Recently, Mr. Sam Ruzicka and his son, Mike Ruzicka, donated a rare Whitehall Cement Company license plate circa 1970s to the Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum. Sam is a retired employee from the historic plant and was a fine student of this writer at Northampton Area High School. His son, Mike, continues the family cement tradition at the plant. Both were honored as Cement Worker of the Month by the Atlas Museum.
The Whitehall Cement Company, now Holcim, has a long history in the cement belt. The plant was organized in 1899, joining several plants already established along the Lehigh River and the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. The rich cement rock of the Jacksonburg Vein provided the raw materials needed by the Lehigh Valley cement industry.
The corporate headquarters of the first Whitehall Cement Manufacturing Company were in Philadelphia. W.H. Harding was the president, and the vice president was W.O. Lentz. Lentz was a well-known name in the cement industry. In later years, Mr. Paul Lentz would become the president of the Coplay Cement Manufacturing Company.
The original Whitehall plant used the dry process to manufacture cement and could produce 6,000 barrels a day.
Coal was the primary source of fuel used to power the plant.
The plant had five kilns measuring 8.5 feet by 120 feet and one kiln measuring 10 feet by 120 feet. During this time period, all cement was hauled by railroads. Currently, cement trucks have become a major transporter of cement.
Over the years, the plant has changed ownership several times. Past owners were General Portland, LaFarge and presently Holcim. The cement plant is the oldest plant in the Cement Belt, operating on the present site for more than a century.
Currently, one of the halls at the Northampton Area Middle School is named in their honor.
Today, the plant continues to provide quality cement for their many loyal customers throughout the United States. We wish continued success for the historic Cementon plant.
