Schmeller's Fire

It was one of the worst fires in Cleveland's recent history, but it took John L. Schmeller just six days to get back in production. He is executive vice president of National Bronze & Aluminum Foundry Co., whose big Laisy Avenue plant fabricated 1,000,000 Ib. of aluminum a month for U.S. warplanes, tanks, ships. One Tuesday last September, fire gutted the entire 141,000 square feet. A more thorough job ($2,000,000 worth of damage) could not have been done by mass bombing.

By mid-afternoon Schmeller, energy bristling on him like quills on a porcupine, had lined up new office space. On Wednesday he had a crew salvaging machinery, clearing rubble. Thursday he conferred with local building unions; Friday 300 men were building a new roof on the roofable part of the plant.

Sunday John Schmeller called the 1,052 N.B.A.F. employes to a rally: 1,050 showed up. (Two were sick.) He made a five-sentence speech, sketched his plans, asked: "Are you with me?" They were. Next day, using salvaged equipment, they were again pouring castings. John Schmeller stripped Cleveland's stores of raincoats, issued them to his men against the storms that slashed through broken roofs and walls.

Two weeks later, Schmeller bought a new plant, 191,000 square feet which the Industrial Brownhoist Corp. had used for storage space. In one more week it was ready for machinery installation. To two Army officers from Wright Field John Schmeller said: "Give us the tools and we'll do the job." Replied they: "You'll not only get the equipment, but we'll carry it here on our backs if necessary." Both parties made good. Thirty days later, aluminum fabrication in the new plant was underway.

Last week--120 days after the fire--N.B.A.F. announced a program to train i ,000 new workers in 14 weeks, the biggest foundry-training program in the U.S. As an "assembly-line school," the company will use its old Laisy Avenue plant.

Last week N.B.A.F. also announced that for every pound of aluminum it fabricated twelve days ago, it now fabricates three. When the new workers are trained, N.B.A.F. will double that, produce 6,000,000 Ib. monthly.

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