Link Belt equipment at St. Regis. The large rolls of paper are moved by a conveyer belt arrangement made up of lots of little rollers. It appears that the rolls of paper are rolled onto the belt when flat. The belt then uprights the paper and transports it. One man operates the machinery, while another stands to the rear with 2 more rolls of paper for loading.
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
ca. 1955. Views of the Riegel Carolina Paper & Pulp Co. in Acme, North Carolina, were shot on behalf of the Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Seattle, in possibly the latter part of 1955. This picture shows the exterior of a brick building next to two tall storage tanks. There is an extended ramp leading from the building; apparently carts or containers could be loaded onto the ramp for easy access to and from the building. Photograph ordered by Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co.
ca. 1955. Two tall brick storage tanks appear as stark monoliths against the hazy blue skies in Acme, North Carolina. These were part of the Riegel Carolina Paper Co.'s plant. Railroad cars are in the photo's background; Riegel Paper apparently had easy rail access for transporting their paper products. Photograph ordered by Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Seattle.
Birchfield Boiler; heat exchanger and casing. This huge condenser is one of a pair manufactured by Birchfield Boiler for the St. Regis Paper and Pulp plant. The condenser is used to recover waste heat from pulp digesters. Because they come in contact with corrosive substances, the tubes are stainless steel. There are 1184 of them, more than 3 1/2 miles of tubing in each unit. The shells and ends are made of 1 1/2 inch steel plate. Each condenser was valued at $25,000. (TNT 3/13/1955, pg. B-17)
Birchfield Boiler, Inc. (Tacoma); Boilers; Boiler industry--Tacoma; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
This huge condenser was one of a pair fabricated in the Birchfield Boiler shops, at 2503 E. 11th St., for installation in the St. Regis plant. Each condenser, the largest ever built in Tacoma and among the largest built in the Northwest, weighed more than 15 tons. They were manufactured of stainless steel and were 22 feet long and 6 feet high. Each was valued at $25,000. The condensers were used to recover waste heat from the pulp digesters. (TNT 3/13/1955, pg. B-17)
Birchfield Boiler, Inc. (Tacoma); Boilers; Boiler industry--Tacoma; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
In July of 1954 two Blake, Moffitt & Towne delivery trucks were photographed while being loaded with paper products in the company's new warehouse at 1157 Thorne Road. The new building had wooden ramps that made it possible for the trucks to back into the loading area, under cover and out of the wind and weather. Blake, Moffitt & Towne, one of the oldest paper and stationary companies on the west coast, opened in Tacoma in 1943 when they took over the Tacoma Paper Company. The Tacoma division was one of sixteen units the company maintained in six western states. They closed their warehouse in Tacoma around 1971. (TNT 7-18-54, C-15)
Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Warehouses--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Interior of warehouse. Blake, Moffitt & Towne was a local distributor of printing paper, wrapping paper and stationery. The company's headquarters were in San Francisco; the Tacoma office was established in 1910. In 1954, Blake, Moffitt & Towne moved to new and more spacious facilities on Thorne Rd. in the Tideflats area. Warehouse operations were mechanized and palletized. View of interior of company warehouse showing employees at work on various machinery, shelves and open cabinets full of paper products; photograph taken on July 19, 1954. (TNT 7-18-54, C-15)
Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Warehouses--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Exterior of Blake, Moffitt & Towne building. By June, 1954, the Blake, Moffitt & Towne Co. had moved to its new location of 1157 Thorne Rd. in the Tideflats area. The business was now close to E. 11th and the Port of Tacoma Road; railroad tracks shown in the above picture indicated that their products could be conveniently shipped either by rail as well as by truck. The building would encompass 40,000 square feet for warehouse and office space. It was built on a 3 1/2 acre tract to allow for plenty of customer parking as well as possible future expansion. Blake, Moffitt & Towne were wholesale distributors of printing and wrapping paper and stationery and were formerly located on Jefferson Avenue. Arthur W. Towne was listed in the 1954 City Directory as president with Lyman V. Hall as Vice-president/Manager and Richard A. Meyer as Secretary Treasurer/Office Manager. (TNT 7-18-54, C-15)
Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad tracks--Tacoma--1950-1960;
An aerial photograph taken in April, 1954, shows smoke billowing from the St. Regis Paper Co. facilities on the tideflats. The wide building to the right is the company's multi-wall bag plant built a few years prior; the narrow building to its rear is the kraft-pulp division. Logs are massed together in the log dump nearby.
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma; Logs; Aerial photographs;
ca. 1953. Riegel Carolina Paper & Pulp Mill, Acme, N. Carolina. Ordered by General Electric. Mountains of timber piled up for processing into paper and pulp. What appears to be a long conveyer belt carries the timber into the mill. Hoisting machinery available for lifting the timber onto the belt.
ca. 1953. Riegel Carolina Paper & Pulp Mill, Acme, N. Carolina. Ordered by General Electric. Industrial lights illuminate the plant in this nighttime portrait.
Interior of St. Regis plant. The kraft and pulp mill in Jacksonville, Florida, started production in January, 1953. Corrugating and liner boards were part of its output. Skilled workers were needed to run and maintain the equipment; an employee is photographed in July, 1953, possibly oiling a piece of machinery. Huge cylinder-shaped structures, possibly holding tanks, surround the worker. Photograph ordered by Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co.
St. Regis Paper Co. (Jacksonville, Fl.)--1950-1960; Industrial facilities--Jacksonville--1950-1960;
Two enormous storage tanks, made of brick and concrete, were part of the Jacksonville, Florida, St. Regis Paper Co. plant in 1953. These tanks could have held chips or pulp. The Jacksonville kraft and pulp mill would undergo expansion, to be completed in 1957, to include a 1000-ton board machine which manufactured kraft board for the corrugated shipping container market. The enlarged mill would have more than four times as much pulp capacity as was originally built. Photograph ordered by the Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co. (1955 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 10)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Jacksonville, Fl.)--1950-1960; Industrial facilities--Jacksonville--1950-1960; Storage tanks;
Interior of Florida St. Regis plant. A huge metallic duct connects to a Worthington machine inside the Jacksonville, Florida, St. Regis Paper Co. facility. Brick walls and tanks are in the background. The Jacksonville kraft and pulp mill began to operate in January, 1953. It soon added to St. Regis' total kraft paper and board production which totaled 486,000 tons in 1953. This was a 38% increase over the previous year. Photograph ordered by Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co. (1953 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 10)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Jacksonville, Fl.)--1950-1960; Industrial facilities--Jacksonville--1950-1960; Machinery;
Exterior view of Florida St. Regis plant. The above photograph was probably taken at either the Jacksonville, Florida, or Pensacola St. Regis Paper Co. plant in July, 1953. Long, covered connected tunnels were possibly conveyors of chips or pulp. They were situated high above the ground on rails supported by towers. Piles of logs are glimpsed in the background. Photograph ordered by Link-Belt Co.
St. Regis Paper Co.; Paper industry; Link-Belt Co.;
The "Seaboard" pulls up next to a St. Regis Paper Co. plant, possibly located in Tacoma, in July, 1953. #1733 apparently has several tanks in tow. There are additional tanks, sans train, on an adjacent track. Photograph ordered by Johns-Manville Sales Corporation.
Exterior of industrial facilities. This is possibly the Tacoma location of St. Regis Paper Co. in a photograph taken on July 3, 1953. The multi-storied buildings appear to have siding rather than brick or concrete block. The photograph, one of several, was taken at the request of the Johns-Manville Sales Corporation which sold asbestos products. It is possible that the siding on the buildings had an asbestos content.
Johns-Manville Sales Corp.; St. Regis Paper Co.; Industrial facilities;
This exterior view of a St. Regis Paper Co. plant, possibly Tacoma's, was taken on July 3, 1953, at the request of the Johns-Manville Sales Corporation. Johns-Manville handled asbestos products; it could be that the exterior of the building has asbestos siding. Johns-Manville's Tacoma office was located at 680 E. 11th St. in the Tideflats area; they were a nationwide company established in the mid-1850's.
Johns-Manville Sales Corp.; St. Regis Paper Co.; Industrial facilities;
Exterior view of St. Regis Paper Co. plant. This is possibly the Tacoma St. Regis plant in a photograph taken in early July, 1953. The Tacoma mill continued to supply the ever-growing pulp market with its bleached kraft pulp which had a well-deserved reputation for quality and strength. In addition, it shipped a limited quantity of unbleached kraft pulp. Photograph ordered by Johns-Manville Sales Corporation. (1953 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 11)
St. Regis Paper Co.; Paper industry; Industrial facilities; Johns-Manville Sales Corp.;
A Link Belt unit on wheels with Yale Spur Geared Block is being maneuvered by two employees of St. Regis Paper Co. on June 27, 1953. Each is holding onto the chains that suspend the long roller. Photograph ordered by Yale & Towne Mfg. Co.
A shirtless St. Regis Paper Co. employee clenches his gloved fists around the link belts dangling from the Yale Spur Geared Block while his co-worker stands to the rear keeping an eye on the chains. Although the men are wearing gloves and possibly steel-toed shoes, no other safety equipment appears present. Photograph was ordered by Yale & Towne Mfg. Co. and taken on June 27, 1953.
ca. 1953. Close-up view of holding tanks at St. Regis; photograph probably taken in 1953. These tanks appear to be inter-connected with metal pipes leading from one tank to another. They may have contained pulp which would be pumped either to a plant to be bleached, to the paper mill to be made into paper or converted into pulp sheets. In another instance, the tanks might also have contained the black liquor which is removed from the pulp after much washing. Photograph ordered by IMPCO. (TNT 2-17-52, C-11)
Overhead view of interior of St. Regis plant. Two St. Regis Paper Co. employees appear dwarfed by massive machinery in a July 29, 1953, photograph. One man is standing behind a metallic stand of gauges, handles, and knobs which apparently control the large rolls from the paper machine. There are other instrument panels positioned nearby; they may have been made by the General Electric Co. Photograph ordered by the General Electric Co.
General Electric Co.; St. Regis Paper Co.; Machinery;
A long hose connected to a large storage tank has its opposite end disappear into a NYC railroad car in a June, 1953, photograph. It was taken at a St. Regis Paper Co. plant, possibly the Tacoma location. Photograph ordered by the Fuller Co., Mr. R.A. Hawk.
St. Regis Paper Co.; Storage tanks; Hoses; Railroad cars;
The Jacksonville, Florida, mill owned by St. Regis Paper Co. started up production in January, 1953. Its output included a large tonnage of corrugating and liner boards. The sole paper machine there was being modified to also produce lightweight kraft papers in addition to heavy boards. View of pulpwood storage yard and duplicate barking drums at the new kraft mill in a June 27, 1953, photograph. This photo, cropped, was used in the 1953 St. Regis Annual Report. This barking plant handled up to 650 cords per day of southern pine logs which were consumed by the mill in producing 300-400 tons of kraft paper or board per day. (1953 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 10-11)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Jacksonville, Fl.)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Jacksonville--1950-1960; Logs;
Interior view of St. Regis. This photograph, taken on July 3, 1953, is probably the interior of the Tacoma St. Regis plant. Production in the pulp and paper industry, of which St. Regis was a major player, hit a new high of over 26 million tons of paper and paperboard during 1953. St. Regis' mills and plants nationwide operated at or near full capacity. Sales increased 10% over 1952. Photograph ordered by Ederer Engineering Co. of Seattle, manufacturers of cranes and hoisting machinery. One of their cranes is apparently being readied to be utilized in moving large roll of possibly kraft paper. (1953 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 3)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery; Ederer Engineering Co. (Seattle);
A St. Regis Paper Co. employee carefully monitors the gauges on a Beloit Iron Works machine in the summer of 1953. Kraft paper is apparently being manufactured. This photograph was probably taken in one of St. Regis' southern plants, either Jacksonville or Pensacola, Florida. Photograph ordered by the Beloit Iron Works Co., Beloit, Wisconsin.
St. Regis Paper Co.; Paper industry; Machinery; Beloit Iron Works (Beloit, WI);
New improvements in technology are responsible for kraft and board machines that can operate at speeds up to 1500 feet per minute and can produce a sheet that can be trimmed to 212 inches in width. These high production machines helped St. Regis Paper Co. to increase total tonnage of kraft paper and boards, thereby solidifying its position as a dependable long-term source of these products to industry customers. View of interior of Florida St. Regis plant, either in Jacksonville or Pensacola. Photograph ordered by Beloit Iron Works, Beloit, Wisconsin. (1955 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 15)
St. Regis Paper Co.; Paper industry; Machinery; Beloit Iron Works (Beloit, WI);
Employees at St. Regis Paper Co. nationwide had varied assignments. This man appears to be scrutinizing sheets of pulp or paper at one of the Florida locations, either Pensacola or Jacksonville in July, 1953. Photograph ordered by Beloit Iron Works, Beloit, Wisconsin.
St. Regis Paper Co.; Paper industry; Beloit Iron Works (Beloit, WI);
A St. Regis Paper Co. employee sprays streams of water to clean large machinery used to manufacture kraft paper at one of the company's Florida locations, either Jacksonville or Pensacola, in July, 1953. Reflection of the plant's interior can be seen on the water's surface. Photograph ordered by Beloit Iron Works, Beloit, Wisconsin.
St. Regis Paper Co.; Paper industry; Machinery; Beloit Iron Works (Beloit, WI);
