MAIZEWOOD INSULATION COMPANY

MAIZEWOOD INSULATION COMPANY. In May 1928, machinery was being installed at the Maizewood Products plant in Dubuque and it was announced the company would open before June. A twenty-four hour production schedule was anticipated due to the orders already placed for maizewood. There were more than eight thousand tons of cornstalks already in storage at the plant site. Marketing of the product was managed through the Chicago office of the firm.

At the time of the development of the Dubuque plant, the company underwent a major change of officers. Hugh Brennan, organizer of the company and other, sold their interest to a group of Chicago businessmen. Among these was W. S. Trader, vice-president, who was a sound and insulation engineer. He had developed and patented Multi-Fibre and Acoustical Celotex and had served as the engineering counsel of the Celotex Corporation. Among the directors of the company was William H. MEUSER. (1)

In 1929 the Development Bureau of the Illinois Central System reported that the Maizewood Products Corp. at Dubuque was producing and soon would be ready to run on capacity schedule. The company would employ between 100 and 115 men and would turn out 100,000 square feet of insulation board, MAIZEWOOD, daily from corn stalks. (2)

In 1930 eighteen carloads of cornstalks which otherwise would have been burned off in the field were shipped to Dubuque. The Department of Agricultural Engineering at Iowa State College (later Iowa State University) in Ames harvested and baled the stalks using machinery built by the engineering department. Farmers were paid $1.75 per ton. Freight on the stalks amounted to $2.56 per ton. On delivery to the plant, $10.00 was paid per ton. (3) The manufacturing plant was purchased in January 1930 by National Cornstalk Processes, Inc. (4)

In 1931 the business, which had been busy providing insulation board for the Chicago World's Fair, along with ten tons of cornstalks was destroyed by fire. (5) Company officials announced on December 7th their plans to rebuild the plant "bringing cheer into the families of the seventy people employed there." (6)

In 1941 the company purchased over 115,000 square feet in the RAFFERTY SLOUGH area and had an option on an additional 400,000 square feet. All of this was adjacent to land the company already owned along Railroad Avenue. (7)

The 1934 Dubuque City Directory listed Maizewood Building Company at 9 LINCOLN BUILDING.

The 1939 Dubuque City Directory through 1948 Dubuque Classified Business Directory listed Maizewood Insulation Company at 275 Salina.

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Source:

1. "Maizewood Plant Will Start Soon," Telegraph Herald, May 23, 1928, p. 14. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=96pFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Gr0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6739,4920326&dq=william+meuser+dubuque&hl=en

2. "Insulation Board From Corn Stalks," Wall Street Journal, Jan. 3, 1929. Online: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/doc/130610928.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan%203,%201929&author=&pub=Wall%20Street%20Journal&edition=&startpage=&desc=INSULATION%20BOARD%20FROM%20CORN%20STALKS

3. "Ames Shipping Cornstalks Here," Telegraph Herald and Times Journal, Apr. 17, 1930, p. 17. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BLBFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Pb0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3273,3425860&dq=maizewood+dubuque&hl=en

4. "Expansion Policy for Local Plant," Telegraph Herald and Times Journal, May 4, 1930, p. 19. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ELBFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Pb0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6139,5744454&dq=maizewood+dubuque&hl=en

5. "Cornstalk Factory Destroyed by Fire," Milwaukee Journal, Dec. 8, 1931, p. 17. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0LJQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OyIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3236,4482393&dq=maizewood+dubuque&hl=en

6. "Things Have Been Bad Before," Telegraph Herald, Dec. 24, 1950, p. 17. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LBRRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vtAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2241,2755527&dq=maizewood+dubuque&hl=en

7. "City Property is Purchased by Maizewood," Telegraph Herald, February 16, 1941, p. 2

See: MAIZEWOOD