Great Manufacturing Plant at Los Angeles

After a "ltersonally-conducted" trip through the great plant of the Pacific Door and Sash Company, at Los Angeles, one rvould probably say that the most outstanding feature about this enormous institution is the impression gathered all through the nine acres of factory, first of the immensity of the operation and then of the rvonderful care of detail that is apparently given all manufactured goods going through.

This plant has been in operation onlv since l\{arch, of this year. The factory is the child of the minds of the active heads of this company, E. A. Nicholson, who is secretary and general manager, his brother, G. H. Nicholson, who acts as sales manager, and the. president of the company, Charles L. Miller.

The Pacific Door and Sash Company has been in operation in Southern California for 25 years. It rvas started in a small rvay by the Nicholsons, and for a good manl' years has been located in a large factory plant at Jefferson and Main Streets, Los Angeles, rvhere they still maintain their general ofrfices.

The nerv factory, as stated above, covers nine acres under roof, and they have an additional l5 acres used for storage, trackage, etc. It is located on San Fernando Road, just on the edge of Los Angeles, adjoining Burbank. Construction rvas started in the spring of 1923.

It has been said that this plant is surely one of the finest and most efficiently operated rvood-u'orking establishments in the United States. Surely it has no superior anywhere in the southern part of this state.

A much better iclea of the details of their operations can be gained by a picture story rather than by an attempt to desiribe the various departments, hence the accompanying pictures, all taken by "The California Ltlmber \Ierchant," about two weeks ago.

Mr. J. W. Nicholson, brother of Ed. and George, and in charge of the lumber department of the business, rvent through the plant rvith a representative of this journal.

One of the unique features that is not pictured, is their tremendous blower and boiler system, part of rvhich u'as specially designed bv engineers of the Pacific Door and Sash Companv. They operate a specially constructed conveyor system. carrying the sarvdust to their one thousand horse porver boilers, the conveyors rvorking on the screw type, and being absolutely automatic in operation. The feed is regulated by a recently patented governor system, rvhich lessens considerably the amount of labor that has been necessarl' heretofore in this part of a mill. They of course use a great amount of the developed steam in their kilns.

The kiln battery comprises eight compartments, rvith a capacitJ'of 35,000 feet. They are of the natural draft type, and according to "J. \M." are the most efficient type of kiln in operation.

The lumber (practically all of which is shipperl in green), is unloaded from the cars direct to kiln cars, ready to be dried. Note the precision of piling on the kiln cars and the neatness of the stock at this point, in the photograph.

From the kiln the stock is taken to the sorting rooms, rvhere it is first put through the matcher or planer, no stock being graded before it is surfaced. This is a departure from the usual custom, in large plants. From this room the stock is then sent to the cut-off and rip sarvs to be cut to the proper length and rvidth and is then assigned a place in the factory, to be used in doors, screens, rvindows or rvhatever is its best use.

Contrary to the easily-gained idea, this company does not stock -a large amount of stock finish. They have bins that look to bC large, and containing a stock of surfaced and moulded stock that rvould last the entire city for weeks. But, from the statement by l\fr. Nicholson, the stock on hand is never but a ferv days' supply, and it is the policy of the company to 6ll orders of stock finish only from stock that is fresh run.

The amount of waste lumber around the entire mill is negligble. They have developed a market for all of their shori ends, rippings, etc., and it is a very, r'ery small

(Continued on Page 47)

W. M. BEEBE

259 FIRST NATIONAL BANK BLDG. SOUTHERN HARDWOODS_VENEERS

Supcrior OaL Floorin3j 'Arnorica'r Finclt" Scnd mc your inquiricr rnd ordcn TclcpLonc Dougll gll?

H. B. MARIS

Nw Location-Officc and Warehoure

735 3rd Shect--Oppodte S. P. Depot Homc of WESTMADE PLYWOOD

G. A. Racouilht

R. C. WITBECK

WHOLESALE

Southcrn-HARDWOOD S-N otthern

Bnrcc Orh Flooring

Maplc Flooring l2ll0 Firat National BanL Bldg. TelcpLonc Suttcr 2634

REYNIER LUMBER CO.

126-12t-1n Suta Msrina Buildins ll2 MarLct Strcct

Saa Frencieco

WHOLESALE

REDWOOD and FIR LUMBER

CEDAR SHINGLES

Spceirlticr

Huuboldt Sdft_ Rrqq@ Grapc StrJ[a, Ttcr, Shakc ud portr Scm Rrdwod Shatcr ud Shiisler

REPRESENTz{,TIVES:

Lumbcr Buycn, lnc. \Milfred Coper Lbr. Co. Lumber Buyere, Inc.

Hogc Bldg. 600 Catral Blda. Northwestern Bk. Bldg. Seettla, Wuh. Loa Angclc:, Cet. portland, Oregon

Logging Activity in Washington

Spokane, Wash., Dec. 2.-Logging operations in the vicinity of Newport, Wash., are in full swing and the output of logs, if the season is at all favorable, will be the largest in years.

The Dalkena Lumber Company is operating many camps in its Priest River country and its new logging railroad is delivering logs into the Priest River rapidly, recently the output from along the railroad.having totaled 7@,000 feet.

The Diamond Match Company is operating in the LeClerc Creek country on a heavy scale for the mill at Diamond City, east of Ruby. It has a large.supply of logs cut in the Big Creek region of priest River, which will come to the mill at Cusick with the rise of the streams in the spring.

FIR, SPRUCE and REDWOOD

ALLAN TURNER ll0 Merket St.--Gar6eld 3Z9E tAt Your Servicc" San Fnncirco

J. O. ELMER

HARDWOOD LUMBER

Gcluinc Mahoranv

Veneerr-Flooringl_irao.1, l2lXl Firrt Netion:l Benh Building TclcpLoncr Suttcr ll)9il :: San Fraicirco

THIS SPACE FOR SALE