Birdsboro Steel

Birdsboro Steel. Schuylkill River Trail. , Why steel in Birdsboro? , Edward and George Brooke, descendants of Ironmaster William Bird, established the Birdsboro Iron Foundry Company in 1867. With the advent of steel, the name was changed to Birdsboro Steel Foundry and Machine Company before being changed again to the Birdsboro Corporation in 1960., What did Birdsboro produce? , Steel for ships and large steel parts such as anchors, industrial pump housings, and rail car parts were cast in Birdsboro. There were multiple bays, some up to 1,480 feet long and 50 feet high. During World War II the U.S. Navy built the Armorcast plant to be operated by the Corporation. Soon its role shifted to Sherman and Patton model tank manufacturing for the U.S. Army that lasted through the Korean War. The Birdsboro Corporation purchased Armorcast in 1972 and closed the plant after failed contracts and labor strikes in 1988., [Captions:] , After use as an automobile salvage yard, Armorcast was demolished in 2012., Birdsboro Steelworkers in 1910. At its peak the plant employed over 1,400 workers., This 8,000 ton hydraulic press, the largest of its kind in the world, was designed and built by Birdsboro to enable an aircraft company to speed output of large parts., A worker operates the mobile sand slinger at Birdsboro Steel. The machine was capable of hurling one ton of sand per minute to fill casting molds., Sherman tank