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I dedicate this page to the men & women in my family, a family of General Motors employees.  First to my grandfather, William Foor Sr.,  that started in the first plant you see to the right abt. 1919.  He later transfered to the Mallable Iron and retired in the 1960s.  He helped my father, Robert Evans, become employed with General Motors in the late 1940s.  My father retired from GM in the late 70s.  I, Carol Obertein, worked for 5-years as a contract employee from 1999-2004.  My daughter, Sunshine (Obertein) Young still works at SMCO.  Four generations with General Motors. 

   In September 1918 GM Corporation started construction on the original pant called Central Foundry Division on 65 acres of land.  They employed over 900 employees and melted over 200 tons of iron per day; ending the year pouring 88,547 tons.  

      In 1927 the plant transferred to Chevrolet Motor Division and became known as Chevrolet Saginaw Grey Iron. 

Saginaw Products Co. 1918

The Saginaw River had once saw its day of lumberjacks and lumbering was now put to a new use in 1929 when the plant's first shipload of pig iron, coal, sand, and limestone was brought up river to a new modern dock facility.  

The SandSucker" Story

      It always seems that there's a story or history behind everything, right? Well, the plant is no exception to that rule.  I'm sure the name "NIAGARA" conjures up memories for many of our employees, especially those who joined our team before 1982. But who remembers the "Peter Koenig" or the "Hydro?" "Well sit right back and you'll hear some facts, some facts about three sandsuckers that serviced the plant from 1928 through 1982.  ...."ALL ABOARD!"

The first sandsucker to service the plant was the "Peter Koenig"  Koenig is the German word for king.  The ship's original name was the E. Gunnell, when it was owned by the P.K. Coat Co.  The ship's name was changed to the "Peter Koenig" in 1925 under it's new owners the Koenig Transportation Co. out of Detroit, Mi.  The ship started servicing the plant with sand in 1928.  The "Peter Koenig" wound up as a Canadian tanker with five different owners in her last days.  The last owner was the Transit Tankers & Terminals Ltd.  The "Peter Koenig" was lost off of Sept-Ilsle, Quebec on August 7, 1972.

The next ship to service the plant was the "Hydro."  She was built in 1913 at Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  She was 172 ft. long and was commissioned as a sand boat.  She serviced the plant until 1958.  

The last and most unique ship to service the plant was the "Niagara." She serviced the plant with sand from 1959-1982.  Her captain for all of her service at the plant was Capt. John M. Vieira.  Capt. John started sailing at the ripe-old age of sixteen.  He worked his way up through the hawse-pipe to become a captain.  

What made the "Niagara" so unique was her past service life and the fact that she was the last known boat on the Great Lakes to have a wooden (oak) sheathed bottom.  The reason for the sheathed bottom was for insurance purposes.  The wooden sheathing was an external layer to the steel hull.  The steel back then didn't have the tensile strength of modern steel and therefore needed some external protection.  The insurance companies would give better insurance rates back then if the ship had hull reinforcement.  If the ship ran aground it would smash or crack the sheathed bottom but the internal steel hull would be preserved from damage.  The wooden sheathing was easier and less costly to replace than the steel hull.  The sheathed bottom was taken off during her shortening around 1926.

Well, now to the birth place of the "Niagara."  She was built in 1897 at the Old Wheeler Shipyards in Bay City, Michigan.  She launched and commissioned on May 29, 1897 as a 

pulpwood carrier on the Great Lakes.  At the time she serviced the Hammermill Paper Co.  The "Niagara" had many facelifts during her long and illustrious career.  She was converted from a pulpwood carrier to a crane boat, then converted (shortened) to a package freighter and finally converted to a self-unloading sandsucker at Erie Sand and Gravel Company, Erie, Pennsylvania in 1959.  The "Niagara" may have also moonlighted as an ore, grain, and coal carrier in her earlier days, when wild cargoes seemed profitable.

The "Niagara" was involved with one of the most fascinating operations on the Saginaw River, and to the automobile industry, one of the most important.  She pumped sand from ravely Shoal - about thirty (30) miles out in Saginaw Bay, just off Point Lookout and transported it to the Chevrolet-Saginaw Foundries.  She averaged about 2,100 tons of sand per run.

Each run took about eighteen hours, three hours down the river from the sand and stone dock at the foundry, three more hours from the mouth of the river, three hours to pump in 2,100 tons of sand, and then back home again.  Once she reached the docks the six-hour unloading began.  The on-deck crane with the 80 foot boom and attached shovel went into action.  Waiting at the foundry, dock, were nine or so railroad cars.  Some of the sand would be placed in storage, and the rest would be used immediately for sand molds and cores which form castings when the liquid iron is poured.

The quality of the sand was tested by one of the crew members, it was dried, weighed and sifted during the pumping operation.  It had to meet General Motors specifications.

The sources for the actual suction operation were housed in the pump room of the "Niagara".  There were two 16-inch centrifugal force pumps, each driven by a 250-horsepower GM engine.  Her main engine was also a GM diesel.

The "Niagara" served the Chevrolet Grey Iron Foundry until 1982, Grey Iron began buying it's sand from the Wirt Stone Co., and in the fall of 1989 switched sources to the Sergeant Sand Co.  

But what about the "Niagara" you ask?  Well, she is still afloat by the Erie sand Dock in Erie, PA.  The city of Erie is developing the waterfront and is addressing the idea of converting the "Niagara" into a floating maritime museum.  Raising the funds to restore her is another story.  So the story goes.

And to the "Niagara" Captain John & Crew we say, "Thank You," for your service from 1959-1982.

Dedicated to Capt. John M. Vieira who passed away in 1992.

Hello, my name is Charles Vaughn. For many years now I have been
 searching for a photograph of the Motor Vessel "Niagara" of Erie Sand
 Steamship Company. Out of Erie PA.  I happened upon your site about the
 casting plant history, and bingo! there was a picture of the Niagara. I
 tell my story from the perspective of the ship, not the plant. I sailed
 on the Niagara, and was part of delivering many loads of sand to the
 plant. My duty was as a crewmember of the engine department. I remember
 that main diesel engine, as a 567-c model general motors. and the ships
 generator sets were general motors 6-71 model diesels. She still was
 using the original steam powered steering engine to turn the rudder, but
 operated it on compressed air. One of the original scoth marine type,
 steam boilers was still on board, but welded shut and used as a air
 receiver,storage tank.Same with the anchor windlass,and deck winches, they
 were original steam operated, being run on compressed air. The
 diesels were all wartime naval surpluss units, that replaced the
 original steam engines.I remember the sand dock and its operations very
 well. i also know that sand got in everything and everywhere, just blown by
 the wind. i have taken bites of my steak dinner on board, and got that
 crunchy taste of sand between my teeth! Always cleaning and sweeping
 decks and living quarters, due to sand accumulation also. But she was a
 good feeder, and would supply anything a guy asked for. i knew Captain
 John M. Vierra personnaly, he signed my seamans documents upon hire,
 and discharge. a good,fair,honest man that always treated me with respect
 and kindness. i just now learned of his passing on your site. But even
 years after i left the company i still thought of cappin' john, every
 now and then.I could go on and on about the Niagara and the crew i
 worked with, but i just wondered if anyone had any pictures of Niagara, and
 wouldnt mind sharing one or two, to make an old retired sea dog
 happy? I spent seven years on the great lakes, on various types of
 vessels, but NONE will ever compare, or hold memories like that old green
 sandsucker did.Thank you for listening, and for the great history of
 nodular iron, in saginaw.
  Reguards, Charles. Niagara engine room, 1970 to 1975.
  P.s. I remember the captains girlfriend being named carol also, what
 a coincidence!

[email protected]

Hi Charles,
  I am also coping the Saginaw County maillist on your email message
 regarding the Vessel "Niagara" in case anyone else has information or a
 photo for you.
  General Motors just put out a nice hard cover book "Celebrating 90
 years 1917 to 2007" regarding the history of the Malleable Iron plant
 that has closed.  It seems there was something in there also.  I will
 check. 
  If you would like to write about the time and people who worked on
 the "Niagara" I would be more than happy to add it to the website for
 everyone to enjoy!  I will also add what you wrote in this email to the
 page regarding the "Niagara" in case others would like to contact you!
  Thank you so much for sharing this time aboard with us.  I hope all of
 your steak dinners are now sand free!!!
  
  Carolyn


 

Core Processing Area

The 50s and 60s brought new technology changes of the first electric furnace, V9 engine block for Chevrolet, the first automatic Conveyor, the completion of an experimental foundry, first nodular iron poured, L6 green sand replaced by oil sand cores, the completion of the Nodular Iron plant, the first water wall cupola, and the first auto pour.  The employment level was at 6300 people and reached its all time high in the early 70s employing 6,846 people.

Core Room Storage and Assembly

Pattern and Tool-Making area

Green Sand Molding Process

Molding Process-Locating Cope Onto Drag

Manual Iron-Pouring Into Molds

Crane Ladle Receiving Iron from Furnace

In 1972 the last of the twenty-two conventional cupolas were replaced by the more modern water-cooled cupolas.  In 1975 L4 started making the engine block for the Chevette (T-car).  In 1977 the plant set the World Melt Record of 5,733 tons in one day.  Pouring it's 35th million ton in 1980.  The 70s saw hard times with the ending or the Vietnam War the employment dropped to 3600 employees.  Reducing its work force almost in half.  

The 90's brought continuous improvement when the plant joined GM Powertrain.  It was awarded the contract to produce aluminum heads pouring its first production aluminum heads in 1995.  

In 1994 during the 75-Year Open House celebration week a plant naming contest was held to reflect the addition of aluminum casting capacity to its 75-year heritage of iron production.  Ann Drolet, Plant Engineering, won $5000 in "Name the Plant" contest and the plant had officially renamed the GM Powertrain to "Saginaw Metal Castings Operations (SMCO)"