Mar. 31—CRESSONA — Even at half its original size, the once 225-foot-tall smokestack at Hydro-Extrusions North America retains the sense of awe it has commanded for about 80 years.
Part of the original defense plant built by the Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1940s, the red brick structure is being dismantled to make way for a $50 million expansion of the aluminum production plant.
"We're taking it down, brick by brick," said Brad Morgan, plant manager. "It's sad because it's been a navigational beacon for so many years."
Workmen from Gerard Chimney Co., a Missouri business that specializes in demolition of smokestacks, began taking down the venerable symbol of mid-20th century manufacturing last week.
During an on-site tour Friday, senior plant safety coordinator Kevin Svenson said the smokestack was once part of the coal-fired boiler house that supplied heat to the factory where a workforce primarily made up of women made clothing and munitions for World War II.
"Workmen found the mortar had deteriorated at the top of the smokestack," said Svenson, who also coordinates the plant's health and environmental programs. "It would have had to come down at some point anyway."
Starting at the top on circular scaffolding, workmen are gradually taking apart the smokestack a layer of bricks at a time.
As bricks are loosened with air hammers, they are dropped inside the cavernous structure. Every morning, an excavator removes the bricks through an opening at the bottom of the smokestack.
Morgan, 43, who grew up around Valley View, said some of the bricks are being crushed and will be used in the foundation of an addition to the plant.
About 2,000 bricks will be engraved and made into a walkway or wall, he said.
In addition to the smokestack, the original coal gasification boiler house and another of the original buildings are being taken down. The boiler house is already demolished.
$100 million investment
Once the smokestack and the other two buildings are cleared, Hydro will begin construction of a $50 million plant that processes recycled aluminum, Morgan said.
At the same time, another $50 million project to install two largely automated presses made by Presezzi Extrusion Group in Italy is underway.
Together, the projects represent a $100 million investment in the Cressona plant, which is owned by Norsk Hydro of Oslo, Norway. The company's North American division, based in Chicago, oversees operations at over 20 plants.
At Cressona, Hydro employs about 900 workers in the manufacturing process and another 200 in administrative operations.