One in a series ei interviews with the rr.er. who ore
"Virginia"
"The technical services, both chemical and have been as important to our customers
A. K. Scribner, President of Virginia Smelting Company
In supplying industry with liquid sulfur dioxide, sodium (meta) bisulfite anhydrous, sodium and zinc hydrosulfites, and hydroxylamine sulf a t e — f i v e widely used r e d u c i n g agents—Virginia Smelting Company has amassed a wealth of experience that is of continuing help t o its customers. Mr. Scribner, Virginia Smelting Company's president, discusses his c o m p a n y ' s b r o a d b a c k g r o u n d of practical experience. Q In what ways is "Virginia" techn i c a l s e r v i c e o f v a l u e t o its customers?
A One important part of our service is assisting in the engineering and installation of necessary equipment for handling reducing agents. It may—and often does 14
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** We began with liquid sulfur dioxide in 1920 . . .
—include methods of shipment and storage, and selection and installation of New Text rcquently it includes helping the manufacturer with chemical reaction problems in the procrée wh^re the reducin° a^ent is used. Our engineers and chemists have worked on reduction problems from Mexico to Canada and coast to coast. Q How long has "Virginia" been s u p p l y i n g r e d u c i n g a g e n t s to industry?
A We began with liquid sulfur dioxide in 1920 and have become the country's largest producer of liquid SO>. Since then we have added four other reducing UJjVlllJ I V V/Ul UltVs. ! t W· p l U V J U V V *-M.ll>* «^.IXV*. New Text New Text
of sodium bisulfite anhydrous, and our latest addition is hydroxylamine sulfate. This new product has great potential for many industries. Its possibilities are only
beginning to unfold. And this is not the| end. Our research and development! çffîritîv ta f?r»H *>p>vw o r \ J New Text plications for the products we makej and to develop new products. Q How important is product quality to the industrial chemicals field?
A We have always found it extremely] important. Some of our best customers have tried competitive products in the past and switched back to "Virginia'] because they needed uniformly higq quality. Our liquid S0 2 , for example, is over 99.98% pure—just about the maxn mum for the industrial grade. Our other products also meet the most exacting specifications of industry.
Q Why does "Virginia" stress techn nical service so heavily?
A Our products are not complex, chenv
mgineering, behind our reducing agents is the products themselves"
" . . . application is frequently a matter of experience." :ally speaking, b u t their application is sry frequently a matter of experience, hat's why. And some of our men are nown t h r o u g h o u t t h e industry as exerts in their fields—Dr. Kise, D a n ïuncan a n d George Wrenn, t o n a m e a ;vv. Our aggregate experience in appliations qualifies LIS a s one of the most ompetent reducing agent suppliers in le country. ) Is your technical service a v a i l ble only fo "Virginia" customers? I N o . I t has always been our policy to lake it available to any manufacturer /ho needs it. We have compiled a large brary of technical data o n o u r reducing gents a n d their applications in various elds of industry. We welcome inquiries. Ve will send technical literature pertaini g to t h e requirements a s outlined to is or, if their nature dictates it, furnish >ersonal assistance.
''We have compiled a large library of technical data .
Q How extensive is " V i r g i n i a " literature on reducing agents? A I can't give the exact figure. W e revise our list constantly, retiring obsolete bulletins and issuing new ones. B u t t h e total is in the hundreds and the subjects virtually cover the range of industry . . . from use of S 0 2 in preserving fruits a n d vegetables, reduction of dichromates a n d chrome wastes, as an antichlor . . . all the way t o use of zinc hydro in making beet sugar or bleaching clay. There is virtually n o application for a "Virginia" reducing agent that our literature doesn't include.
FOR
TECHNICAL
INFORMATION
AND SERVICE— If y o u n e e d data o n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of a n y reducing a g e n t in t h e " V i r g i n i a " line, write u s o n y o u r
c o m p a n y letterhead, describing y o u r process a n d end p r o d u c t . Include a n y d e t a i l s w h i c h m i g h t h e l p us f o r m a c o m p l e t e p i c t u r e . If y o u a r e l o o k i n g f o r a s u p p l i e r a n d wish t o discuss y o u r p r o b l e m in d e t a i l , h a v e us s e n d a " V i r g i n i a " m a n a r o u n d t o see y o u . Industrial Division V I R G I N I A SMELTING C O M P A N Y Dept. 1544, W e s t Norfolk, Va.
raIRGINIA. Chemicals
Field Offices: New York · Boston · Chicago · Atlanta Asheville · Philadelphia · Akron · Seattle · Memphis Available in Canada and many other countries
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