Hemingray Glass Company

GLASS COMPANY

HAS FINE RECORD.

Hemingray Plant Has Operated

Continuously for Over

75 Years.

By E. M. Branigin.

For over three-quarters of a century the Hemingray Glass Company has been in continuous operation, having been founded at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1848 by Robert and Samuel Hemingray. To have weathered all economic storms during that period is an indication of the strength of organization that has made the plant the foremost of all the country's manufacturers of glass insulators.

The plant was moved to Covington, Ky., in 1861, and twice it was destroyed by the flood waters of the Ohio. Unsatisfactory working conditions at this place and the attractiveness of Muncie as a location for a factory on account of the oil and gas boom were among the reasons for the company moving to this city in 1888. Two years later operations at the Covington factory were discontinued and the entire plant moved to Muncie.

New Field Opens.

In the beginning and for ten years following the Hemingray Glass Company manufactured glass lamps, jars, demi-johns, and flasks. However in 1861 following the invention of the telephone and the extension of lines of communication a new field was open to the glass manufacturer in the form of insulators. Telegraph lines and electric power lines followed closely and the development of the new industry can be traced with the extension of these different systems.

Development of the manufacture of insulators gained such headway that in 1900 the company gave its entire time to this product and for many years held a position as one of the leading insulator manufacturers in the country, and is the oldest continually operating company since the founding of the industry.

Large Export Business.

A large amount of the output of the company is exported. Shipments have been made to South Africa, South America, Spain, the Philippines, and Australia. The bulk of the export business is done with countries that are being exploited by American capital. Where English companies are in control of the development, it is natural that their own products should be used.

For a long time it was believed that the inner threads of the insulator had to be made by hand. The insulator glass press that now does the work is just as efficient and speeds up production to a large extent. The Hemingray Company developed this new method.

Return to Old Line.

The introduction of this new process made it possible for the company to return to its original line of production and last year the manufacture of beverage and water bottles was resumed in one factory. The demand for glassware of this kind is unlimited and with the big jump in production it became necessary to seek larger quarters. About March of this year a third factory is to begin operation in order to meet the demand.

There are a number of smaller glass factories throughout the country that are larger but none of them are better equipped. The engineers of the company have constantly experimented for the purpose of making their methods more efficient and at the present time it ranks among the best of its kind.

Have Made Rapid Strides.

Although due to the fact that there is only a limited demand for insulators inasmuch as it is determined by the extension of telephone, telegraph, and electrical power lines throughout the world, this branch of the business still is considered the main product. The possibilities of the beverage and water bottle business however seem to be greater. This product is only sold in the middle west as compared to the export business of the insulators.

The entire organization of the company is one that works in perfect accord, is directed by an efficient head, with the result that in the last five years marvelous changes have been made and are indicative of even more raid strides forward in the industrial world.