Dismantling of the American Insulator Co. building

American Insulator building being dismantled

By Margaret Hopkins

Daily Record Correspondent

NEW FREEDOM -- Behind a barbed wire fence of Franklin Street, a demolition crew has spent more than a week dismantling one of the oldest businesses in southern York County.

A piece of New Freedom's history will disappear when the last brick from American Insulator Co. is carted off in three months.

The company, nearly 70 years old, was considered a pioneer in molded plastics. At its height, it was well-known nationwide for its custom molding and empolyed as many as 1,000 people, most from the surrounding area.

"There's hardly a person living in New Freedom that's been here a long time that either didn't work there or didn't have family working there," said Daniel Jesse Mays, who worked at American Insulator in the 1950's and whose father worked there more that 40 years.

But the future use of the property remains uncertain.

The property is owned by Franklin Center Corp., a group of nine businessmen from the New Freedom and Shrewsbury area.

"I talked to local businessmen in the area about the possibility of rehabilitating that area of the town," said Brady Terrell, president of Franklin Center Corp.

Mr. Terrell also is an owner of Main Tool, a company which made molds for AICO since 1967 and took a loss when AICO declared bankruptcy in 1986.

Although Franklin Center is paying the $350,000 cost of AICO's demolition, Mr. Terrell said his group was still not certain what will happen to the property.

"We saw an opportunity to purchase the property and clean it up, but we don't have specific plans yet," he said. "All of our efforts now are toward getting it properly leveled."

Nonetheless, he said he could envision a retail commercial enterprise, as the site has plenty of parking as well as access from four directions.

"But there's been no decision whether we'll go that way," he added.

American Insulator was established in 1916 by Emile Hemming in buildings located on 12 acres on both sides of the Codorus Creek.

Mr. Hemming, from Switzerland, introduced the idea of molding plastic parts through a compression process. These parts were heat resistant with a low conductivity for electricity and therefore good for insulation, hence, the company name.

Most of the plastic parts produced were just that -- pieces ranging from oven knobs and switch boxes to valve handles to wing tips on airplanes. They were produced for companies such as Black & Decker, Chrysler Corp., DuPont, Eastman Kodak, IBM and RCA.

"We almost never made anything that was marketed," said William Remphrey, a chemist at AICO for 35 years. "Most of what we made were parts of something else."

The company had an extensive apprenticeship program for tool and die makers. Like many, Mr. Mays learned his trade there in the 1950's. More than 100 men were trained in the program and at least 25 plastic or related operations in southern Pennsylvania can trace their roots to AICO, Mr. Mays said.

Not only did AICO train tool and die makers, but it also gave a hand to fledgling baseball players. Up until 1950, the company sponsored a semi-professional baseball team, often importing players from Baltimore and York.

"AICO gave men jobs because of their baseball skills," Mr. Mays said.

Despite being listed as the third largest plastic molder in America in 1951, the company started a decline which culminated in bankruptcy in 1985.

No one factor was responsible for the decline, Mr. Mays said, but he pointed out that companies for whom AICO produced plastics learned the processes and began to mold their own pieces.

In 1985, AICO filed for reorganization, but in May 1986 the bankruptcy court rejected the petition. The company closed its doors.

Franklin Center Corp. purchased the property at a private auction a short time later.