Aerial view shows progress being made on new construction for the St. Regis Paper Company in September, 1950. Established as a company in 1899, St. Regis was open for business in Tacoma in 1928. Rebuilt and modernized in 1936, St. Regis bought additional acreage from the St. Paul Tacoma Lumber Company in 1947 to add a paper mill and multi wall bag plant. According to the St. Regis 1950 annual report, Tacoma's expansion of their pulp mill would enlarge the pulp capacity from 115,000 to 135,000 tons a year. The new capacity will be in production in 1951.

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960; Progress photographs--1950-1960; Aerial photographs;

Stand-by crane at St. Regis. This crane, manufactured by Ederer Engineering in Seattle, is able to move loads up and down nearly two stories inside this tall building along a horizontal trolly near the roof line of the building.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

St. Regis Paper Company was undergoing constant expansion at its Portland Avenue plant; in this August, 1951, photograph, new building forms are placed on brick stands. In recent years St. Regis had expanded their kraft paper operations and was to add a multiwall bag plant. They had installed a 6.5 million dollar paper mill and machine to increase their product offerings beyond pulp. The paper machine was the first entirely designed and engineered by the company; it was to eventually produce more than 80,000 tons of paper and paperboard a year.

Progress photographs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

This view of an open electrical control panel was taken in August, 1951, at the St. Regis Paper Company. New construction was continuing at the Portland Avenue plant as the piles of dirt and trash indicates. A new multiwall bag plant was completed in 1952; it was equipped to produce a full range of bags with six production lines. The new plant also had its own printing presses and a complete art and engraving department.

Progress photographs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Construction continues on new buildings at the St. Regis Paper Company on Portland Avenue. Still in its early stages in August, 1951, the new buildings have been mapped out with low walls but as the mounds of dirt indicate, no flooring is in place. St. Regis was nearing completion of its eight year expansion plan; this structure is probably the multiwall bag plant which was completed in 1952. Anticipated to add an additional 400 workers to the St. Regis payroll, the new plant, constructed of steel and concrete, would be used for the production of industrial-use bags for cement, fertilizer, and other heavy-duty items. Hooker Electrochemical's tank cars can be seen in the background close to the St. Regis water tower.

Progress photographs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Logs from the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company could be easily transported via railroad to the St. Regis Paper Company for pulp and paper operations. Both companies were rapidly expanding due to high demand for their products. View of construction materials placed near the St. Regis water tower and railroad tracks; for several years in the late 40's and early 50's, St. Regis underwent massive expansion with the construction of a multi-wall bag plant and kraft paper facilities. St. Regis operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week and total expenditures in 1951 would total nearly ten million dollars.

Progress photographs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Another machine, a large roller type machine, is used to strip bark from logs at the St. Regis Paper plant. At the end of 1951, St. Regis reached a point where it was able to supply from its own operations virtually all of the sulphate pulp requirements, both bleached and unbleached, of its kraft paper mills. St. Regis had been experimenting at its Tacoma mill in manufacturing kraft pulp from clean waste wood chips and in 1951 was making use of this material on a considerable scale in production. (St. Regis Paper Co. 1951 Annual Report)

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mechanical systems--Tacoma; Machinery; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

Two men are at work at a barking machine at the St. Regis Paper Company. One man is checking the logs while the other handles the controls. The pulp mill at Tacoma was being expanded in 1950 and was expected to be completed in 1951. During 1950 St. Regis was preparing to participate in the national defense program by supplying its regular products in larger quantities for many uses related directly or indirectly to military preparations. Multi-wall bags were used for shipment of essential materials. St. Regis bags had a greater value overseas because of special papers developed to resist moisture and contamination, such as polyethylene-coated kraft paper, for which production capacity was tripled in 1940. (1950 St. Regis Paper Co. Annual Report)

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mechanical systems--Tacoma; Machinery; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

An elevated view of the hydraulic barking process in the wood room at the St. Regis Paper plant shows unbarked logs in the background just received from the log storage pond. Logs then pass through the hydraulic barker under 1,400-pound pressure from jets of water stripping the logs in a matter of seconds. A man is seen near the center of the photograph using a tool to remove a rough spot from the log where a limb protruded. The cleanly barked logs will move on at once to the chipper where the log will be cut into chips 3/4 inch long and 1/8 inch thick, ready to be put into digesters. (TNT, 2/17/1952; St. Regis Paper Co. 1951 Annual Report)

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mechanical systems--Tacoma; Machinery; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

A driver is leaning on the cab of a truck from Veneer Chip Transport waiting his turn to unload chips at St. Regis Paper Company's new chip receiving station, completed in 1951. In Tacoma's fiber conservation program, an increasing percentage of the sulphate pulp is manufactured from chips made out of waste wood formerly burned at local wood-using plants. A big 12-ton hoist is upending the detached carrier bed of another truck at a 58 degree tilt to unload wood chips quickly. This equipment unloads three cars an hour. (St. Regis Paper Co. 1951 Annual Report)

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Veneer Chip Transport (Tacoma);

A view of trucks and the 12-ton hoist used to dump full loads of wood chips at the St. Regis Paper plant. The chips flow by gravity onto a conveyor belt into piles that stand 60 feet into the air by means of an elaborate four-way pneumatic system. Moving the mountains of chips had been systemized into a push-button operation to deliver chips onto the correct pile according to species of wood, pine, white fir, hemlock or Douglas fir.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Veneer Chip Transport (Tacoma);

This elevated view of the St. Regis Paper Company yard shows the drive for trucks bringing wood chips to the pulp and paper mill at the mouth of the Puyallup River. A truck pulling a loaded trailer is seen at the left while a truck cab is seen backed up to a tall crane lifting a trailer to empty the chips into a chute. A truck cab pulling an empty trailer can be seen leaving the area in the middle of the photograph. Large silos (there are seven all together) seen on the right store wood ships for St. Regis' hungry pulp mill. Chips are transferred to the silos from outdoor piles before they go the digester.

Paper industry--Tacoma; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Conveyor link belt at St. Regis Paper Company. Link Belt Company. Long conveyor containing wood chips.

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Conveying systems--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Aerial photograph to show the steel work on a new building at St. Regis, Tacoma. Construction of a bag plant at the St. Regis Paper company started in June 1951 with the driving of piling as the first step. The addition was built of steel and concrete and would be used for the production of industrial-use bags for cement, fertilizer and other materials needing heavy-duty holders. When completed, this plant would replace the leased plant at Seattle. (TNT 6/15/1951; St. Regis Paper Company 1951 Annual Report)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Progress photographs; Building construction--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aerial photographs; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Construction of the new building for the Combustion Engineering Company furnace at St. Regis Paper Company. Six stories high, it was built in conjunction with a copper electric precipitator, had a capacity of 225 tons, and was to be completed by the middle of April. This was part of the continuing eight-year expansion program started by St. Regis in 1945. When St. Regis took over the Union Paper Company in 1936, the mill was producing 150 tons a day. In 1952 St. Regis produced 400 tons of brown sulphate pulp per day. (TNT, 2/17/1952, p.C-14)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An aerial view of the new multiwall bag plant at St. Regis. The plant was completely equipped to produce a full range of multiwall bags. Equipment included six production lines, three printing presses, a complete art and engraving department and auxiliary equipment. This plant replaced a leased plant in Seattle. (TNT, 10/19/1952)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Aerial photographs; Mills--Tacoma--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An aerial view on February 16, 1952, showing the new multiwall bag plant at St. Regis. St. Regis also had other bag plants on the Pacific Coast at Los Angeles and San Leandro, California. The company also maintained complete engineering and service facilities for automatic bag filling equipment, including a machine shop at Los Angeles, and packer sales and engineering offices at San Francisco and Seattle. The company was self-contained on the west coast. (TNT, 10/19/1952)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Aerial photographs; Mills--Tacoma--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An aerial view of the new multiwall bag plant at St. Regis. The expansion of the bag plant facilities by St. Regis reflected the continuing trend of industry and agriculture to use the multiwall shipping sack. It was estimated that approximately 2 1/2 billion multiwall bags were used in 1951 for all types of products, compared with less than half a billion in 1938. The multiwall bag came into general use as an industrial container in the mid 1920's and was used for packaging cement and other rock products. Shortly thereafter is was adopted by the sugar industry. (TNT, 10/19/1952)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Aerial photographs; Mills--Tacoma--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The new bag multiwall plant at St. Regis. St. Regis was proud of being identified with the development of wood conservation methods in the Northwest. The Tacoma mill began experimenting with the utilization of chips cut from debarked wood slabs from sawmills and other wood using industries in their manufacture of kraft pulp. Wood chips were purchased on long-term contracts in the immediate vicinity which reduced the waste from sawmills, sash and door factories and plywood mills that had previously been burned. (TNT, 10/19/1952)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An engineer works on machinery, a paper "tensiometer," at the St. Regis Paper Co., Kraft pulp division. The equipment has been "locked out" with a key, so that it can not be started while the engineer is working. The two year old paper machine was approximately a block long. In 1952, St. Regis produced 400 tons of unbleached pulp per day. 160 of those tons were bleached and made into dried heavy sheets & placed together into 400 lb. bales, put into boxcars & shipped to other mills or the open market. The remaining 240 tons was used to make multiwalled bags in the company's bag plant or wrapping paper. Picture taken for General Electric Supply, Apparatus Department.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mechanical systems--Tacoma; Machinery; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

New Swenson evaporators and connecting tubes, stairways to different levels at St. Regis. "Black Liquor" was the substance that was left after the chemical "cooking" process that removed sap and pitch from the cellulose fiber. The evaporator evaporated the water content from the liquor to the point of 52% solids. The liquor was sent to furnaces where it burned like oil, and the chemicals not used in the "cooking process" were recovered. (TNT 2-17-1952, pg. C-14)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Two Swenson evaporators and pipes at St. Regis. The molten substance left after the "Black Liquor" burns through the furnace is called "Green Liquor." The green liquor is sent to the caustic department, where the insoluble matter settles out, also the calcium carbonate, and a clear white liquor is made. This liquor is the original one used in the "cooking process" to separate sap & pitch from cellulose fibers and the recovery and recycling is complete. (TNT 2-17-1952, pg. C-14)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Interior exposure of gauges for the new Swenson Evaporator Co. installations at St. Regis Paper Co. Tacoma. An 8 year expansion program for the company was to be completed in 1952. Part of this program was focused on recycling and reusing processing elements in an efficient manner. The Evaporator was used to recover chemicals used. (TNT 2-17-1952, pg. C-14)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Interiors at St. Regis Tacoma plant for 1952 Annual Report showing a recovery boiler. A major expansion program completed in 1952 increased the company's production capacity. St. Regis products made in Tacoma included sulphate pulp, kraft paper and board and multiwall bags. Products made in their other plants also included printing and publications papers and industrial and decorative plastics. A forerunner in conservation and recycling, Kaiser operated an efficient plant and originated the use of wood chips and ends in the paper process.

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An aerial view of St. Regis Paper Company plant showing the completed multi-wall bag plant (with the dark roof dotted with vents) and the narrow kraft-paper mill.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

An aerial view of St. Regis Paper Company. Logs would be pulled up the ramp in the foreground from the log pond into the woodroom in the building close to the edge of Commencement Bay. TPL-5903

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

An aerial view of St. Regis Paper Company's completed multi-wall bag plant in the foreground with white walls, dark roof and small white chimneys dotting the roof.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

An aerial view of St. Regis plant showing the company's new multi-wall bag plant on the right. The narrow building behind it is the kraft-pulp division. The plant is located on the Tacoma tideflats at the end of the land between the Puyallup Waterway and St. Paul Waterway. Log booms are tied together off the end of the property.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

Koppers Precipitator at St. Regis Paper Co. Interior of building with brick wall with several round tanks of various sizes on top with pipes and valves coming out - some marked "danger-high voltage." St. Regis completed an eight year expansion and improvement program in 1952. Included in that program was the construction of a new combustion engineering company furnace. The six story high furnace had a capacity of 225 tons and was built in conjunction with the Koppers electric precipitator. The precipitator collected odor bearing particles before they escaped the chimney into the air thus reducing pollution and odor. (TNT 2-17-1952, pg. C-14)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exterior shot of new Recovery Building at St. Regis Paper Company. This new building housed the six story high combustion furnace and the Koppers electric precipitator. The precipitator collected odor bearing particles before they could escape the chimney into the open air. This was part of the company's program to reduce odor caused by the chemical processes of producing pulp. (TNT 2-17-1952, pg. C-14)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;