The Iranians want to bypass the Suez Canal using their port at Chabahar: The Iranian Chabahar Free Trade Zone Organization announced July 5 that trade connections to Mumbai, Hamburg and St. Petersburg will be made through Astrakhan (in Russia), Anzali and Chabahar (in Iran) and Nhava Sheva (in India) instead of the Suez Canal. This raises questions … Continue reading Chabahar: a Vulcan “Almost” Becomes a Point of Contention with the Suez Canal
Category: The Company
A Nice Summary of the History of the Telex
One of the more popular pieces on this site is A Few Words About the Telex, which documents Vulcan's history with this interesting piece of technology. Below is a video which also summarises that history: https://youtu.be/byMwNPj47X8 I'd like to add a few notes: First, from the 1930's to the 1950's Vulcan advertised its cable address … Continue reading A Nice Summary of the History of the Telex
Those Aspirational Small Businesses
Above is something you don't see much of any more: a hand-drawn artist's conception of a building that has yet to be built. In this case it's Vulcan's last all-new building: the Special Products Division at 2625 Electronics Way, West Palm Beach, FL, which was completed and opened in 1967. Afterwards some things changed along … Continue reading Those Aspirational Small Businesses
Liberty, Prosperity and Life
Although Vulcan would experience more than forty more years of life after it was over, Vulcan's Centennial Celebration in 1952 was both a milestone and a high point in its history. The "capstone" of the ceremonies was the keynote speech by Vulcan's President, Chester H. "Chet" Warrington, my grandfather. He put a wrap on the … Continue reading Liberty, Prosperity and Life
Machining a Cast Iron Bearing
Some of you may wonder what it was (and is) like to machine parts for Vulcan hammers, most of which are iron or steel castings. Some feel for it (and the decisions a machinist must make in the process) can be seen in the video below. https://youtu.be/L5yVpvCav_U Some comments: Although he doesn't say so, my … Continue reading Machining a Cast Iron Bearing
RIP E. Curtis Harmon
Another of Vulcan's long time employees has passed away: Curtis Harmon, age 83, of Wellington, FL, passed away on February 26, 2020. Curtis was born in Chattanooga, TN on May 22, 1936. Curtis is survived by his wife of 40 years, Cynthia C. Harmon; his children, Mel Harmon, Terri (Sam) Alavi and Robert (Julie) North. … Continue reading RIP E. Curtis Harmon
Merry Christmas from Vulcan Iron Works
It's a little late, but this, the 1971 Christmas card from Vulcan Iron Works. Above shows the Australian Avenue office; below is the greeting:
Christmas Music at the Australian Avenue Office (Maybe)
When Vulcan opened it's Australian Avenue office in West Palm Beach in 1966, it wasn't long after that Vulcan acquired one of those continuous loop background music tape players (as depicted below) that graced many offices, department stores and malls of the era. https://youtu.be/d2tx5NHDcHA Background "easy listening" music was pretty much a fixture at the … Continue reading Christmas Music at the Australian Avenue Office (Maybe)
Port of Singapore — Construction and architecture
The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade, and which handle Singapore‘s harbours and shipping. It is ranked as the top maritime capital of the world, since 2015. Currently the world’s second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also trans-ships a fifth of the world’s shipping … Continue reading Port of Singapore — Construction and architecture
Hand drafting – TECHNICAL INK PENS — Construction and architecture
From the first time it produced drawings (the oldest on this site goes back to the 1870's) until the late 1950's, Vulcan produced all of its drawings using pen and ink, as described below (although I'll bet that many weren't drawn using the Rapidograph type pen shown below!) Many of these were drawn on linen. … Continue reading Hand drafting – TECHNICAL INK PENS — Construction and architecture