Monolith Installs Largest Kiln in World

The largest cement kiln in the world, declared by Wilford S. Trueblood, production manager and purchasing agent of the Monolith interests, to be the heaviest moving piece of machinery in all industry, is being installed at the new plant of the Monolith Portland Midwest company, near Laramie, Wyoming.

Mounted on five concrete piers, this huge cement kiln is 341 feet long, from 10 feet to 11 feet 3 inches in diameter, from 13/16 inches to one inch thick in the walls, which are made of the best open hearth steel approved by the American Society for Testing Materials, and weighs 1,785,000 pounds or 900 tons when in operation under load.

Despite its immense proportions and great weight, Mr. Trueblood says the kiln is so accurately mounted and cleverly geared, turning on self-oiling single-roll trunions, that a l0Ghorsepower motor can operate it.

When the ingredients that go into cement are ready for cooking,300,000 pounds of fine powder, forced through a 20Gmesh sieve and soft enough to polish silver, is fed

' into the huge revolving oven. There it is slowly cookei at temperatures from ?6@ to 2800 degrees Fahrenheit until it is hard enough to scratch glass.

The kiln has a capacity of 110 barrels of finished cement per hour. It burns 125 tons of coal per day.

With the Monolith plant located on the main line of the Union Pacific System, Coy Burnett, president of the Monolith interests, says adequate shipping facilities are insured at favorable freight rates that make it possible to deliver Monolith producls throughout the intei-mountain region wherever major construction projects are now in operation or being planned.

Mr. Buinett commented on the co-operative spirit being shown by far-sighted business men and investors throughout the 'West, where the Monolith companies are rapidly becoming recognized as cement producers of major importance and exceptionally sognd financial structure.

He said final construction activities at Laramie are rapidly nearing completion and the new $2,000,000 plant wiil soon be ready to start production and distribution.