to the attention of the editor the truism that six wrongs do not make a right. 0222