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——_>
_.
Leon S. Peters
salesman.
~7:{££Sf«o 13tz(B S/)*H fi tciG
VALLEY BUSINESS MIRROR
Wine Industry Looks
To Valley Foundry
VALLEY FOUNDRY AND MACHINE WORKS, Inc.,
which was born with the San Joaquin Valley agricultural industry before the turn of the century, is beginning its 71st
year, and like the industry it serves, is in most robust health.
From a one-man repair shop established in 1898 at the
corner of H and Mono Streets by Ben Hunt, the firm through
a series of economic ups and
downs, evolved into the
world's largest manufacturer of winery machinery and
became a major international manufacturer and supplier of grinders, mixers and
storage tanks for the livestock feeding industry.
In its infancy the firm
catered to the irrigation
field, producing pumps, accessories and the once familiar one - cylinder, gasoline,
powered, stationary pump
engines which pumped water
from the constantly falling
San Joaquin Valley water
Sable.
Later, as electric power
became abundant, the firm
switched to centrifugal
pumps and deep well turbines. In the interim, the
late S. P. Keithly purchased
the firm in 1921 and in 1929
hired Leon S. Peters as engineering
But the constantly falling valley water table, coupled
with the great depression, almost spelled doom for the firm.
From its heydey of 40 employes, it had dropped by 1932 to
a payroll of two mechinists, a shop foreman and Peters.
PETERS, WHO ENVISIONED new horizons for the company's future, bought the plant in 1929 and began exploring
the California economy to find new manufacturing fields.
The repeal of prohibition in 1933 was what Peters had
been looking for.
With the exception of a few bootleg operations, the state's
wineries had been closed, fallen into disrepair and the art
of winemaking was all but lost.
Peters contacted winery owners up and down the state's
grape-growing area. It meant learning the winemaking business. It meant trial and error methods of developing new
equipment to replace the old, clumsy and rusted.
Gradually Peters began writing orders and engineering
new concepts for the fledgling wine industry.
And as the wine industry grew, so did Valley Foundry. It
left the manufacture of irrigation equipment to others, specializing instead in winery equipment and the promising new
field of livestock feeding.
Today the plant occupies an 18%-acre site at 2510 S.
East Ave. It has 160,530 square feet under roof. Its newest
addition, completed in 1966, is a fabricating shop and warehouse containing more than 67,000 square feet. Working two
shifts daily the plant has a payroll of more than 160 which
puts $1.5 million annually into the Fresno County economy.
IN RECENT YEARS it has more completely diversified
its operation by expanding into the manufacture of vegetable
oil processing equipment.
Peters describes the firm as "A national and international manufacturer and supplier of machinery and equipment for wine, chemical and food processing industries."
Yet, the business has never lost the personal touch.
For Gottschalk's, for instance, it is engineering a one-of-
a-kind conveyor assembly for its new Fulton Mall addition;
for another store it has engineered and prefabricated a single
roof truss; for another valley firm it is engineering and building a pouring spout for a livestock feed truck; and for a local
agricultural firm which wanted a "few fertilizer sprayers,"
Valley engineered and built a "few fertilizer sprayers."
AND WHILE THE COMPANY was inventing and building the one-of-a-kind local orders it was also:
—Engineering and producing a small winery for Peter
Nomikos Corp., Athens, Greece.
—Pioneering the design for pre-fabricated panel design
stainless steel tanks for the wine industry. The tanks, ranging from 40,000 to 300,000 gallons capacity, are used by every
leading winery in the world.
—Shipped to Joseph Seagram & Sons, Puunene, Maui,
Hawaii, for their rum distillery, stainless steel temperature-
controlled fermentation tanks.
—Pre-fabricated and installed three 132,000-gallon stainless steel tanks for New York and Virginia wine cellars.
—Designed and engineered plant layouts for three Canadian wineries.
—Selected the winery site and designed and engineered
a complete 1,000,000-gallon capacity plant near Hermosillo,
Mexico.
—Constructed from a prototype 29 new fire trucks for
the California Division of Forestry.
—Designed a complete mixed feed facility in Chino.
—Built for PPG Industries in Fresno a raw material
feeding facility, finished and semi-finished product conveying equipment, transporting and cutting machinery and negative pressure glass handling devices.
AND WHILE DIRECTING the imaginative growth of the
plant, Leon S. Peters has found time to do more than his
share toward the benefit of his community.
A few weeks ago he was given a standing ovation by local
citizens for his untiring efforts in humanitarian pursuits as
reflected in his work as chairman of the board of trustees of
the Fresno Community Hospital.
FRESNO STATE COLLEGE
SHAW AVENUE AT CEDAR • FRESNO, CALIFORNIA 93726
January 6, 1969
Office of the President
Mr. Leon Peters
P.O. Box 1626
Fresno, Calif. 93717
Dear Leon:
With apologies for rny tardiness, I nevertheless don't want the New Year to have a chance
to get too far underway without adding my word
of congratulations and gratitude to the many
others you received earlier this month in recognition of your countless services to Fresno.
Though none of the recognition seems to go to
your head, let me share the pride that your
many friends feel in your accomplishments.
With warmest good wishes to you and Alice,
Cordially,
Object Description
| Title | Scrapbook |
| Object type | Photo album |
| Digital collection | Leon S. Peters Papers |
| Physical collection | Leon S. Peters papers |
| Folder structure | Biographical_information |
Description
| Title | Page 04 |
| Date Created | 1969-01 |
| Physical description | 44.6 cm. x 27.8 cm. |
| Full text search | ——_> _. Leon S. Peters salesman. ~7:{££Sf«o 13tz(B S/)*H fi tciG VALLEY BUSINESS MIRROR Wine Industry Looks To Valley Foundry VALLEY FOUNDRY AND MACHINE WORKS, Inc., which was born with the San Joaquin Valley agricultural industry before the turn of the century, is beginning its 71st year, and like the industry it serves, is in most robust health. From a one-man repair shop established in 1898 at the corner of H and Mono Streets by Ben Hunt, the firm through a series of economic ups and downs, evolved into the world's largest manufacturer of winery machinery and became a major international manufacturer and supplier of grinders, mixers and storage tanks for the livestock feeding industry. In its infancy the firm catered to the irrigation field, producing pumps, accessories and the once familiar one - cylinder, gasoline, powered, stationary pump engines which pumped water from the constantly falling San Joaquin Valley water Sable. Later, as electric power became abundant, the firm switched to centrifugal pumps and deep well turbines. In the interim, the late S. P. Keithly purchased the firm in 1921 and in 1929 hired Leon S. Peters as engineering But the constantly falling valley water table, coupled with the great depression, almost spelled doom for the firm. From its heydey of 40 employes, it had dropped by 1932 to a payroll of two mechinists, a shop foreman and Peters. PETERS, WHO ENVISIONED new horizons for the company's future, bought the plant in 1929 and began exploring the California economy to find new manufacturing fields. The repeal of prohibition in 1933 was what Peters had been looking for. With the exception of a few bootleg operations, the state's wineries had been closed, fallen into disrepair and the art of winemaking was all but lost. Peters contacted winery owners up and down the state's grape-growing area. It meant learning the winemaking business. It meant trial and error methods of developing new equipment to replace the old, clumsy and rusted. Gradually Peters began writing orders and engineering new concepts for the fledgling wine industry. And as the wine industry grew, so did Valley Foundry. It left the manufacture of irrigation equipment to others, specializing instead in winery equipment and the promising new field of livestock feeding. Today the plant occupies an 18%-acre site at 2510 S. East Ave. It has 160,530 square feet under roof. Its newest addition, completed in 1966, is a fabricating shop and warehouse containing more than 67,000 square feet. Working two shifts daily the plant has a payroll of more than 160 which puts $1.5 million annually into the Fresno County economy. IN RECENT YEARS it has more completely diversified its operation by expanding into the manufacture of vegetable oil processing equipment. Peters describes the firm as "A national and international manufacturer and supplier of machinery and equipment for wine, chemical and food processing industries." Yet, the business has never lost the personal touch. For Gottschalk's, for instance, it is engineering a one-of- a-kind conveyor assembly for its new Fulton Mall addition; for another store it has engineered and prefabricated a single roof truss; for another valley firm it is engineering and building a pouring spout for a livestock feed truck; and for a local agricultural firm which wanted a "few fertilizer sprayers," Valley engineered and built a "few fertilizer sprayers." AND WHILE THE COMPANY was inventing and building the one-of-a-kind local orders it was also: —Engineering and producing a small winery for Peter Nomikos Corp., Athens, Greece. —Pioneering the design for pre-fabricated panel design stainless steel tanks for the wine industry. The tanks, ranging from 40,000 to 300,000 gallons capacity, are used by every leading winery in the world. —Shipped to Joseph Seagram & Sons, Puunene, Maui, Hawaii, for their rum distillery, stainless steel temperature- controlled fermentation tanks. —Pre-fabricated and installed three 132,000-gallon stainless steel tanks for New York and Virginia wine cellars. —Designed and engineered plant layouts for three Canadian wineries. —Selected the winery site and designed and engineered a complete 1,000,000-gallon capacity plant near Hermosillo, Mexico. —Constructed from a prototype 29 new fire trucks for the California Division of Forestry. —Designed a complete mixed feed facility in Chino. —Built for PPG Industries in Fresno a raw material feeding facility, finished and semi-finished product conveying equipment, transporting and cutting machinery and negative pressure glass handling devices. AND WHILE DIRECTING the imaginative growth of the plant, Leon S. Peters has found time to do more than his share toward the benefit of his community. A few weeks ago he was given a standing ovation by local citizens for his untiring efforts in humanitarian pursuits as reflected in his work as chairman of the board of trustees of the Fresno Community Hospital. FRESNO STATE COLLEGE SHAW AVENUE AT CEDAR • FRESNO, CALIFORNIA 93726 January 6, 1969 Office of the President Mr. Leon Peters P.O. Box 1626 Fresno, Calif. 93717 Dear Leon: With apologies for rny tardiness, I nevertheless don't want the New Year to have a chance to get too far underway without adding my word of congratulations and gratitude to the many others you received earlier this month in recognition of your countless services to Fresno. Though none of the recognition seems to go to your head, let me share the pride that your many friends feel in your accomplishments. With warmest good wishes to you and Alice, Cordially, |
