Conversion of Bethlehem

During the War, Bethlehem Steel was the best known and outstanding "War baby"; the efforts of the company were almost entirely devoted to the production of munitions and other ordnance materials.

After the Armistice, Bethlehem faced a difficult problem of converting its facilities to peacetime production. The shift was made gradually and without great loss, and has now been completed. Only about 2% of the company's entire property and plant investment now consists of emergency ordnance plants. Bethlehem's feat is all the more remarkable when it is recalled that the Midvale Steel and Ordnance Co., taken over by Bethlehem in 1923, was likewise primarily a producer of war materials.

The change to production of peacetime articles made necessary new machinery, not only in considerable amounts, but of many different kinds. Bethlehem's war output was highly standardized, and consisted of machine shells, etc., all exactly alike. Now these shell plants are provided with machinery to produce milling cutters, punches, jigs, rivet sets, gauges and a high grade of other finished machine shop products.