WORTHINGTON -- Thanks to computer controlled robotics, Bauer Block Co. can churn out 26,000 concrete building blocks a day -- enough to build 12 large homes.
The company's production rate is a far cry from the 400 or so blocks produced per day in the early 1920s and 1930s from a very labor intensive operation. Moreover, to keep up with a diversified building market, the company makes hundreds of block styles used in building construction, landscaping and retaining wall systems.
Bauer sales manager Jim Held, who has worked for the company for 35 years, said Bauer Block was founded in 1922 by Henry and Chris Bauer with the plant being located on North Water Street in Kittanning. In 1974, Bauer Block was purchased by the Snyder Associated Companies. Realizing the need for plant modernization and larger facilities, company officials moved the plant to its present location, 16 acres of land near Worthington on Route 422. Construction of the new facilities began in 2001, and the new plant went into production in 2002. Today, Bauer Block has more than 60 dealers in the tri-state area, from Erie to northern West Virginia, and from eastern Ohio to the Altoona area. Held said the company's success is due in part to the diversity of products offered and to ultra-modern production facilities. The company maintains a fleet of 10 tri-axel trucks that deliver products locally and to block dealerships.
Plant foreman Terry Belles, a 33-year employee, explained how blocks are made.
"The ingredients for making basic building block are fairly simple," Belles said. "We use a mixture including '1-B' limestone -- that's limestone ranging in size from one-half to three-quarters of an inch; we add 'screening,' that is essentially limestone dust; a coarse sand called concrete sand; shot gravel that is about a quarter of an inch in size; and cement. In certain applications, we may add a plasticizer designed to absorb water to fill molds quicker. When making the block for retaining walls or architectural stone, we add a water repellent material. We also add color to our architectural and retaining wall block."
Belles said the company's automated block-making equipment produces three blocks at a time during an 8-second cycle and is capable of making more than 1,350 blocks an hour from each of two block-making machines. Completed blocks are automatically stacked on steel pallets then transferred to a special flat car where they are taken to one of the seasoning kilns.
Belles said the kilns are set to a temperature of 110 degrees and use steam vapor to cure the blocks.
"Blocks stay in the kiln for about two days," he said. "Each kiln holds 64 flat cars and each car will have 405 blocks. When a new car enters one or the two kilns, the first ones in go out. Although the blocks are 85 percent strong in seven days, they are allowed to cure for 28 days. It takes a force of 100 tons to crush a typical building block. In addition to the standard 8-inch, two- and three-cell blocks, we make other sizes up to 16 inches."
Held said the demand for lighter, but stronger, block has changed the block market.
"Several years ago, about 85 percent of our orders were for three-cell block and 15 percent for two-cell. Today, I would say that 95 percent of the market is for two-cell and 5 percent for three-cell."
Belles said one reason for this change is that professional masons want lighter blocks.
"According to union contracts, a professional mason cannot lift blocks weighing more than 40 pounds by himself," Belles said. "A three-cell, 8-inch block weighs about 38 pounds while a two-cell block weighs several pounds less. Also, it's easier to reinforce a wall of two-cell block with rebar, other fillers or insulation."
Demand for retaining wall and special design architectural block is increasing, and Bauer says he is meeting that demand.
Held said retaining walls are most often used in landscaping and are capable of bearing heavy loads. In applications where a retaining wall will have to bear heavy loads, a metal grid support system is used. A properly constructed retaining wall have enough strength to safely support heavy truck traffic. He added that retaining wall or architectural block is available in about 26 different colors.
To understand their job better and to learn to operate and maintain the sophisticated equipment used, Bauer Block sends its factory employees to various classes offered by Alpina Community College in Alpina, Mich. Six different, one-week courses cover concrete technology and various aspects of operating and maintaining computer controlled robotic machinery.
Held said that Bauer Block realizes the importance of preserving the professional mason trade. The company holds periodic contractor training seminars for contractors in the tri-state area to promote proper installation and construction techniques to ensure long-term performance of its retaining walls and the contractors' businesses. The company also supports and contributes to masonry courses offered at area technical schools.
"We back technical school programs offered at Lenape and in Indiana," he said. "Most of the professional masons today are up in age, very few young people are entering the trade. Professional masons can make upwards of $20 an hour to start. Some operate their own business on the side on weekends building patios, barbecues or other small projects. We give the top two students in each masonry class a large tool bag with every tool they will possibly use during their career. It's physically demanding, but masonry is a good, well-paying career field that young people should consider."
