WE of Allis-Chalmers. September 7, 1947. Pgs 2-4
“Two Million Dollar Expansion Begins at Pittsburgh Works”
Groundbreaking ceremonies in July for the new Columbus Plant at Pittsburgh Works officially opened a two million dollar expansion program there. The plan, which was announced by A-C President Walter Geist at the Board of Directors meeting in Pittsburgh in June, covers additions to present buildings and new machinery as well as the new plant.
This is expected to increase output by 50 percent and provide employment for several hundred more people. It is the largest improvement made at Pittsburgh Works since Allis-Chalmers bought the Pittsburgh Transformer Company in 1927.
Explaining the expansion program, President Walter Geist told Pittsburgh newspaper: “The utility industry is our big customer. They take the long-range view. They’re ordering equipment now for delivery in 1950….We need the production from an expanded plant. The demand for capital goods is going to be with us for a while.”
Since the groundbreaking ceremony, Pittsburgh employes have been able to watch the daily progress of the two steel frame buildings which are being constructed. Production and warehouse space will be provided in the larger which will have 96,000 square feet of floor area divided in five 50-foot aisles. the aisles will be about 400 feet long and will be serviced by overhead cranes.
The second building, an addition to the distribution transformer plant, will have a floor area of 8,000 square feet and will be used principally for shipping.
Further improvements will be made in other Pittsburgh Work plants. The flooring-over of a crane bay in Juniata Plant will increase machine shop facilities as well as make it possible to centralize power transformer coil winding. It will also mean increased production capacity for metering transformers and larger facilities for transformer development work, particularly in the distribution field.
In Manchester Plant, the power transformer erection shop, one complete aisle will be given over to a specialized production line for network and load center transformers, while increasing power transformer production generally.
The entire expansion program will increase Pittsburgh Works floor area by almost 40 percent. It now totals 308,000 square feet. Completion of the work is schedule for November 15th.
Austin M. Frederick 