Steel association award for Morgan

A Morgan Construction Company product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 31, 2002

Paul S Morgan, Chairman Emeritus of Morgan Construction Company, has received the Tadeusz Sendzimir Memorial Medal from the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers (AISE).

Paul S Morgan, Chairman Emeritus of Morgan Construction Company, has received the Tadeusz Sendzimir Memorial Medal from the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers (AISE).

He was presented with this prestigious award on 3rd October by Thomas Goettge, AISE President, and Vice President of US Steel, at the association's annual convention and exposition held in Nashville, Tenn.

The award, which is named in honour of the engineering pioneer, is presented annually to a member of the steel industry whose efforts have advanced the industry.

Well-known throughout the steel-making world, Dr Sendzimir held more than 100 patents worldwide.

In accepting the award, Morgan told the audience, "I knew Tadeusz, and it is a real thrill to be in his shadow".

Continuing, he said, "When I started at Morgan Construction Company 55 years ago, there were ten American-owned rolling mill builders.

Today there are two of those left - T Sendzimir and ourselves.

Noting that: "Inventions are the only events that sustain a rolling mill builder", he said, "These two (Morgan) inventions, the No-Twist Mill and Stelmor, coming together in time, made it possible to roll and collect rod at 22,000ft/min today - four times faster than earlier designs".

Referring to his grandfather, Charles Hill Morgan, who founded the company, he said: "When he joined the steel industry in 1865, he had already proven himself an inventor by designing the machine and starting a company to produce the four-cornered paper bag - still used in supermarkets today.

As a steel mill engineer, he brought the first continuous rolling mill to the USA from England.

When a second mill was needed, he designed it himself, incorporating twist guides and reels".

Morgan was nominated for the award by AISE's Bar and Shape Rolling Division, whose chairman is Scott C Herber, Manager, Hot Rolling, Carpenter Technology Corp.

In its nomination paper, the committee cited the development of two "particularly noteworthy" technical innovations: the No-Twist Mill and the Stelmor process, The first, they wrote, which was introduced in 1965, "is a rolling development that allows finishing speeds previously unattainable".

The second, a process developed jointly by Morgan engineering and Stelco of Canada in the early 1960s, "is a cooling system that produces unique rod physical properties and metallurgical structures, along with higher tensile strength".

"These two innovations", the committee continued, "have been installed into more than 125 steel plants around the world, either as part of new mill constructions or retrofit projects".

Morgan, the fourth generation of his family to head Morgan Construction Company, joined the company in 1947.

He subsequently held positions in the Accounting, Personnel, and Production Departments until 1961 when he was named manager of Wire Drawing Machinery.

He was elected president of the company in December of 1965, serving in that position until April 1986, when he was named Chairman.

He was succeeded by son Philip R Morgan, the company's current President.

He retired from the company as Chairman in 1998.