Scott Paper Company's huge papermaking complex in Mobile is served by Southern. |
 |
U. S. Highway 43 is a four-lane divided road that stretches north from Mobile, Alabama, cutting through thick stands of pine trees and ground cover .
A motorist driving along the road may catch an occasional glimpse of the Mobile River, which winds along parallel to the road on the right, or Southern Railway's main line track, also to the right.
Scott Paper Company's huge papermaking complex in Mobile is served by Southern. |
|
Each year FORTUNE magazine compiles a list of the leading 500 U .S. industrial corporations, ranked by sales. Six of these "blue-bloods" of American industry, along with many smaller firms, are doing business along this stretch of Southern Railway track north of Mobile.
Since companies this big rarely do anything without a good reason, there is a strong suggestion that southwest Alabama has something going for it. And it does -a combination of natural and man-made resources and transportation service that is probably unmatched in the country.
A company located along highway 43 has its choice of three primary modes of transportation. Direct rail service by Southern Railway, highway, or barge through the Mobile River with a direct outlet to a deep-water port on the Gulf Coast.
Loaded and ready to go. Southern's bulkhead chain-tie-down lumber cars at the S. B. Adams Lumber Co., recently acquired by the Scott Paper Company. |
 |
Notwithstanding all these advantages, the vigorous industrial expansion going on in southwest Alabama just didn't happen. Although the area had enjoyed earlier growth periods, the early 1960's brought a definite economic slowdown. New industry just wasn't coming in.
George Mills, general traffic manager of Courtaulds North America, Inc., discusses Southern's Fleet Inquiry System with Ben Skinner. |
 |
To counteract the trend, a group of citizens decided to revitalize Mobile's industrial development program. The Chamber of Commerce was reorganized and a major fund-raising drive launched. In 1964, Task Force 200 was started. This voluntary group of business leaders travels around the country actively trying to attract new industry to the Mobile area.
The Alabama Power Company plans power plant expansions totaling more than $110,000,000. |
 |
One man who has a special interest in Mobile's future is Sheldon Morgan who heads the industrial development section of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Morgan is pleased with both the amount and quality of We new industry that has re-located in the Mobile county area and he lays heavy emphasis on the role of transportation in bringing about this expansion. "Most of our growth has been in heavy, process-type industry," Mr. Morgan explains, "and these companies all require good, dependable rail transportation.
"The fact that they would be located directly on Southern Railway's main line has been a strong influencing factor in every industry we've worked with along the Mobile river."
Companies like Olin-Mathieson draw double transportation benefits from the Mobile River, foreground, and Southern Railway's main line track in the background. |
 |
Mr. Morgan works closely with James H. Nutter, Southern's general industrial agent for Alabama. Mr. Nutter has his home office in Birmingham but does extensive work in the Mobile county area.
"We've found from experience," Mr. Morgan says, "that when an industry becomes interested in southwest Alabama as a possible location, the first people they want to talk to is the railroad and a utility .
"That's when we call on Jim Nutter. He is a member of our Mobile Industrial Committee and meets with the industry involved to explain the type of rail service they can expect if they choose to locate in the area."
Top officers of Courtaulds North America, Inc., at their Mobile plant. From left: William J. Bushell, chairman of the board and president; Sheldon M. Wool, vice president-Finance; Victor Baker, plant manager; Dennis Warren, plant manager; J. Dwight Bell, Jr., general sales manager; and Ben L. Skinner, Southern's district sales manager-Mobile. |
 |
Men like Sheldon Morgan and Jim Nutter refuse to take full credit for the economic growth in the area. But they do feel that their efforts, and those of Task Force 200, have created a climate of interest and cooperation that is helpful in attracting new industry .
Many companies have located in the Mobile area and, significantly, they keep expanding their operations. During the five-year period, 1633-1968, the capital investment in new or expanded industries served by Southern has moved well over the $300,000,000 mark.
While it would be impossible to report on all of these companies, review of a representative group paints a significant picture of Southern Railway's role in the economic development of southwest Alabama.
Union Carbide Corporation's Linde Division underwent a $3,000,000 expansion in 1965. |
 |
Courtaulds Chemical Company has a huge textile plant located directly on Southern's line north of Mobile. The diversified, British-based corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of staple fiber.
George Mills, general traffic manager for Courtaulds, well remembers his first experience with Southern Railway: "I was sent over here from England in 1950 to locate a new plant site in America. When I first looked at this site I had no idea there was a railroad here and on my way in from the road I literally stumbled over Southern's main line.
"I can tell you though, the fact that Southern Railway had a line through here was the ultimate determining factor in deciding to locate in this region.
The International Paper Company, home of the corporation's Southern KraIt Division. |
 |
"There are three basic reasons for this," says Mr . Mills, "In a bulk manufacturing process like ours, rail is the only mode of transportation that can efficiently handle the volume we produce.
"Secondly, the overall dependability of rail service is important. The railroads don't stop operating on Sundays and holidays and this means our products keep moving to our customers.
Shell Chemical Company is building a $10,000,000 complex in Mobile to produce insecticides. |
 |
"Last is the competitive rates offered by Southern. We operate on a very low profit margin and a small difference in rates can make a big difference in the profit column."
Another large manufacturing company just up the track from Courtaulds is the Stauffer Chemical company. Stauffer has two large plants-an industrial division and an agricultural division.
Geigy Chemical Company at McIntosh, Alabama has undergone a number of recent expansions. |
 |
Transportation is a vital part of the Stauffer operation. Raw materials include sulfur from Texas and salt from Louisiana, both brought in by barge. Many of the chemicals Stauffer manufactures, including chlorine, caustic soda and sulfuric acid are shipped out by rail to the Southeast.
In addition, Stauffer pipes sulfuric acid and carbon bisulfide direct to Courtaulds for use as raw materials in their textile manufacturing process. This interdependency of interests is a common occurrence among many of the closely-related industries in southwest Alabama.
The close relationship between these industries is evident in this picture of three of Mobile's major companies. Stauffer's industrial division is at top, the agricultural division at bottom of picture. Southern's track runs through foreground. |
 |
Stauffer, too, is heavily dependent on rail transportation. As Pat L. Baker, office manager of the Mobile plant, says, ""We wouldn't have located in this area without the assurance of good, dependable rail service." The paper industry is the largest single employer and investor in the Mobile area. The giants of the industry are here including Scott, Allied and International, and they are all served by Southern.
Here the International Paper Company has established the headquarters of its Southern Kraft Division, a complex of 11 paper mills and 30 converter plants stretching throughout the South.
Southern's district sales manager, Ben Skinner, talks to Pat, Baker, office manager of Stuaffer Chemical Company. |
 |
The prime requirements for paper-making are wood and fresh water, both of which southwest Alabama has in abundance. Even so, the plant's huge consumption of pulpwood means that International Paper must bring in about 500,000 cords of wood and wood chips a year, more than 50% of it by rail. From these raw materials the Mobile Mill produces about 35,000 tons a month of newsprint and other paper products.
Chlorine and caustic soda are produced at this Diamond Shamrock Company plant. |
 |
Clem H. Jacques, traffic manager of International Paper's Southern Kraft Division, feels that Southern's Super-Cushion freight cars have represented a big advance in the shipping of paper products.
"There has been a significant reduction in damage since we began using the cushion underframe cars," says Mr. Jacques, "and this is advantageous for everyone the customer, the shipper and the railroad."
At the International Paper Company Clem H. Jacques, traffic manager (left), and A. Porter Roberts, coordinator-rail services (right) inspect one of Southern's Super-Cushion freight cars with Ben Skinner, district sales manager in Mobile. |
 |
For all the industrial development now going on in the Mobile area, the future is brighter still. Under consideration is a plan to dredge the Mobile River to a depth of 40 feet. If completed, the river channel would admit more than 90% of current ocean shipping and serve as an additional spur in attracting new industry .
Perhaps even more promising for the immediate future is a private development known as Jacintoport-Mobile. This is a 7100-acre tract of industrial land paralleling Southern Railway's track north of Mobile. The developers are now negotiating with several industries and it seems probable that Jacintoport-Mobile when developed will be one of the South's major industrial sites.
The Aluminum Company of America Is located near the Alabama State Docks in Mobile. |
 |
As these developments grow, Southern Railway intends to grow right along with them, providing the high quality rail service essential to modern industry