|
The Phoenix Iron Works (1855: Phoenix Iron Company; 1949: Phoenix Iron & Steel Company; 1955: Phoenix Steel Corporation),〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Phoenix Steel Corporation Records, 1827-1963 (bulk 1856-1949) )〕 located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was a manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century. Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannons for the Union Army during the American Civil War. The company also produced the Phoenix column, an advance in construction material . Company facilities are a core component of the Phoenixville Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places site that was in 2006 recognized as a historic landmark by ASM International. == History == Founded in 1790 to produce nails and purchased in 1812 by New Jersey industrialist Robert Waln, the Phoenix Iron Company (later renamed the Phoenix Iron Works) produced pig iron, wrought iron, and other iron-related materials and end products. As the complex grew, it featured a huge blast furnace and puddling furnace, an adjacent iron foundry, warehouses, ancillary buildings, and associated equipment. In 1825, the company was the first to generate steam by burning anthracite coal. Other innovations followed. Engineers at the foundry invented a power-driven rolling method to weld and forge wrought iron, a process that enabled the iron company to begin producing cannon for the United States Army.〔Hazlett, page 94.〕 In the late 20th century, the company declined along with the steel and iron industry of Pennsylvania. By 1984, production in Phoenixville had ceased. In 1986, the new management of the renamed Phoenix Steel Corporation announced plans to close its remaining production plants in Claymont, Delaware. The following year, the rolling mill closed, all production of steel ceased, Phoenix made its last shipment of steel, and its remaining production and maintenance employees were laid off. Throughout 1987, a number of investors approached Phoenix about acquiring the Claymont mill, and in 1988, Phoenix sold it to CITIC, a state-owned investment company of the People's Republic of China for $13 million. A new corporation, CitiSteel, was formed to operate the facility. CitiSteel refurbished and modernized the plant, spending $25 million to convert Claymont from a "specialty mill" that produced various low-volume, high-cost steels for specific uses to a "minimill" using technologically advanced equipment to mass-produce a few types of steel at high volume and low cost.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Georgetown Law School Phoenix Steel sale to CITIC )〕 In 1998, the Phoenixville Area Economic Development Corporation (PAEDCO) took ownership of the building. Under the guidance of the National Park Service, PAEDCO undertook exterior renovations and constructed the Schuylkill River Heritage Center which occupies 1,600 sq.ft. of the historic Foundry Building. The museum tells the story of the Phoenix Iron & Steel Company and also provides information about the industrial legacy of the Schuylkill River.(www.phoenixvillefoundry.org) The Hankin Group acquired the Phoenix Foundry property from PAEDCO in 2006 to create an event space.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=About the Phoenixville Foundry )〕 , the Phoenix Steel site is empty. Most of its buildings were dismantled. Only the old foundry and company office buildings remain from the once-sprawling complex; both have been restored and put to other uses. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|