New Addition t o the Thomas and Hochwalt Laboratories Research Division of Monsanto Chemical Co.
NEW HOME OF THE THOMAS AND HOCHWALT LABORATORIES
NOTHER mark in the expansion of Monsanto Chemical Co. has been reached in the opening of a new addition to its Thomas and Hochwalt Laboratories Division at Dayton, Ohio. The Laboratories merged with Monsanto Chemical Co. about a year ago. With this new addition, the Thomas and Hochwalt Laboratories constitute one of the most complete industrial research units in the country. The L-shaped onestory structure of reinforced concrete includes 14 laboratories, 2 store rooms, instrument room, and air-conditioned offices, library, dining room, and kitchen. Each of the laboratories is well-equipped for research along specific lines. The library comprises important periodical and book literature, including complete files of a number of the outstanding chemical journals and current files of some 60 others. One of the most attractive features is the well-appointed, sound-proofed dining room, providing accommodations for 60 people. Especially striking is the glass brick semioval forming one of the sides of the dining room. Three smaller buildings, separated from the main structure, house pilot plant equipment. The walls of the laboratories are of glazed tile and glass brick. A departure from current practices is the use of square walnut blocks, laid on concrete slab, for all flooring. Indirect lighting is used throughout the laboratories. Architecturally, the whole is a well-planned unit; ample, landscaped grounds make a fitting background for the white-painted walls of the modernistic building. A picturesque patio separates the two main parts of the laboratory. On the evening of May 14, 1937, the staff of the laboratories held open house for a group of some 90 guests, among whom were Edgar M. Queeny, president, Monsanto Chemical Co., Charles Belknap, executive vice president, Monsanto Chemical Co., Gaston DuBois, vice president in charge of development, Monsanto Chemical Co.; Walter C. Tredtin, president. University of Dayton; Arthur Braden, president, Transylvania University; Thomas Midgley, Jr., T. A. Boyd, Orville Wright, Austin M. Patterson, Henry B. Hass, William J. Wohlleben, and Robert A. Kehoe.
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During the dinner, which was served in the recently completed dining room, Edgar M. Queeny, Charles Belknap, Gaston DuBois, and Thomas Midgley, Jr., were the principal speakers. Mr. Queeny spoke of the mutual respect and confidence which prevails among the employees of Monsanto Chemical Co. This spirit of fellowship has been at the core of Monsanto's steady growth. In this respect, during their existence as an independent unit, the Thomas and Hochwalt Laboratories had fitted into Monsanto tradition so well that the merger of the two organizations came as a natural development. Mr. Belknap, too, stressed the latter point. The parent company and the research division are integral parts of an effective organization. Mr. DuBois expressed his confidence in the capabilities of the newly acquired division. As an independent unit it had ably met the challenge of the recent deression; the new research division of Monsanto Chemical Co. was certain to meet coming issues with equal success. Thomas Midgley, Jr., outlined his long friendship with Charles Allen Thomas and Carroll A. Hochwalt, directors of the Thomas and Hochwalt Laboratories Division. He stressed the fact that material surroundings do not limit the extent of chemical thought and development. The
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men, themselves, were more important than the building that housed them. Physical obsolescence of the now very adequate laboratories would indicate only that they had been outgrown. With a few exceptions, all former associates of Dr. Thomas and Dr. Hochwalt were present. After dinner, the guests were conducted through the various laboratories, where Monsanto products in different stages of development were exhibited. The use of apparatus in chemical research was demonstrated by members of the staff, as were also small working models of some actual plant processes. Upon completion of the tour, the guests and the staff met informally in the assembly room. Abstracts of O m a h a Regional Meeting Papers BSTRACTS of the papers presented at the Omaha Midwest Regional Meet-
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ing of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(see page 137 of the April 10 NEWS EDI-
TION for program) are still available and may be obtained by mail at 60 cents per set, prepaid, from the General Convention Secretary, N. Dietz, Jr., School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebr.
THOMAS AND HOCHWALT LABORATORIES
