Ground is broken for a school in Georgia. The walls of a new industrial plant rise in North Carolina. Homes swiftly take shape in a Virginia subdivision. These developments and thousands more throughout the South are part of the booming new construction which the U. S. Department of Commerce says is headed for the $75 billion mark across the nation this year-growth which is bringing new highs in the demand for brick.
Manufacturers of brick in the South are going after their share of the expanding market created by the surge in new construction. And they are showing traditional concern over the way their product is shipped to customers. Tomorrow's new sale still is heavily influenced, by the condition of today's shipment when it reaches.the receiving point.
George C. Sells, president of General Shale Products Corp., Johnson City, Tenn., explains it this way: "When brick arrives chipped, although he doesn't like it, the customer is often too busy to file a loss and damage claim. But, next time, he will get his brick somewhere else.
"Many production people in plants, and a lot of other folks, think their problems move away when you seal a boxcar door-but they don't. Over 95 per cent of our business is unsolicited repeat business-so what you ship out on that boxcar determines your next sale. If your brick arrives in faulty condition, whether a loss and damage claim is involved or not, you may lose sales you don't know about."
The concern at Southern Railway-served General Shale, and at other brick-producing plants located on Southern and Central of Georgia, about a safe, sure, more economical way to ship brick was expressed to officials of the railroad by executives of these manufacturing firms. Brick manufacturers had a shipping problem and needed assistance from a rail carrier with transportation experience and know-how in finding a solution. Would Southern help?
At Cherokee Brick & Tile Company, Macon, Ga., from left, K. W. Dunwody, Jr., vice-president -sales; Bill Dumas, loading fore- man, and Randy Ransom, superintendent of loading, discuss the car's merits as loading progresses. |
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Already impressed by and using the bulkhead flat- cars, southern brick producers recently have been introduced to still another highly-useful freight car, especially tailored to their needs by Southern. From a distance, it looks like one of the railroad's regular general-purpose 40-foot boxcars. But, to the manufacturers of brick, it is much more.
Doors on both sides have been widened to 15-foot entranceways for easy loading and unloading by fork- lift trucks at shipping platforms or warehouse docks. Efficient unloading is done by telescoping equipment at non-dock sites. The car's understructure has been strengthened to reinforce the wider door openings and to provide for heavier loads. A 20-inch travel cushion underframe absorbs shocks. Heavier-capacity trucks have been installed, increasing the car's load limit to 159,000 pounds. Shippers are encouraged to take ad- vantage of the high load-carrying characteristics of the car by incentive rates for heavy loading.
Inflatable dunnage at the center of the car may be used to hold loads firmly in place. Nailable steel floors and steel linings on the car's sides and ends have been installed to protect the car and keep it in service longer. Two-tier loading is possible and means that the modified car carries nearly as much brick as is conventionally loaded in two regular 40-foot boxcars. More brick in fewer cars means lower equipment costs and other expenses per ton of freight moved by Southern and Central-savings that are shared with shippers and the public through lower transportation costs for them.
What do shippers think of these cars and their customer-satisfaction-engineered features? Ties turned to some of these customers to find out. Their answers explain why Southern is adding several hundred of the modified boxcars to its other types of specialized freight cars.
"We think it's a fine car-it's excellent for loading and unloading," remarks R. H. Bickerstaff, partner in Bickerstaff Clay Products Co., Columbus, Ga. "The 2O-inch travel cushion underframe has proved to be sufficient for the load. Southern and Central are giving us optimum performance at minimum conversion cost in order to bring us minimum shipping charges. We understand that and we are in agreement with it. Southern and Central should take that approach. converting standard equipment for a relatively minimum amount of money is fine with us as long as it does the job.
"The wide, centered doors certainly provide an advantage when a fully-Ioaded car arrives at a receiving point with inflated dunnage. It eliminates the necessity for placing cars for unloading from a particular side. As a covered car, it can go north in the winter without the packages of brick freezing together."
The modified boxcars have made loss and damage claims "virtually non-existent" in the business of General Shale Products Corp., according to the firm's president.
"When rate structures seemed to be climbing endlessly shortly after the end of World War II, we decided against expanding our existing plants," George C. Sells recalls. "Instead we took the position that we should put a plant in each market area and ship by truck from there.
"Now, with a trend toward lower rates which started, I believe, in the late 50's, we are convinced railroads want our brick traffic back. This has encouraged us to put in distribution yards and, as. a result, existing plants are growing rather than new plants springing up, all around. We are now able to manufacture brick and ship it to market with much greater efficiency. We have always had a kindly feeling toward Southern because we feel the railroad has our problems at heart in situations like this. The 40-foot cushion underframe box-car for hauling brick and its low incentive rates is an example of Southern's interest in our freight business.
" All in all, this car is a real boon to us-and to the whole industry," Mr. Sells continues. "Even greater improvements can be made in railroad cars for brick but we certainly aren't going to quarrel over this one. It's far better than non-cushion cars and lighter-capacity trucks."
Praise for the work the cars do also is expressed at two leading brick firms based in Macon, Ga.
"We're well satisfied with the cars," remarks H. K. Burns, Jr., president of Burns Brick Company. "They are faster loading with the wide doors and the steel floors stand up better. The cushion underframe cars get the brick there in a whole lot better shape."Derry Burns, executive vice-president-sales, adds, "The cushion underframe cars give us better quality control of the brick at the destination." W. V. Argo, assistant general sales manager, comments, "These cars are a labor saver and reduce damage in shipment. You can get more brick in them because of the sides. We like them."
K. W. Dunwody, Jr., vice-president-sales for Cherokee Brick & Tile Company at Macon, says, "We're very enthusiastic about them. They are easy to load and the brick we ship in them is virtually assured of arriving in a most satisfactory condition. Loading costs are low. The incentive rates that come with these boxcars expand our market radius." Randy Ransom, superintendent of loading, declares, "Before we got the cushion boxcars, we had to use a considerable amount of heavy wood bracing material
One example of the pleased customers who receive brick in Southern's special boxcars is S. E. (Pete) Tana, traffic manager, A. P. Woodson Co., Washington, D. C., who says: "This double-door cushion car is it-you can't beat it." Watching a car being unloaded are, from left, Junior H. Doss, Virginia brickyard superintendent for Woodson; Mr. Tana and J. H. Salisbury, Southern district freight agent. |
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Bill Dumas, loading foreman, likes the advantages of the enclosed boxcar. "During bad weather, loading is more efficient with the cushion boxcars," he observes. "They keep brick and workmen in out of the weather more of the time."
In Salisbury, N. C., John Isenhour, president of Isenhour Brick & Tile Co., remarks, "As far as I'm concerned, the cushion car is the only answer to long- distance shipping of brick-and- the consensus in our industry is that this is the best car in existence. I don't know who came up with the idea, but I'd certainly like to send his wife a dozen roses.
"The cushion car put us into packaging earlier than we'd planned. Strapped brick is often received by the customer four to six weeks before use, meaning that any concealed damage won't be discovered until it's needed for the job, so this cushion car is almost a prerequisite to packaging. And, when we saw what could be done with loading-plus the saving made possible with this car-we decided to invest the considerable money required for packaging equipment immediately, rather than wait three more years as we'd originally planned.
"The best thing about the cushion car is that it allows us to ship without damage-we haven't had any claims with cushion cars-and that's paramount. We need this equipment."
Charles D. Taylor, president of Taylor Clay Products Company in Salisbury , calls the cushion boxcar "the answer" and recalls, "We shipped the first one- we put 48,000 bricks in that car, with no damage. ... We shipped 300,000 white bricks to a veterans hospital in Providence, R. I., and got a letter back congratulating us on the condition of the brick. ...Chipping is the big thing-it costs us money and it costs you money.
...We've got to maintain a good reputation. ...When- ever we've shipped brick on the cushion cars and others to the same customer, they could tell which had traveled on the cushion cars."
Orton A. Boren, chairman of the board and chief executive officer for the Boren Clay Products Company, Pleasant Garden, N. C., comments, "If we brick folks stay in business, we just have to have these boxcars. You folks have made terrific strides to serve people. .. these cushion underframe cars have every advantage known for shipping brick by rail. If you want the brick business, you've got to do something like this-the time has come for it. ...This car's going to put us in a higher-quality market because we can ship without fear of breakage. ...We know that each car can be loaded quickly and properly ."
Much the same reaction is being expressed by brick producers served by Southern and Central elsewhere in the South. The modified boxcars are being put to work for manufacturers in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi- and all are pleased with what the cars are doing for them.
Southern and Central wanted more brick business- and are getting it by increasing their usefulness and saving shippers money. The railroad has fitted a standard car to the special needs of an industry to better serve customers and earn more profitable traffic.
As one brick manufacturer served by the railroad phrases it, "The total cost of our product is the cost in the wall and that includes the total cost of transportation. Southern and Central are working with us to hold this total cost down."
He then adds, "We used to say, 'Boys, load it as if the Air Force was going to get it and drop it from 10,000 feet.' Now, with Southern's cushion underframe box- cars, that day is gone." .