By Phil Egan – Special to the Sarnia Journal, Then and Now.
It began with the blowing of a company whistle.
At 4:45 pm on June 28, 1913, the sound of that whistle heralded the opening of Sarnia’s new H. Mueller Manufacturing plant at 100 Clifford Street. It was a whistle that would continue to blow for another 75 years.
City councillor Joseph Dagan had long visualized his town on the St. Clair River becoming a great industrial city. But with a population still a few hundred below the 10,000 needed to convert Sarnia to city status, he needed something to give the town a push.
He found it with the help of J.M. Johnson McAdams of Sarnia’s Board of Trade as the pair set out to attract Mueller’s to town. They accomplished their goal by cutting a deal in 1912 with the American Brass works. Mueller’s agreed to spend $100,000 on land, machinery and a building and to employ no less than 75 men. The town agreed to pay Mueller’s a $30,000 bonus, the total of which would not accrue until Mueller’s had hired 150 employees.
It worked. Mueller’s had been looking for a Canadian plant site, and Sarnia offered a central location and access to shipping facilities. Its arrival in Sarnia would spur a flood of new population growth that would give now-Mayor Joseph Dagan access to the special revenue savings that civic status entailed.
It began with a 50 hour work week and 22 employees. The company had developed a technique for forging brass, and was engaged in the manufacturing of bronze and brass fittings for plumbing, gas and water companies.
By 1914, the company had doubled sales to $132,000, but war was just around the corner. Mueller’s shifted to munitions manufacturing as the Great War began, and would soon employ 1,800 workers toiling around the clock in three shifts. By 1916, Mueller’s was one of Sarnia’s largest industries, and by war’s end the company was making 90% of the brass forgings shipped overseas by Canada. Sales were over $7 million. Workers were paid 30 cents an hour plus a $3.00 weekly bonus.
By 1923, business was $601 million, but slowed during Depression days. War once again spurred Mueller’s growth, and by 1940 Mueller’s was churning out forgings and machine parts for anti-aircraft guns, ammunition and valves for naval vessels.
Peacetime production centred on plumbing fixtures, foundry expansion, and modernization. By the early 60s, every gas company in Canada was using Mueller’s drilling and tapping equipment.
Increased competition followed in the 70s. The company had traditionally paid higher wages, but cost-cutting now became a priority. A 1982 entry into gate valve manufacturing slowed the decline as cities created a demand for the valves that controlled the flow of water in most municipal systems. But Mueller’s purchased a new plant in Milton in the late 80s, and a decision was made to consolidate operations.
Mueller’s departure from Sarnia after 75 years was a loss, but the company will be remembered for helping Sarnia to become the Imperial City.