Welcome to Dorr-Oliver's Open House - Dorr-Oliver Alumni

While all of this was taking place the Hazleton plant was
having its own auspicious beginning.
Ernest J . Sweetland, an inventor whose career paralleled
that ofE. L. Oliver and Dr. Dorr, played the major role in the
company's early development in Hazleton. The inventor of
the Sweetland Filter and a pioneer in industrial filtration, he
became president of the United Filter Corporation, a company
formed from the American and Kelly Filter Companies
and the Sweetland Filter Press Company. This company had
its beginning in 1907.
In 1919Sweetland looked for a plant site. He found a plant
in Hazleton with a foundry, office & machine shop. It was
situated on thirteen acres of land, most of it wooded. He
purchased the site, that ofthe present plant - and moved in.
Almost immediately, plans were made for expanding the
30,000 sq. ft. facilities and by the end of 1920, additions were
completed bringing the total to 53,000 sq. ft. The company's
products, the Sweetland Pressure Filter, American Disc Filter
and Plate and Frame Presser found welcome markets,
principally in the sugar producing industry and the metallurgical
fields.
In 1923, the manufacture of Kelly Filter was added at the
plant and the period from 1920 to 1928 was marked with
sizable growth for both the company and the plant itself. A
pattern shop and storage building was completed in 1925 and
the following year a north wing was added to the office building.
Then in 1928, a second era in the history of the plant began.
This is the year that the United Filter Corp. and the Oliver
Continuous Filter Corp. merged to form the Oliver United
Filters, Inc. The merger increased the combined operations
line of products measurably. The staff in Hazleton increased
and in 1929, an expansion of the facility, which included a
fabricating shop and a laboratory, was completed. Many filters
of Oliver origin began to appear on the assembly floor
and in 1937 the original foundry building was converted to an
assembly shop to accommodate the widened line of products
manufactured.The outbreak of World War II brought United
States industry to a hectic pace. In 1942, a long side bay was
added to the assembly shop to provide for expanding production.
Notable during this period was the production of Oliver
Synrub Filters built for the government for their synthetic
rubber program. This was an important contribution to the
company's war-time effort. The important post-war expansion
of the Hazleton facility took place in 1947 when the
capacity of the fabricating shop was doubled and a sizable
addition to the assembly shop was completed.
January 1, 1955 was the beginning of the third and most
important period in the history ofthe plant. This marked the
merging ofthe DorrCompany and Oliver United Filters, Inc.
to form Dorr-Oliver, Inc. An unprecedented increase of
equipment orders quickly filled the plant facility and sharply
raised the number of employees. By 1956, volumes of orders
entered by the company became too great for its production
capacity and it was decided to undertake an expansion ofthe
Hazleton plant. Fabricating shop space was again doubled
and the service departments gained much needed additional
floor space. This capacity increase, sizable as it was, was not
enough to balance production with sales and in late 1956, a
second capacity increase was announced. Under this program,
assembly shop space was enlarged to twice its 1947
proportions while the service shops again received increased
space. Much new equipment was installed and offices were
completely renovated and enlarged.
Additional phases of this expansion were increased in outside
storage area and material handling facilities and the
purchase of an unoccupied lot adjacent to the plant site and
its conversion into an improved parking area for employees
to· supplement the overcrowded existing lot.
While Dorr-Oliver was experiencing this unprecedented
growth, the Hazleton area was going through some of its most
trying times. There was a drastic decrease in coal mining
operations and related employment. Dorr-Oliver emerged as
a major industrial leader, providing stable employment
while unemployment ran rampant throughout the area. The
firm played an important role in the industrial rebuilding of
the area in conjunction with Can-Do, Hazleton's industrial
development organization. Dorr-Oliver management and its
employees actively supported a Can-Do drive for funds to
acquire property for industrial use and the construction of
shells to attract industrial prospects.
In 1960, another expansion was completed at the Hazleton
plant which brought the size of the plant to in excess of
222,000 sq. ft. In 1961 the centrifugal line of business was
transferred from the company's facility in Oakland, California
to Hazleton. In 1963, another major equipment line,
sedimentation, was transferred to Hazleton. This line of
equipment had been manufactured in the company's operation
in Denver, Colorado. The last decade and more importantly
the last fi ve years has seen millions of dollar in new
machine tools bein g installed in the Hazleton plant. These
new machine tools have enabled the Hazleton facility to
increase production, reduce costs, and reduce lead time required
to ship products to the customer. A new addition is
under construction at the present time. When this addition is
completed, the engine lathe section and the surface grinding
equipment will be moved in.
As this equipment is moved, preparation will be made for
the installation of a Giddings and Lewis computernumerically
controlled boring mill. This new machine tool
will cost a half million dollars.
Looking back, the history of the plant has been one of
continued growth in capacity and importance to its worldwide
organization and to the community itself. In 1919,50
employees ma naged a small foundry and shop. In the
mid-1950's the employment grew to 250 people and today itis
just under 500 capable, skilled personnel. This diverse team
of employees represent a combination of management,
supervision, skilled machinists, welders and assemblers, and
support personnel, and a skilled office force.
When you walk through the Hazleton manufacturing segment
of Dorr-Oliver, Inc., you will become witness to its great
heritage.
Note: A great deal of the information in this article came {rom a (o rmer Plant
Manager, Wilbur Evans. We thank him for his kind cooperation.
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