INDUSTRIAL HAMILTON: A TRAIL TO THE
FUTURE
Procter & Gamble, Incorporated
Location: Burlington Street, Hamilton, Ontario
In
1913, the Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company (based in Cincinnati) purchased
seven acres of land and two acres of water on the south side of Burlington Street
between Depew and Ottawa Streets in Hamilton. This event marked the beginning
of Procter & Gamble's operations outside of the United States. The following
year construction started on their Hamilton plant, which cost $1 million and
consisted of seven buildings: the Crisco building, the boiler house, the gas
plant, the soap building, the hardening plant, the kettle and glycerin house,
and the machine shop. In 1915 the plant was officially opened, employing 75
workers who made six different products. Two years later the factory office
building was constructed and profit sharing was introduced for the employees.
Along with profit sharing came the "Dividend Day." Held twice a year,
this day was essentially a party for P&G employees and their families. In
the summer it would involve a company picnic, and in the winter it consisted
of a vaudeville show and a dance.
With
the onset of the 1920's came a reorganization of the Hamilton plant. Most notably,
seasonal production was eliminated permitting greater job security for employees.
Seasonal layoffs became a thing of the past as workers were guaranteed 48 weeks
employment for each year. In 1924, all the Hamilton land accumulated by the
Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company was turned over to the Procter &
Gamble Company of Canada (P&G), marking their partial independence from
the American parent company. In the following years, P&G constructed several
additions to their plant including an edible products building (for the manufacture
of shortening) and a separate deodorizer department. By 1928 P&G owned all
the remaining property north of Burlington Street between Depew and Ottawa Streets
and employment had reached 200. 1932 marked P&G's adoption of the five-day
work week, making them the first Canadian company to do so. Further land was
purchased in 1936 boosting the total property owned by P&G to 32 acres.
In 1938 the factory office building was extended and three years later the first
warehouse building was constructed.
It
was apparent that P&G's Hamilton plant was prospering since in 1944 the
first of six major expansion plans was started. Costing $4.9 million and lasting
four years this project included the construction of: another soap building,
a synthetic detergents tower (allowing for the production of dish detergent),
and a refinery building. Furthermore, the warehouse was expanded, the machine
shop and control laboratory were enlarged, and the boiler house received a high
pressure 900 pound steam boiler. By the end of the first expansion project employment
had grown to 494. The second expansion project commenced in 1948 and coincided
with the start of production of Tide in the synthetic detergent tower. This
new project cost $2,714,000 and was completed in 1950. Its purpose was to turn
production into a continuous process, thereby increasing efficiency as well
as output. To that effect, the continuous soap making hydrolizer and the continuous
hardening machine (hydrogenator) were built in 1949. Moreover, additional packing
lines and a refinery kettle were constructed. With the completion of the second
expansion project came the introduction of the third. Expansion plan no. 3 was
considerably smaller (in terms of money) than the other plans and consisted
mainly of installing new edible processing equipment. Also in 1950, the first
P&G open house was held at the Hamilton plant for employees and their families.
By this time employment had reached 600 and over twenty different products were
being manufactured.
In
1952, expansion plan no. 4 was set into motion, costing $2,716,000. It included
the construction of a second standard granules tower, as well as the introduction
of centrifuges, which made continuous refining of edible oils possible. Another
advancement that year was the conversion of the gas plant from A.C. to D.C.
current. The following year expansion no. 5 was carried out, focusing on the
installation of specialized equipment to handle animal fats and vegetable oils
separately. The final major expansion plan was initiated in 1954 and cost $1.6
million. Upon its completion, edible oil product capacity was increased by 25%,
involving 46 individual equipment changes and two building additions.
By 1956 P&G employed 700 people in Hamilton and made 55 products there.
This led to its reputation as the most complex plant in the P&G organization.
Though not the largest, the Hamilton plant turned out more brands in more sizes
than any other plant. It was during 1956 that the research and development building
was erected, permitting the invention of new products as well as the improvement
of old ones. In 1957 Barsalou soap was discontinued but thanks to the R&D
building (which underwent a $750,000 expansion), two new products were introduced:
Dash (a low suds detergent), and Comet (a household cleanser). In the following
years several new buildings were constructed, such as: an industrial relations
building, a soap building, a warehouse, and a mechanical department. In 1964
P&G purchased land from its neighbour Shell Oil, increasing its property
to 38 acres. It was around this time that employment at P&G in Hamilton
reached its peak at just under 1,000.
1984
brought on a new set of developments starting with a $10 million expansion and
equipment overhaul. The subsequent year saw P&G beginning to remove its
traditional moon-and-stars logo from its products due to the persistence of
a rumour linking the logo (and consequently the company behind it) with Satanism.
P&G eventually dispelled these rumours in 1991, when a court ordered two
people working for a rival company to stop spreading the rumours (and ordered
them to pay P&G $75,000 as well). In 1990 P&G invested $5 million in
new equipment and training to make possible the production of Lava heavy-duty
hard soap. The Hamilton plant became the exclusive producer of Lava for the
entire United States market. Despite this important position, employment at
the plant was declining. Layoffs had dropped the number of workers to 700. That
number was reduced to 460 in 1993, coinciding with the announcement by P&G's
American parent company that it would close 30 plants worldwide. The following
year the Hamilton workers discovered that their plant was spared, however only
375 of them were left to operate it.
1995 marked the completion of a $10 million renovation program, which produced
a new cafeteria and a fitness room at the plant, among other things. Additionally,
production was simplified as more than 20 brands were dropped so that bar and
liquid soaps could be focused on. In 1998 the cutback trend continued and only
220 employees remained. By the end of the year, they were let go, as the Hamilton
plant announced its closure. On October 10, 1999 the plant was demolished, although
the warehouse remained open as a distribution center.
Click here to see more Procter & Gamble pictures.
References:
- 60 Years in Hamilton - Procter & Gamble.
- Galaxy, June 1971 - June 1976.
- Procter & Gamble Incorporated Scrapbook vol. 1. Special Collections, HPL.
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