C. G. Electric begins plant at Peterboro'

Big addition planned as part of new scheme

By staff editor

Peterborough, Ont.—Canadian General Electric Co. is about to undertake a major plant expansion programme at Peterborough which will involve the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars and will eventually involve the revamping of the entire layout of the company's Peterborough works.

Concrete work is now under way on the first wing of a new factory building, which, when finally completed, will bring practically the entire Peterboro plan under one roof. At the present time there are eight or ten separate building which have been built at various times in the company's history. Eventually, these will all disappear and the entire plant, with the exception of one or two special buildings such as the paint and oil storage room, the varnish plant, and the power house, will be covered by one tremendous roof. It is a portion of this larger scheme that is under way at the present time.

All electrically welded

An important feature of the building is the fact that it will be the first big factory in Canada to be erected entirely by the electric welding process. This means that there will be no riveting done anywhere in the structure, every structural steel joint being electrically welded. Construction, therefore, will be entirely silent, and while steel work is underway, Peterborough residents will not have to put up with the raucous burr, burr, burr of the riveting machine.

A few small structures of one sort and another have already been put up in this manner in Canada, but it is believed that the new Canadian General Electric building will be the first large factory to be erected in this way. A special municipal ordinance was necessary before the specifications were approved, as most civic by-laws call for riveted steel construction on a building of this type.

There will be some 830 to 900 tons of steel used in the first unit of the new building now under way. There will be three bays in all, each one 80 feet wide. The two main bays will be 400 feet long. It is estimated that the saving in the cost of the structure through the use of electrical welding will be at least 10 per cent.

The company's Peterborough works is now employing betweem 1,600 and 1,800 people, the company on hand several large and important orders, including turbine and generator installations for the new Hudson's Bay Smelting and Mining Co. power plant, and also equipment for the new Northwestern Power installation in Manitoba. Work begins soon on the Beauharnois turbine.

Making Textolite

Another new development at the Peterborough works is the manufacture of Textolite, a new product developed by the General Electric Co. at Schenectady and now being made for the first time in Canada at the company's porcelain factory which adjoins the main plant at Peterborough.

Textolite is a specially-prepared synthetic substance which has replaced porcelain in many electric appliance parts, such as covers and buttons for electric wall plugs and switches. It is similar to a substance called Bakelite, developed along similar lines many years ago, but on which the patents have now expired. It is said to be cheaper than porcelain, it will not break, and has a nicer finish and luster.

A portion of the company's porcelain factory at Peterborough has been turned over to the manufacture of textolite articles and production of these new articles is proceeding at a rapid rate.

Stations: Peterboro

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