Carpenter Steel Company
In late 1887, Carpenter went to Europe to study steel foundries and the metallurgy of steel. During this time he developed the improved processes that he would later patent.[5] Carpenter returned home at the end of December 1888 looking for financial support to start his business. Working with a small group of New York capitalists, he found that the city council in Reading, Pennsylvania, encouraged his efforts and that Reading would be an "ideal place" to put his ideas to work.[5]
Carpenter Steel Company, Inc. was incorporated on June 7, 1889, and Carpenter became its general manager. He leased the defunct Philadelphia and Reading rail mill in Reading, and eleven weeks later he was pouring steel for tools.[1] Within a short time, 3,000 tons of steel had been produced and the company was receiving orders that exceeded the capacity of the mill. In November Carpenter acquired the nearby Union Foundry, which he modernized and expanded. The old Union Foundry is now the headquarters of the Carpenter Technology Corporation and is a specialty steel producer.[16]
Rob Engle describes Carpenter's approach as an employer in an essay for the Historical Society of Berks County: "James Carpenter, founder of Carpenter Steel, believed strongly in the safety and welfare of his employees. Photographs of the era depict employees receiving medical care at company sponsored health clinics, clean dormitory rooms provided to workers, employees engaged in spirited games of baseball on a Carpenter Steel-maintained field at lunch time, and happy workers participating in a local parade. Far from being entirely company propaganda, Carpenter Steel's approach to employee relations is supported by the fact that five drives to unionize workers over the years all resulted in a rejection of union affiliation in favor of remaining a non-union shop. The company's policy was to 'stay one step ahead of the union benefits and offer Carpenter employees all the advantages of union membership without joining.[17]"
Carpenter bought property and built an Italianate house at 606, North Fifth Street, Reading, which he called Swanona (not Swannanoa). The house is slightly over a mile south of the Carpenter foundry, and Carpenter often walked to work. He became involved in community affairs as a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and later became a Vice Commander of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, also known as the Union Veteran Legion, in Reading. These organizations gained him business contacts and led him to learn that specialty steel was needed by the U.S. Navy.[5]
Benjamin F. Tracy, the Secretary of the Navy from 1889 though 1893 during the administration of US President Benjamin Harrison, had been promoting a "New Navy" to replace the aged vessels of the Civil War era. One requirement was for three new battleships, for which the Navy needed both new, harder steel and projectiles that could pierce such steel. A contract for a critical specialized tool steel was signed in May 1890. In June, Congress passed a commitment to increased funding for the new ships, giving rise to a need for new steel to pierce their armored plates, and in June 1891 a new contract was signed for armor-piercing projectiles of 4–13 inches' diameter.[16][18]
From 1890, Carpenter used a process for treating steel ingots by air hardening. Application for a patent was delayed at first, because the process was deemed a state secret.[5] Carpenter filed an application on March 14, 1895, with the title "Apparatus for treating Ingots of Steel", but there was a further delay before the patent was finally awarded on July 3, 1900.[19]
USS Indiana (BB-1), the first modern United States battleship, was commissioned on November 20, 1895, and was considered a test bed for future battleships. This class of ship did not use Carpenter's steel, but Harvey armor, in which only the facing of the steel plates was hardened. The belt armor plates on Indiana were at most eighteen inches thick, and most plates were far less. A standard 13-inch gun used on the USS Indiana was expected to penetrate 10–12 inches of Harvey armor. Testing showed that Carpenter's projectiles fired from the same gun could achieve penetrations of up to 15 inches. In November 1896, the Navy informed Congress that Carpenter's projectiles had tested successfully, calling them "the first made that would pierce improved armor plate".[7][16]
When USS Maine (ACR-1) exploded in Havana Harbor, Cuba, on February 15, 1898, "Remember the Maine!" became a rallying cry and the pace at Carpenter Steel became frantic as the demand for the new projectiles increased.[16] Carpenter borrowed money against the value of his house to increase production. He was already in debt, but was considered a good credit risk because of the US Navy contracts. But these contracts used Carpenter Steel's entire production capacity, and payments were always late.[7]
Carpenter and the board members of Carpenter Steel Company became slightly estranged during the last part of 1897. Increased debts, business costs, employee benefits and other economic factors were the main part of the problem. Carpenter offered to resign as general manager, but this was not accepted until March 1898.[5][7]
The armor-piercing projectiles used during the Spanish–American War of 1898, which devastated the Spanish fleets, were Carpenter projectiles.[16] Letters later sent to Carpenter and to the Carpenter Steel Company gave glowing reports of their projectiles.[7]
