XXII. THE SWANN CORPORATION C. H. PENNING, SWANN RSSEARCH, INC.,BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
The Swann Corporation, with headquarters a t Birmingham, Alabama, as organized today represents one of the most interesting developments in chemistry in the entire South. This organization originated during the World War with the formation of the Southern Manganese Corporation, making ferromanganese by the electric furnace process in a plant erected a t Anniston, Alabama. Ferrosilicon was also made a t this plant until the armistice was signed, at which time the price of ferromanganese dropped so that its manufacture in the electric furnace became unprofitable. The production of ferrosilicon and ferrochrome was continued for about a year longer. Early in 1918 the War Department approached Mr. Swann, president of the Southern Manganese Corporation, with a request for a supply of elemental phosphorus, and the Federal Phosphorus Company was incorporated on July 23, 1918. No phosphorus was ever produced for sale. Numerous attempts were made to convert the electric furnaces to other products having a profitable market. Ferrophosphorus was among the ferro-alloys tried. A logical development of this was the recovery of phosphoric acid from the fumes evolved from the furnaces, using Cottrell precipitators. The acid produced in this manner is of high strength and exceptional purity as compared with other commercial grades. Since it is water-white and conforms with the Government pure food laws, much of it is consumed in making products of food grade. Perrophosphorus, made in two grades (Byo P, 25% P), is used for rephosphorizing steel. With the acid as a basis, the manufacture of phosphoric acid salts was developed gradually, and the following products are now being mademono-, di-, and tri-sodium phosphate, mono- and di-ammonium phosphate, mono- and tri-calcium phosphate, acid pyrosodium phosphate, and phosphoric acid paste. Of these the largest is tri-sodium phosphate, over 30,000,000 pounds being made annually for use in water softening, in boiler compounds, and as a general cleanser. Low-cost electric power being available for certain periods of the year, it was decided in 1924 to go into the manufacture of other materials requiring considerable power. The Federal Carbide Company was incorporated on December 6, 1924, and the Federal Abrasives Company on December 30, 1924. Production of calcium carbide, aluminum oxide 2370
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abrasives, and silicon carbide by these companies was started in 1925 and has been continued since that time. In 1925 it was considered advisable to have available another source of power supply which could be relied upon in case of shortage of supply from the present source. A survey of available sites was made, and in that year the Federal Power Company, the Federal Power Company of Tennessee, and the Hiwassee Power Company were incorporated, to own and control purchases of land for these power sites. It is estimated that approximately 275,000 horsepower is available a t the sites purchased, these constituting some of the largest undeveloped hydro-electric power sites in that section of the country. Additional land was also purchased at Anniston, making the holdings a t the plant site approximately 640 acres. In 1923 the Federal Phosphorus Company took over the management of the Provident Chemical Works a t St. Louis, Mo., which has since become the third largest manufacturer of mono-Calcium phosphate in this country, and in 1929 an interest was purchased in the Iliff-Bruff Chemical Company of Hoopeston, Ill., manufacturers of mono- and tri-calcium phosphate. With the acquisition of these various interests, a central organization or holding company was necessary, and accordingly the Federal Electro-Chemical Company was incorporated in Delaware, December 28, 1925. The name of this holding company was changed in 1929 to The Swann Corporation, taking the name of the president, Theodore Swam. On June 1,1930, the various operating companies a t Anniston, with the exception of the Federal Abrasives Company, were consolidated under the name of the Swann Chemical Company. The story of the development by this organization of the manufacture of diphenyl and its derivatives is being told in another article, as is also the story of the coijperative work on the production of xylose from cottonseed hull bran carried on in conjunction with the Bureau of Standards, the University of Alabama, and the Alabama Polytechnic Institute. These two operations T i e r radically from the other business of the company, and are evidence of the wide vision of the directing heads of the corporation. A still more recent development is the establishment of a textile chemical division for the manufacture of the staple chemicals now used in the textile industry and for the production of new and improved compounds which will better serve the industry. Among the new products already developed may be mentioned a series of special oils for rayon processing and a new wetting agent of considerable promise. The rapid growth of the textile industry in the South fully justifies the establishment of a reliable source of chemical supplies located in its midst. All of the products mentioned are the result of a great amount of study
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and experimentation. Substantially every process or product of The Swann Corporation has been developed within the organization. Such competitive prodncts as are made are mostly those whose manufacturing processes were secret or the details not available. With others, because of a freight disadvantage in the principal markets, sales resistance had to be met by a superior product. One of the fundamental principles on which The Swam Corporation operates is the manufacture and sale of quality prodncts only. Possibly the greatest mistake in southern industrial development has been the general inclmation to market products in a crude or mediocre state, sellmg the lowest grade which would find a market. The Swam Corporation has proved that business is fundamentally on a sounder basis when a superior quality of product is made. Recently (January, 1930), the research activities of the corporation have been coordinated and unified with the incorporation of Swann Research, Inc., which will operate as a separate business. As new products or processes are developed they will be assigned to the operating companies on a royalty basis. The royalties paid will provide the research organization with an income commensurate with its own productivity, thus giving a measure of its value. Its permanence is assured as long as it continues to produce. If, through incompetent effort, practical results are not forthcoming after a reasonable period, its scale of operation will be automatically curtailed. Swann Research, Inc., is divided into three departmentscomrnercial Research, Chemical Research, and Plant Development. The Commercial Research Department handles market surveys and economic investigations of proposed products and processes, and finds markets for new products developed by the laboratories. The Chemical Research Department conducts laboratory research on such products and processes as have been favorably reported by the Commercial Research Department, and is constantly engaged in work on the improvement of present methods and materials and the discovery of new prodncts, adaptations and uses. After the laboratories have completed their fundamental work, the Development Department takes the problem through pilot-plant operation to large-scale operation. Careful coordination and cooperation of all three departments is necessary to keep the work on a sound basis. This brief recitation of the history and present activities of one southern chemical company, considered in connection with the rapid industrial development of the South in other lmes of enterprise, and keeping in mind the vast natural resources of the region which are just beginning to be tapped, gives a general picture of the extent and rapidity of the South's material progress in recent years and a vision of what the future holds for this section.
