Nordberg Manufacturing Company

Nordberg Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of steam engines, large diesel engines, pumps, hoists and compressors for the mining and quarry industries located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1]

History

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Nordberg's distinctive design of diesel pancake engine, used for pumping

The company was founded by Bruno V. Nordberg and Jacob Elias Friend in 1886 in Milwaukee. Nordberg had previously been working at steam engine and sawmill maker E. P. Allis & Co.[2] Friend became the company's president,[3] and later his son, Robert E. Friend, was president and chief executive officer.[4]

In 1917, Bruno Nordberg was contracted by Quincy Mining Company to design and build the world's largest steam hoist for their copper mine near Hancock, Michigan. The hoist is a cross compound steam hoist. It was installed in the Quincy Mine No. 2 Shaft Hoist House, began operations in November 1920, and ran until the mine closed in 1931.[citation needed] It is currently available for guided historical tours.

Nordberg produced a number of marine triple-expansion steam engines for ships built under the United States Shipping Board program, ca. 1918-1920:

Diameters of 19-32-56 and a stroke of 36 inches for wooden steamers (188nhp)

Diameter of 19-32-56 and a stroke of 36 inches (330nhp)

Diameter of 21-35-59 and a stroke of 42 inches (225nhp)

Diameter of 21-35-59 and a stroke of 42 inches (307nhp)

By 1926, they were manufacturing diesel engines, steam engines (poppet-uniflow Corliss), air compressors, gas compressors, mine hoists (steam, air, and electric) and blowing engines.[5]

In 1944, they designed and built the largest diesel engine that has ever been built in the United States. It was built for a Victory ship built for the United States Maritime Commission.[6][7]

In 1946, they bought the Busch-Sulzer Diesel Engine Company which was formed in 1911 by Adolphus Busch of Anheuser-Busch Brewery. Busch had acquired the first American rights to the diesel engine in 1898.[8]

Nordberg was acquired by Rex ChainBelt Inc (formerly Chain Belt Company) in 1970, and was to become a division of Rex.[9] By that time, Nordberg had been manufacturing mineral and rock crushing equipment, screens, grinding mills, and hoists, heavy duty diesel and gas turbines, railroad maintenance machinery, hydraulic valves presses and other components.[9]

Nordberg was acquired by Finland's Rauma Corporation in 1989, which was later merged into Metso in 1999.[10] Metso closed Nordberg's former Milwaukee factory in 2004.[11]

List of Ships

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Nordberg engines were installed on several auxiliary United States Navy ships[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Bruno Victor Nordberg (1858 to 1924) | Forest Home Cemetery". foresthomecemetery.com.
  2. ^ "Nordberg Manufacturing Co. - History | VintageMachinery.org". vintagemachinery.org.
  3. ^ "Metso global website".
  4. ^ "Kelly E. Costigan, T. E. Smith Wed". The New York Times. June 13, 1982.
  5. ^ "The Milwaukee Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-22.
  6. ^ "The Milwaukee Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2014-07-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "The Milwaukee Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24.
  9. ^ a b "The Milwaukee Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-02.
  10. ^ "Our history - Metso". Metso.
  11. ^ Rovito, Rich (September 29, 2003). "Metso to close former Nordberg plant". Milwaukee Business Journal.
  12. ^ individual ship pages on navsource.org
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