Paper quality control testing at R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. Two technicians in white lab coats perform tests on samples. The man on the right, hands on the controls of the meter, is measuring a quality of the paper square weighted down by the cylinder. The technician on the left is weighing a substance in a glass bottle. Both men jot down their findings in the open ledgers beside them. Photographs ordered by Malcolm McGhie.
R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960; Product inspection--Longview; Testing--Longview;
Pulp manufacturing machinery at R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie. Two building engineers work on a piece of machinery. Modern paper machines can produce hundreds of tons of paper each day. Approximately 15 % of our national supply of pulp is manufactured in Oregon and Washington.
R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960;
Pulp manufacturing machinery at R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie. Vats of pulp dwarf the worker at the bottom center of the picture. The pulp fiber, after being extracted from the wood by a chemical process, is about 99 per cent water. The water is removed by pressure and suction being applied to the mixture. The resulting sheet then moves on to the drying machine.
R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960;
Pulp manufacturing machinery at R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie. This picture shows a paper machine. When the pulp mixture arrives at the paper machine headbox, its water content is over 99%. The mixture is sent under pressure onto an immense moving canvas. The action of the canvas and a suction system extract most of the water in the pulp and form a sheet. The sheet then moves onto the drying section where it comes in contact with steam heated cylinders that dry it to the desired degree.
R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--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;
St. Regis Paper Co. at night with lighted Christmas display on top of building. Union Oil and its tanks with the famous 76 logo are in the right foreground on the City (now Foss) Waterway.
Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Christmas decorations; Union Oil Co. of California (Tacoma);
Seven men and women are operating machinery at St. Regis Paper Company's new bag plant. Rolls of brown paper are seen on the far right. The paper is fed into folding machines which eject the multiple-layer tubes onto a conveyor belt on the left. Here women are removing and stacking the brown paper tubes ready for the next operation in completing the bags, sewing the ends closed.
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Three men, employees of St. Regis Paper Co., stand before part of the company's Mineral-Morton tree operations, in this July, 1962, photograph. The man in the center is G. Boyce Wadsworth who would retire in the mid-80s as Logging Superintendent and the man on the far right is believed to be Robert L. Martin, St. Regis' logging and forestry manager. A snow-capped Mount Rainier looms in the background. Logs harvested from this area would be sent to Tacoma for processing. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant, New York. (Wadsworth identification supplied by viewer)
Forests; Firs; Mountains--Washington--1960-1970; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral); Wadsworth, G. Boyce;
Truck #520 is loaded with logs and on its way to St. Regis' Tacoma plant in July, 1962. The harvested logs were taken from the company's tree farms in the Mineral-Morton area. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant, New York. This picture was used in the St. Regis Paper Co.'s 1962 Annual Report. (1962 St. Regis Paper Co. Annual Report, p. 25)
Trucks--1960-1970; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
Log stacker in action at St. Regis dry-land log-sorting and storage yard, November, 1965. 1965 saw the completion of several modernization projects for St. Regis Paper Co. A 15-acre log-sorting and storage yard was established on part of 35-acres newly created by the filling in of a saltwater log pond. This would prove to be more efficient than log ponds and booming grounds. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant, New York. (1965 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 12-13)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Logs; Hoisting machinery;
August, 1960, progress photographs of St. Regis Paper Co. mill ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant, New York. View of portion of St. Regis Paper Co. plant in the Tideflats including stacks of logs piled adjacent to railroad tracks. Cylinder-shaped structure is probably the new continuous digester which was expected to increase capacity by 325 tons per day. The tower is 110 feet high. Capital expenditures for 1960 & 1961 included $20,893,881 for the Kraft mill expansion of St. Regis' Tacoma plant. This amount, by far, was the highest budgeted for those years and accounted for over one-third of the money planned for new construction and plant improvement. The addition to the Tacoma mill was made to permit St. Regis to furnish a larger part of the needs of the company's own box plants and bag factories in the western and midwest states. (1960 Annual report, p. 3, 6, TNT 11-13-60, A-18)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Progress photographs; Logs; Machinery;
View of enlarged machine room in the St. Regis Paper Co.'s kraft paper and board mill on November 28, 1960. This progress photograph was taken on behalf of Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant from New York City, for possible use in St. Regis' 1960 Annual report. A new paper machine was being erected in 1960 which would increase and diversify Tacoma's paper and board capacity. (St. Regis 1960 Annual Report, p. 7)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Progress photographs; Machinery;
An employee of St. Regis Paper Co. is shown on January 18, 1967, turning the knobs on a new IBM 360 computer system at the firm's data-processing center. She is using an IBM instructional manual. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant, New York.
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Paper industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Computers; Office workers--Tacoma--1960-1970;
October, 1967, scenes from Potlatch Forest Industries' Lewiston, Idaho, plant. Potlatch workers spread thin sheets of plywood onto an enormous round table. Carts containing more plywood encircle the table. A veneer dryer is situated near the right wall of the plant. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant, New York, for Potlatch Forest Industries' 1967 annual report.
Potlatch Forests, Inc. (Lewiston, ID); Paper industry--Idaho--1960-1970; Lumber industry--Idaho--1960-1970; Plywood;
ca. 1961. A Hyster lift truck loads lumber for shipment at the Klickitat, Washington, sawmill. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway car is nearly full. The St. Regis Klickitat mill produces ponderosa pine exclusively. Ponderosa pine was an extremely versatile softwood, noted for its smoothness and fine appearance. It was used for millwork, interior finish, and residential and light commercial buildings. This picture was used in the 1961 St. Regis annual report. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant. (1961 St. Regis Annual Report, p. 20)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Klickitat); Lumber industry--Klickitat; Railroad freight cars--Klickitat;
1936 Daily operations at St. Regis. Although the specific St. Regis plant was not identified by the photographer, this was probably the Tacoma St. Regis located at 801 Portland Ave. Various sections of the facility and its machinery were photographed in a two-day period in December of 1936 by the Boland studios. The machine above may have been used to dry pulp since steam is shown rising from the rear roller. A million dollars had been spent to transform the Tacoma plant into a modern facility so that production of 60,000 tons of bleached pulp per year could be achieved. G37.1-016 (T.Times 10-14-36, p. 5-article; T.Times 11-25-36, p. 5-article)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Machinery; Paper industry--1930-1940; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Mills--Tacoma--1930-1940;
1936 Daily operations at St. Regis. View of large funnels and other unidentified machinery in photograph taken on December 21, 1936. Plant is believed to be the St. Regis Tacoma location, 801 Portland Ave. The Tacoma facility had recently undergone an expensive remodeling to be transformed into a modern plant where 60,000 tons of bleached pulp were expected to be produced a year. Over 800 men had been employed in the reconstruction process boosting St. Regis' payroll to $15,000 a week. Much new machinery was purchased including electric saws and machines to bark logs. By late November of 1936, the Tacoma St. Regis had commenced operations with a crew of 250. A bleaching unit would be ready in three months. (T.Times 10-14-36, p. 5-article; T. Times 11-25-36, p. 5-article)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Machinery; Paper industry--1930-1940; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Mills--Tacoma--1930-1940;
1936 daily operations at St. Regis. In late 1936 St. Regis Kraft Co.'s Tacoma plant began operating with a crew of 250 at its newly remodeled and modernized facility in the Tideflats. Boland studios paid visits to the pulp plant on December 21-22, 1936, to photograph the new interiors including machinery. Here two unidentified St. Regis employees focus their attention of one of the new machines. G37.1-048 (T.Times 10-14-36, p. 5-article; T. Times 11-25-36, p. 5-article)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Paper industry--1930-1940; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Mills--Tacoma--1930-1940; Machinery;
1936 daily operations at St. Regis. The Tacoma St. Regis underwent expansion and modernization of its facility in the Tideflats during most of 1936. New machinery was brought in as the demand for bleached pulp grew. By the end of November of that year, the pulp plant had started operating with an initial crew of 250. Eventually the plant would run continuously on a 24-hour schedule with four staggered shifts of eight hours and provide employment for many Tacomans. (T.Times 10-14-36, p. 5-article; T. Times 11-25-36, p. 5-article)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Paper industry--1930-1940; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Mills--Tacoma--1930-1940; Machinery;
Unidentified equipment at St. Regis. St. Regis Kraft in Tacoma had undergone a $1,000,000 modernization project so that the company could move into bleached pulp production. New machinery was purchased and the site expanded. The purpose of the tall structure shown above was not provided; each row had six concrete or metal handles. G37.1-027
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma); Paper industry--1930-1940; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Mills--Tacoma--1930-1940; Equipment;
Reconstruction and expansion of the St. Regis Kraft facility in the Tideflats was nearly completed in late December of 1936. The company had spent $1,000,000, a tidy sum in the Depression years, to update their large pulp plant to handle the production of bleached pulp. New machinery was purchased to deal with 25,000 short logs per hour, including electric saws to cut the logs into irregular-shaped chunks and machines to bark the logs before going to regular pulp chippers. The bleaching unit would be ready in early 1937. G34.1-104 (T.Times 10-14-36, p. 5-article; T.Times 11-25-36, p. 5-article)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma); Paper industry--1930-1940; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Mills--Tacoma--1930-1940;
Huge sheets of bleached pulp are being manufactured at the Tacoma St. Regis Kraft plant in February of 1937. The plant had recently reopened a few months ago after much remodeling and expansion. St. Regis was moving into the growing bleached pulp business. According to the Tacoma Times, five million board feet of giant hemlock logs were chewed into chips every month and converted into pulp to be used in the manufacture of paper. This meant that the Tacoma plant produced 150 tons of pulp daily; the whole process from sawing logs to chipping to cooking with chemicals, washed and dried and finally baling took about six hours. St. Regis Kraft was a wholly owned subsidiary of the St. Regis Paper Co. Pulp from Tacoma supplied the eastern paper mills of the St. Regis Paper Co. as well as being exported to foreign countries, including Japan. G37.1-061 (T.Times 1-27-37, p. 1, 5-articles on St. Regis)
St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Paper industry--1930-1940; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Mills--Tacoma--1930-1940; Machinery;
St. Regis Paper Company (Kraft Pulp Division) workers, overaged destroyer to be sunk in Commencement Bay for breakwater to protect St. Regis wharf. (T. Times)
Paper industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Scuttling of warships--United States;
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;
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;
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;
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;
