INDUSTRIAL
MOBILIZATION
News of the nation's activity in marshaling its resources to meet the international emergency D P A Sets Targets f o r C o b a l t a n d M e t h y l e n e C h l o r i d e
An expansion goal for cobalt calling for a 21-million-pound total supply from foreign and domestic sources in 1955 has been announced by the Defense Production Administration. This goal is an increase of about 11 million pounds over the 1950 supply. These figures include the cobalt content of ore, concentrates, oxide, and other compounds, in addition to cobalt metal. Belgian Congo is the principal source of cobalt, but more than half of the planned increase will come from domestic sources, through increased cobalt recovery in the refining of nickel and copper and by other methods. Industrial consumption of cobalt established a new record of 8.3 million pounds in 1950, a 76% gain over 1949, and 65% greater than 1948, î-he previous peak year. An expansion goal for methylene chloride which would bring the annual production capacity of the industry to 109 million pounds by Jan. 1, 1955, has also been announced by DPA. This goal represents an expansion of 70 million pounds over the Jan. 1, 1951, capacity of 39 million pounds. According to DPA, certificates of necessity for rapid tax writeoff have been approved for only 19.8 million pounds of the needed expansion, and the remaining 50.2 million pounds are still available for certificates of necessity. Methylene chloride is widely used as a solvent, especially as a paint and varnish remover. Solvent requirements take about 70% of the annual output. Military demands are heavy in connection with the current program of recommissioning airplanes and ships. Production of cellulose acetate sheets (both photographic and film) requires 10 to 12% of the available supply. Methylene chloride today is in very short supply and under complete allocation, with no possibility of being removed from control during the current defense effort. Although some new capacity is under construction, this wall not meet full requirements. Fiber D r u m M a n u f a c t u r e r s R e c o m m e n d Decontrol
A recommendation that fiber drums be removed from the practicable minimum working inventory provision of NPA Regulation 1 was made recently by the Fiber Drum Manufacturers Industry Advisory Committee, while meeting with NPA officials. Industry members reported that an adequate supply of fiber drums is now available. The industry, they said, is currently operating at about 8 0 to 85% of capacity. Raw materials and labor were reported adequate, with no backlog of orders. NPA spokesmen said that the anticipated requirements for fiber drums throughout the balance of 1952 for military uses, food, and chemicals would not change from present requirements. RFC Considers Loans f o r Industrial E x p a n s i o n
Sixteen applications for loans of over $5 million each are now pending before the Reconstruction Finance Corp. More than 60% of the funds requested, totaling about $626 million, is for the expansion of steel facilities. Central Iron and Steel Co. of Harrisburg, Pa., has applied for $56 million to be used as working capital and for the construction of such additional facilities as blast furnaces, open hearths, mills, and coke ovens. Lone Star Steel Co. of Dallas, Tex., has applied for an additional loan of $50.7 million for the development 2116
of facilities for the production of pig iron and coke. Tennessee Steel Corp. of Oneida, Tenn., has applied for $9.9 million to be used as working capital and for the construction of a new steel plant with electrolytic furnaces. United Smelting and Aluminum Co. of New Haven, Conn., has applied for $16.5 million to be used as working capital and for the construction of an aluminum sheet rolling mill. Avgas Refining Co. of San Antonio, Tex., has applied for $10 million to erect a crude oil refinery with a capacity of about 10,000 barrels a day. San Manuel Copper Corp. of Pinal County, Ariz., has applied for a $111.3 million loan to develop a mine capable of producing 10 million tons a year (C&EN, May 5, page 1 S 9 1 ) . The Defense Production Administration has announced that it has failed to approve five applications for defense loans for steel expansion projects amounting to $401.6 million. DPA has failed to give its approval because it believes that defense funds should not be used where expansion can be achieved by other means. However, the applications have been passed along to RFC, which has the power to grant the loans under its regular lending authority. Under the terms of Section 3 0 2 of the Defense Production Act. RFC may make direct government loans for defense expansion projects when other financial assistance is not otherwise available to meet expansion goals. DPA's function is to review the loan applications and, if approved, to certify the essentiality of the loans to RFC. The five companies involved in the recent action are Lone Star Steel Co.,,Kentucky Steel Corp., Central Iron and Steel Co., Trenton Steel Corp., and Detroit Steel Corp. Four of the applicants have already received certificates of necessity in connection with their proposed expansion projects. T h e application of Kentucky Steel Corp. is now pending. At present, the expansion goal for the annual production of 85 million tons of pig iron by early 1954 is only 3 . 2 million tons short of completion with facilities currently under construction. This deficit, DPA explains, will be completely made up by the normal increase in efficiency brought about by technological developments in the same length of time required to construct the new facilities under the proposed loans. Substitutes f o r I m p o r t e d M i c a A v a i l a b l e
Substitutes produced in this country will soon reduce U. S. dependence on imported mica, the Built-Up Mica Manufacturers Industry Advisory Committee said at a recent meeting with NPA officials. Built-up mica consists of layers of mica held together with a binding material. Mica, one of the world's best natural insulators, is used widely in such electrical equipment as motors, generators, and electronic apparatus. India has had a virtual monopoly on the production of mica splittings needed for these purposes. There are about 80,000 trained mica splitters in India and practically none in the Western Hemisphere. At the recent Washington meeting, a detailed description was given of the substitutes that can be produced in this country. Committee members agreed that domestic mica will serve effectively in many applications but that "bookpacked splittings," which still must be imported, continue to be essential in certain other uses. C H E M I C A L
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
Cobalt Order Amended To conserve the nation's available supplies of cobalt, a scare metal used widely in the manufacture of heatresistant steels, NPA has amended Schedule 2 of Order M-80 to include cobalt compounds produced from ores, metal, concentrates, and refinery resi dues in the definition of cobalt. Prior to this ruling, cobalt had been defined in Schedule 2 as cobalt fines, cobalt oxide, cobalt powder, and scrap con taining more than 5% cobalt, used as sources of cobalt in commercial manu facture and processing. Cobalt is one of five scarce alloying materials that are under complete government alloca tion because of their essentiality in the production of defense items. Persons desiring to apply for an allocation authorization involving cobalt, except ceramic grades, are re quired to submit applications on or before the seventh day of any month for delivery in the following month. Persons whose total receipts from all sources in a calendar month do not exceed 25 pounds of contained cobalt are not required to apply for an allo cation authorization. They are, how ever, required to give their suppliers a certificate indicating they have ac cepted delivery and will use the ma terial in accordance with Schedule 2. Extension of Price Ruling Urged The Office of Price Stabilization has accepted for consideration a proposal by coal chemical, oven coke, and tar processor industry representatives that the regulation governing their indus try be continued beyond the present expiration date of May 3 1 , 1952. In dustry representatives have suggested that Supplementary Regulation 13 to the General Ceiling Price Regulation be extended without a definite expira tion date. T h e industry spokesmen are members of the Coal Chemical, the Oven Coke, and the Tar Processors Industry Advisory Committees.
N e w Certificate of Necessity List Announced by DPA Certificates of necessity for the accelerated tax amortization of 205 new or expanded defense, facilities, amounting to $340.5 million, Λνβιβ approved by the Defense Production Administration from April 18 to 24. Accelerated amortization has now been approved for a total of 9579 new or expanded facilities aiaounting to $18.2 billion. Of the certificates of necessity most recently announced, those of special interest to the chemical industry are listed below. NAME OF LOCATION
COMPANY AND OF FACILITIES
Detrex Corp. Wyandotte, Mich. R e y n o l d s M e t a l s Co. Jones Mills, Aik. Sterling D r u g , Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio Neville Co. N e v i l l e I s l a n d , Pa. Knickerbocker Biologiculs, Inc. N e w York, Ν . Υ. Michigan Chemical Corp. Manistee, Mich. California C o . Rangely, Colo. H e r c u l e s P o w d e r Co. H a t t i c s b u r g , Miss. E . I. du P o n t d e N e m o u r s
