P6875

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Details

ID Number

P6875

Item Name

Image

Title

Brunner Mond Canada Ltd. / Compagnie Brunner Mond Canada Ltd.

Title (Fre)

Compagnie Brunner Mond Canada Ltd.

Date

ca 1950

Description

Black and white aerial view of the Brunner Mond Canada Ltd. Chemical plant; the plant is large and consists of a number of buildings; there are railroad tracks running around the right side of the photo with trains heading to or away from the plant; the Detroit River is visible in the foreground of the photo; the plant is surrounded by farmland.

History

The Brunner Mond Company was created in 1873 by Dr. Ludwig Mond, a talented German chemist, and John Tomlison Brunner in Britain. Brunner & Mond made positive changes to workers lives, including paid vacations and shorter work weeks, and built a very successful company while continually improving upon the Solvay process of producing soda ash. Mining was becoming a big industry in Canada and the soil in Amherstburg was ideal for producing soda ash. Construction on a plant in Amherstburg began on March 15, 1917. Provincial authorities refused to accept the Brunner Mond Company's plan for waste disposal. This problem, coupled with the terrible state of Amherstburg's water system, resulted in the company agreeing to build a water purification plant large enough for town consumption. Following a series of delays, the first shipment of soda ash left the plant, bound for Montreal on September 13, 1919. In the 1920s a housing shortage in Amherstburg caused Brunner Mond Canada Limited to purchase empty houses in the city, and to build a number of company houses on Brunner Avenue. Also in 1920 the Company built the Brunner Mond Club which included a dance floor, bowling alley and meeting rooms. In 1934 the Solvay Process Company purchased all remaining stocks in Brunner Mond Canada Limited and began expanding the operation. A three month strike in 1946 was followed by a $3,000,000 expansion to the soda ash plant. In 1958 Brunner Mond Canada Limited joined with five other companies and became Allied Chemical Canada, Limited. By 1960 the company was eight times its original size and encompassed 1500 acres of land. On May 27, 1986 the company became known as General Chemical. In 2005 General Chemical when bankrupt and in 2012 the demolition of the site began.

Place made

Canada - Ontario - Amherstburg

Collection Name

Museum Windsor

Topic

Detroit River / Rivière Détroit

Subjects

Aerial views / Vues aériennes

Allied Chemical Canada Ltd. / Chimique Allié Canada Ltd.

Amherstburg (Ont.)

Brunner Mond Canada Ltd. / Compagnie Brunner Mond Canada Ltd.

Chemical industry / Industrie de produits chimiques

Chemicals / Produits chimiques

Croplands / Terres pour l'agriculture

Factories / Usines

Farms / Fermes

General Chemical / Compagnie de produits chimiques General Chemical

Railroad cars / Wagons

Railroad tracks / Voie ferrée

Rivers / Cours d'eau

Shipping / Transports maritimes