In this third column, I will continue my series on the old Whitehall Cement Company, presently Amrize. The material for this series were provided by Mr. William Hoffman, former Whitehall Cement chemist and plant manager.

The Whitehall Cement Company dates to 1898 when the original plant was constructed in Cementon. A rich deposit of cement rock between Coplay and Cementon was the impetus for the locations of several early cement plants. Three of the companies were the Coplay Cement Company founded by David O. Saylor in 1866, plant one of the Atlas Portland Cement Company and the United States Cement Company.

The United States mill was subsequently purchased and became the Whitehall Cement Company. The first Whitehall Cement Company ceased operations in 1907.

The company was reorganized in 1911 as the Whitehall Cement Manufacturing Company, and operations at the plant were resumed. A new quarry was opened, and extensive improvements and additions were made in the following years. The original plant was built on 66 acres of land.

The plant operated 20 kilns and was one of the first plants to convert from steam power to electricity. Four million bricks, 27,000 cubic yards of concrete and 1000 tons of structural iron work were used in the construction of the plant.

In 1953, the plant was enlarged and modernized to remain competitive. The old Whitehall Cement Company was owned by shareholders. The stock had a book value of $45.07 per share, and a dividend of $4 was paid out.

The plant had 346 employees. They produced 1,965,403 barrels of cement, a net income after all charges including taxes was $615,000. In 1960, the net income increased to $833,000.

The Whitehall Cement plant has had several owners over the years, including General Portland Cement Company, Lafarge, Holcim and today Amrize. Amrize is a leading producer of cement in the United States, with headquarters in Chicago. The century-old historic Cementon plant continues to produce quality cement for its many loyal customers.

We thank Mr. Hoffman for sharing his cement experiences and rare photographs for this series.

We will be back in two weeks. Keep reading!