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Soulé News
VOLUME 1 NUMBER 9 DECEMBER, 1963
Christmas Greetings
To Every Man and Woman at Soulé,
Christmas this year, standing as it does against the backdrop of our great national tragedy, turns our thoughts to the fortieth chapter of Isaiah:
"Comfort, O comfort my people," says your God. "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her . . ." Hark! One calls: "In the wilderness clear the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
The untimely death of our national leader, the President, reminds us more clearly than anything we could have experienced that truly
"All flesh is grass, And all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades . . . But the word of our God shall stand forever."
For all Americans, Christmas will take on a far deeper meaning than usual this year. It will remind us that once, in the midst of darkness, a Star shone forth, bringing tidings of great joy to a world in search of guidance and everlasting peace.
Let each of us, and our families, rededicate ourselves to the message conveyed to all humanity by the Star of Bethlehem. Let us pray and work for peace throughout the coming year, so that the spirit of goodwill may abide in all men's hearts.
May you and everyone in your family have abundant happiness on Christmas Day and all through the New Year.
Sincerely,
Edw. L. Soulé *Chairman of the Board*
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Through the years, the Soulé Steel Company has had a part in building many of the well-known structures throughout California. In some cases, Soulé supplied the reinforcing bar, in others Soulé windows brightened the building's exterior. In all, however, Soulé played an important role.
Shown on this page are a few of these structures. Reading left to right down the page are: Pacific Gas & Electric Building, San Francisco, 1932. Security Title Insurance Building, Los Angeles, 1927. Staller Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, 1952. Department of Motor Vehicles Building, Sacramento, 1939. Argentine Pavilion, World's Fair, Treasure Island, 1939. Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, 1924. Standard Oil Building, Los Angeles, 1924, and Bank of Italy (now Bank of America), San Francisco, 1917.
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Soulé Steel's Post-War Growth
Soulé Steel Company, founded in 1911, has developed into one of the West's leading manufacturers and suppliers of steel and aluminum products, with plants and offices located in nine major cities.
Much of this growth has come about in the years following World War II, when the West — particularly California — experienced its big ground swell in population and new industry.
Soulé's annual sales prior to World War II were about 3.5 to 4 million dollars per year. Today, sales are in excess of 25 million dollars per year. Twenty-three years ago, Soulé employees numbered around 400. This figure has now risen to 1,500—an increase of almost 400%.
Image Changes
Before the war, Soulé had built a solid reputation for itself as a fabricator, whose "bread and butter" business rested on the sales and use of its reinforcing bar. During the past 15 years, however, Soulé has expanded in many directions. Our company now manufactures and distributes not only reinforcing steel bars, but aluminum curtain-walls, concrete joist forms, aluminum residential windows, pre-engineered steel structures, metal lath, stud and channel, expanded metal, and a long line of products in the architectural and building fields.
Soulé's Reinforcing Division in the past decade has added considerable mechanization to the production of rebar. In order to gain more flexibility and independence in our operations, we completed our own reinforcing steel rolling mill at Long Beach in 1959. Post-war growth in reinforcing steel bar at Soulé has paralleled growth in all other divisions and the rate of growth for the West itself.
Soulé thus has altered its profile from that of a fabricator, to a combined manufacturing and fabricating company with a broad and diverse product-mix and a strong distributor and marketing organization.
Steel Structures Growth
Perhaps one of the most dramatically expanding areas during the post-war years, has been in the Steel Structures Division. There is enormous difference between the old tin utility shed of the thirties and forties — and today's pre-engineered steel structures, with their gracefully tapering rigid steel frames, long-life painted sheets, and modern hi-ribbed exteriors.
Soulé has become a leader in the creative design and engineering of these remarkably functional buildings. The new multi-million dollar San Francisco Produce Market features no less than 10 Soulé pre-engineered steel structures, making it one of the first all-steel, pre-engineered building complexes in the West.
Automatic machines, precision dies and mass production technique are the keys to customer prefabrication without increasing cost. The Division has supplied custom buildings ranging in size from 10,000 square feet to the giant Convair facility at San Diego, comprising 500,000 square feet. Some of these structures were erected in as little as 20 days and at a cost as low as $1.15 per square foot.
Future Prospects
Prospects for the future look very bright indeed. The market for prefabricated steel buildings has doubled in the last few years, and in the eleven Western states where Soulé operates, continued industrial and population growth along with new products and more aggressive merchandising, should increase the use of these buildings. Overseas, new international markets beckon in Central and South America, the Far East, Middle East, Africa, and the Common Market countries.
With the post-war entry of aluminum into the metals field, Soulé branched out, through the Architectural and Commodity Products Divisions, to encompass aluminum as well as steel commercial and residential windows, and soon initiated and introduced its own aluminum curtain-wall system.
The Commodity Products Division, under General Manager Scott Anderson, has added many new products to its line, especially such items as dry wall steel stud, structural steel stud, aluminum expanded metal and other decorative aluminum expanded metals.
Since World War II, Soulé decided to promote its product lines throughout five basic divisions: Reinforcing Steel, Steel Structures, Architectural Products, Commodity Products, and Special Products, each headed by a General Manager.
Other Soulé service departments—such as Purchasing, Manufacturing Service, Personnel-Industrial Relations, and Accounting-Finance—have likewise experienced rapid post-war growth.
Recently, the company created an International Division of Steel Structures, and is placing increasing emphasis on its overseas sales. Soulé now carries on a healthy business in some 68 foreign countries, with the list expected to get bigger in the next few years. A full line of Soulé products may be found in almost every area of the world.
"We are objectively moving ahead," sums up Mr. Edward L. Soulé, Board Chairman. It would seem that this is indeed the case with the Soulé Steel Company.
Soulé Citizen of the Month
Soulé's citizen of the month, is Jim Caruthers, reinforcing detailer in the Portland office.
Jim is a scoutmaster—but a very special kind of scoutmaster, working with a very special group of boys. Jim's troop—Number 160— is composed of handicapped boys between the ages of 11 and 15 years.
Needless to say, it takes much time and patience on the part of Jim Caruthers and his two assistants to accomplish the difficult goals of scouting with these boys. Troop 160, however, works for merit badges and honors just like the regular scouts.
Jim's fellows take numerous field trips and recently junketed to Mount Hood for two days and a night, and also down the Oregon coast for the weekend.
The troop has been progressing so well, says Jim, that recently they were asked to bear flags for the Association for Retarded Children's Convention which was held in Portland. Jim's pride in their performance at this function was, to say the least, abundant.
Our pride in Jim's continuing performance as a good citizen and a good "scout" is also abundant.
To Jim Caruthers, reinforcing detailer in the Portland office of Soulé Steel, our sincere congratulations for outstanding service to the boys of Troop 160, and to his community.
*Photo: Soulé's "Citizen of the Month" Jim Caruthers, and Scout Troop #160, Portland, Oregon.*
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Names in the News
Robert J. "Bob" GEBAUER has been named district sales manager in the new Fresno office by the Reinforcing Division. Bob has been with Soulé for the past ten years.
Donald Eugene "Don" GARNER has been named Personnel Manager for Los Angeles. Don is a graduate of U.S.C. and an Air Force veteran.
Dale WIPSON has been appointed chief design engineer for the Steel Structures Division. Dale is a graduate engineer from the University of New Mexico and a veteran in the design and construction of steel buildings.
Also in the Steel Structures Division, William E. "Bill" EVANS has joined the Company as Special Representative in Los Angeles. Bill has a wealth of experience in the steel building field, and will deal in both domestic and international sales.
Our Compliments
In our article on Soulé field crews (SOULÉ NEWS, August, 1963) we pointed out that the man in the field can do a great deal in developing satisfied customers. A good example of this is the window job recently completed in Long Beach for the Procter and Gamble Company by Jim Guilmet and his Architectural Products Division crew.
In a letter to Soulé, Mr. W. D. Ridings, P&G's resident engineer states, "Under adverse conditions . . . your Mr. Jim Guilmet, together with his field men, were able to achieve a very satisfactory window installation. Please accept our congratulations on a job well done."
Our thanks to Mr. Ridings for his letter, and our congratulations, too, to Jim and his men for proving once again that good men doing a good job produce satisfied customers.
Safety Contest Nears End
With only two months' results still to be reported, the pennant race in both leagues is extremely close. In the Plant League, Phoenix and Seattle are tied, each with a perfect record of no lost time accidents during 1963.
In the Field League, Phoenix holds a slim 2 percentage point lead over second place Southern California.
To refresh your memories, the batting averages show the percentage of the employees at each location who have worked each month without a lost-time accident. An average of .990, for example, means that each month 99% of the employees have worked without lost-time because of an accident.
The final results of the contest will be announced in the February issue of the SOULÉ NEWS. At that time, the awards to be presented to the winners also will be announced. It is anticipated that awards will be given to the winner of each league, and also to the location which has the best combined average for its plant and field operations.
As we prepare to begin the New Year, we hope each employee will pledge himself to make 1964 the safest year ever. Remember, safety benefits the company, but *most of all*, safety benefits you and your family.
*Photo: We regret to report the passing on November 16, 1963 of Bill KNAFLA who served for over a quarter of a century as plant guard in San Francisco (see SOULÉ NEWS, May, 1963). Bill's death is a personal loss to his many friends at San Francisco and to the company he served so well and faithfully.*
SAD SAM
SAD SAM'S SAFETY STANDINGS OCTOBER, 1963
PLANT LEAGUE
| Location | Batting Average | |---|---| | San Francisco | 1.000 | | Los Angeles | 1.000 | | L. A. Rebar | 1.000 | | Phoenix | 1.000 | | Seattle | 1.000 | | Portland | .963 |
FIELD LEAGUE
| Location | Batting Average | |---|---| | No. Calif. | 1.000 | | Seattle | 1.000 | | Phoenix | 1.000 | | So. Calif. | .994 | | Portland | .982 | | Mill | .969 |
SEASON STANDINGS
PLANT LEAGUE
| Location | Batting Average | |---|---| | Phoenix | 1.000 | | Seattle | 1.000 | | Los Angeles | .999 | | San Francisco | .996 | | L. A. Rebar | .995 | | Portland | .981 |
FIELD LEAGUE
| Location | Batting Average | |---|---| | Phoenix | .994 | | So. Calif. | .992 | | No. Calif. | .991 | | Mill | .991 | | Seattle | .988 | | Portland | .979 |
Soulé News
Published monthly by and for the employees of Soulé Steel Co. Editor—Douglas Gordon
**Associate Editors**
Los Angeles—Frank Kleman Mill—Dianne Sheridan Phoenix—Furman Davis Portland—Dolores Bedgood San Diego—Esther Longnecker Seattle—Dee Henderson