From Raw Material to Strategic Alloys. The Case of the International

From Raw Material to Strategic Alloys. The Case of the International

Johann BOILLAT
August 8th, 2016
From Raw Material to Strategic Alloys.
The Case of the International Beryllium Industry (1919-1939)1
20th Annual Congress of the European Business History Association
1st World Congress on Business History
August 25 – 27, 2016
Bergen, Norway
“Business History around the World – Today & Tomorrow”
Session H08: Chemical Technology and Business
1
This paper is part of a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) project (n° P2NEP1_159008). The author is very grateful to
the following institutions for giving resources and supplies: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) in Bern – Switzerland;
United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, DC ; United States Geological Survey
(USGS) in Reston, VI; Forschungsinstitut für Wissenschafts- und Technikgeschichte (FWT) des Deutschen Museums;
Bibliothek des Deutschen Museums (BDM) ; Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (DPMA); Universitätsbibliothek
Technischen Universität (TUM) and Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB), all located in München – Germany.
Abstract:
This paper aims to present the birth and development of a new business between the wars.
Because of its proprieties, beryllium appeared as a strategic material for the transportation
industries. Our analysis of international patents registration led to the identification of two
steps: 1) before World War I, engineers were hampered by physical constraints; 2) after
World War I, the process was taken up by corporate organisations active in metallurgy in
Germany and in chemistry in the United States. On the markets´ scale, after 10 years of
competition, business relations were organised in 1934 so that private actors split the
world´s production between the United States and Germany, as European governments
variously interfered in national sectors, in the perspective of the military applications of
“master alloys”.
1
Introduction
The physical and chemical proprieties of beryllium have led scientists to publish articles with
awkward titles2. Sometimes presented as “magic”3, sometimes showed as “extraordinary”4
or even understood as the result of intense relations, as in the “glamour child of
metallurgy”5, beryllium occupies a special position in the non-ferrous metals landscape.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the majority of electrochemical and metallurgical reviews tended
towards the same conclusions: mixing small amounts of beryllium with various proportions
of copper, aluminium or nickel led to the creation of alloys with unique performances. Those
new materials had unseen proprieties in terms of electrical conductivity, weight support,
tensile stress or corrosion resistance. Hence, they were seen as a general substitute to
materials used previously, such as aluminium or copper alloys and even stainless steel.
Naturally, engineers saw in this “master alloy” endless possible applications in shipping6,
railroads7 and aircraft8, civilian or military transportations, where speed acceleration and
increasing loads required lighter but stronger materials9.
In spite of that technological background, beryllium´s business history has not been studied
so far. For instance, Lotte Müller-Ohlsen, who presents a remarkable overview of the impact
of non-ferrous metals on nations’ development, didn´t shed light on that specific element10.
2
WALSH Kenneth A., VIDAL Edgar E., Beryllium Chemistry and Processing, Material Park: ASM International, 2009, 575 p.
“Beryllium – The Magic Metal”, in: BORKIN Joseph, WELSH Charles A., Germany's Master Plan: The Story of Industrial
Offensive, New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1943, pp. 235-249.
4 SINGH A. J., “Beryllium – The Extraordinary Metal”, in: Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 13 (1994), pp.
177-192.
5 SAWYER C. B., “Beryllium— Glamour Child of Metallurgy”, in: The Yale Scientific Magazine, (1941), pp. 7-28.
6 MARTIN F. G., “Non-Ferrous Metals in the Shipping Industry”, in: The Journal of the Institute of Metals, 40 (1928), p. 7-20.
7 AITCHISON Leslie, “Non-Ferrous Metals in Modern Transport”, in: The Journal of the Institute of Metals, 38 (1927), p. 7-28.
8 STOUGHTON Bradley, “Metals Used in Aircraft Construction”, in: Metals and Alloys, 1930 (1), pp. 317-324.
9 BRAUN Hans-Joachim, “Flugzeugtechnik 1914 bis 1935. Militärische und zivile Wechselwirkungen”, in: Technikgeschichte,
59 (1992), pp. 341-352; SCHATZBERG Eric, “Ideology and Technical Choice: The Decline of the Wooden Airplane in the United
States, 1920-1945”, in : Technology and Culture, 1 (1994), pp. 34-69.
10 MÜLLER-OHLSEN Lotte, Non-Ferrous Metals. Their Role in Industrial Development, Cambridge: Woodhead-Faulkner Ltd,
1981, 297 p.
3
2
Neither did inquires devoted to the history of metals in related sectors such as aluminium11,
copper12, nickel13, tin14, or zinc15. If some references about beryllium can be found in official
sources 16 and scientific works 17 , they do not apprehend its chronological evolution.
Consequently, this article aims to present the hatching of a strategic sector, at the
crossroads of the fields of chemistry and metallurgy, by studying world patents taken out
until 193918. Firstly, we will identify the actors of that new segment: who were the historical
leaders in that industry? Who were the engineers in charge of the research & developments
programme and when did the sector really take off? Secondly, we will focus on the markets:
how were territories conquered? When were the original leaders challenged by newcomers?
And how and when did technological transfers occur between Europe, North America and
Asia?
Competition (1920-1929)
Investigating the chronological evolution of patents registration between 1898 and 1939
allows us to identify two sequences (Graph 1). Until 1918, inventions were much the result
of uncoordinated attempts made by Louis Liebmann (1898)19, Karl August Kühne (1904)20,
11
BERTILORENZI Marco, The International Aluminium Cartel, 1886-1978. The Business and Politics of a Cooperative Industrial
Institution, New York: Routledge, 2016, 393 p.
12 SCHMITZ Christopher John, “The Rise of Big Business in the World Copper Industry 1870-1930”, in: The Economic History
Review, 39 (1986), pp. 392-410; SCHMITZ Christopher John, “The Changing Structure of the World Copper Market, 18701939”, in: The Journal of European Economic History, 26 (1997), pp. 295-330.
13 BENCIVENGO Yann, Nickel. La naissance de l'industrie calédonnienne, Tours: Presses Universitaires François-Rabelais, 2014,
470 p.
14 HILLMANN John, The International Tin Cartel, New York: Routledge, 2010, 484 p.
15 DEVOS Greta, “International Cartels Agreements in the Zinc Industry 19th-20th Centuries”, in: BARJOT Dominique (dir.),
International Cartels Revisited (1880-1980), Caen: CNRS, 1994, pp. 143-153.
16 See Sources for details.
17 BREWER A. L., “The Beryllium Industry: A Case Study in Monopolistic Competition”, in: Southern Economic Journal, 8
(1942), n°37, pp. 336-350; WILKINS Mira, The History of Foreign Investment in the United States, 1914 – 1945, Cambridge
MA: Harvard University Press, 2004, pp. 419-420.
18 DE-DPMA. See appendix for methodological aspects.
19 DPMA/DE101326: “Dr. Louis Liebmann in Frankfurt a. M. Verfahren zur Darstellung von Beryllium. Patentiert im
Deutschen Reiche vom 9. Februar 1898 ab. Ausgegeben den 4. Januar 1899” and DE104632: “Dr. Louis Liebmann in
Frankfurt a. M. Verfahren zur Darstellung von Beryllium. Zusatzt zum Patente Nr. 101326 vom 9. Februar 1898. Patentiert
im Deutschen Reiche vom 1. Dezember 1898 ab. Ausgegeben den 11. Juli 1899”.
20 DPMA/DE179403: “Karl August Kühne in Dresden. Verfahren zur Darstellung von Metallen, Metalloiden oder Legierungen
derselben miteinander und mit Aluminium aus Gemengen von Aluminium mit den sauerstoffhaltigen Verbindungen
3
Gabriel van Oordt (1903)21 or Gerhard Just and Max Mayer (1907)22 . After 1918, we can
notice an increasing number of recorded files.
Graph 1 : Number of beryllium patents taken out in the period 1898-1939,
by territories registration (n=478)23
Like other non-ferrous processes (aluminium24 or nickel25), mastering the beryllium metal
process required costly equipment. Nevertheless, and unlike other light metals, the on-going
electrolysing of beryllium could only take place in high pressure devices, which before 1914
derjenigen Elemente, welche nach dem Aluminiumthermitverfahren von Goldschmidt in einheitlicher regulinischer Form
nicht darstellbar sind. Patentiert im Deutschen Reiche vom 21. Mai 1904 ab. Ausgegeben den 18. Dezember 1906“.
21 DPMA/DE155466: “Dr. G. van Oordt in Karlsruhe. Verfahren zur Reinabscheidung des Berylliums aus seinem Gemenge
mit Aluminium und Eisen. Patentiert im Deutschen Reiche vom 7. Juli 1903 ab. Ausgegeben den 20. Oktober 1904” and
DE165488 : “Dr. G. van Oordt in Karlsruhe i. B. Verfahren zur Überführung von Berylliumhydroxyd in einen nicht nur für
Alkali, sondern auch für Säure schwerlöslichen bezw. unlöslichen Zustand. Patentiert im Deutschen Reiche vom 19.
Dezember 1903 ab. Ausgegeben den 14. November 1905”.
22 DPMA/DE208402: “Dr. Gerhard Just und Dr. Max Mayer in Karlsruhe i. B. Verfahren zur Gewinnung von metallischem
Beryllium durch Reduktion von Berylliumoxyd mit Aluminium. Patentiert im Deutschen Reiche vom 13. Juni 1907 ab.
Ausgegeben den 26. März 1909”.
23 DE-DPMA.
24 BERTILORENZI Marco, “From Patents to Industry. Paul Héroult and International Patents Strategies, 1886-1889”, in: Cahiers
d'histoire de l'aluminium, 49 (2012), pp. 46-69.
25 BENCIVENGO Yann, “Nickel et sidérurgie”, in: BARTHEL Charles, KHARABA Ivan, MIOCHE Philippe (ed), Les mutations de la
sidérurgie mondiale du XXe siècle à nos jours. The Transformation of the World Steel Industry from the XXth Century to the
Present, Bruxelles : Lang, 2014, pp. 397-412.
4
weren’t yet operating in metallurgy26, neither in chemistry27. This meant that beryllium
industrial production could only take place in research and development laboratories, which
were proliferating by the beginning of the 20th century28. In our case study, the majority of
corporate organizations had their own R&D units: Aluminium Company of America29, M&T
Chemical Inc.30 Standard Oil Development 31 , Kemet Laboratories Company32 in the US,
Deutsche
Gold-
und
Silber-Scheideanstalt
33
,
Heraeus
Vacuumschmelze
AG
34
,
Metallgesellschaft AG35, IG Farben36, Siemens & Halske37 in Germany, or Compagnie de
Produits Chimiques et Electrométallurgiques Alais, Froges et Camargue 38 in France.
However, all these actors did not play the same role. Having a closer look at patents
repartition allows us to select two pioneers: Siemens & Halske (S&H) and the Union Carbide
Corporation (UCC).
26
CHEZEAU Nicole, De la forge au laboratoire: naissance de la métallurgie physique (1860-1914), Rennes: Presses
universitaires de Rennes, 2004, 237 p.
27 TRAVIS Anthony S., “High Pressure Industrial Chemistry: The First Steps, 1900-1913, and the Impact”, in: TRAVIS Anthony S.,
SCHRÖTER Harm G., HOMBURG Ernst, MORRIS Peter J. T. (ed.), Determinants in the Evolution of the European Chemical Industry,
1900-1939. New Technologies, Political Frameworks, Markets and Companies, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers,
1998, pp. 3-21.
28 LIEBENAU Jonathan, “Corporate Structure and Research and Development”, in: LIEBENAU Jonathan (ed.), The Challenge of
New Technology. Innovation in British Business since 1850, Aldershot: Gower, 1988, pp. 30-42.
29 GRAHAM Margaret B. W., PRUITT Bettye H., R&D for Industry. A Century of Technical Innovation at Alcoa, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1990, 645 p.
30 DUFFUS Roy A. Jr, The Story of M & T Chemicals Inc., New York: Codella Duffus Baker Inc., 1965, 113 p.
31 “Standard Oil Company (N.J.)”, in: HAYNES William (ed.), American Chemical Industry, New York: D. van Nostrand Company
Inc., 1949, vol. 6, pp. 398-403.
32 ROBERT D. Stief, A History of Union Carbide Corporation: From the 1890s to the 1990s, Danbury CT: Carbide Retiree Corps,
1998, 153 p.
33 DEGUSSA AG (ed.), Immer eine Idee besser. Forscher und Erfinder der Degussa, Frankfurt am Main: Brönners Druckerei
Breidenstein GmbH, 1998, 351 p. From now on: DEGUSSA.
34 KAISER Walter, GILSON Norbert, Heraeus - Pioniere der Werkstofftechnologie. Von der Hanauer Platinschmelze zum
internationalen Technologieunternehmen, München : Piper, 2001, 480 p. From now on: HV.
35 WASSERMANN Gü nter, WINCIERZ Peter, Das Metall-Laboratorium der Metallgesellschaft AG, 1918 – 1981. Chronik und
Bibliographie. Anlässlich des 100-jährigen Bestehens der Metallgesellschaft AG, Frankfurt am Main: Metallgesellschaft AG,
1981, 335 p.
36 PLUMPE Gottfried, “Innovation and the Structure of the I. G. Farben”, in: CARON François, ERKER Paul, FISCHER Wolfram (ed.),
Innovations in the European Economy between the Wars, Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1995, pp. 163-174. ; REINHARDT Carsten,
“Basic Research in Industry: Two Cases Studies at I. G. Farbenindustrie AG in the 1920s and 1930s”, in: TRAVIS Anthony S,
SCHRÖTER Harm G., HOMBURG Ernst, MORRIS Peter J. T. (ed.), Determinants in the Evolution of the European Chemical Industry,
1900-1939. New Technologies, Political Frameworks, Markets and Companies, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers,
1998, pp. 67-88.
37 ERKER Paul, “The Choice between Competition and Cooperation: Research and Development in the Electrical Industry in
Germany and the Netherlands, 1920-1936”, in: CARON François, ERKER Paul, FISCHER Wolfram (ed.), Innovations in the
European Economy between the Wars, Berlin : W. de Gruyter, 1995, pp. 231-254.
38 LE ROUX Muriel, L’entreprise et la recherche. Un siècle de recherche industrielle à Péchiney, Paris: Rive Droite, 1998, 499 p.
From now on: Péchiney.
5
In Germany, the original impulsion that led to the invention of 192139 could be summed up
by the dialogue between Th. Goldschmidt AG´s director40, Hans Goldschmidt (1861-1923)41,
and the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry leader Alfred Stock (1876-1946)42: “Shall we
do some research work together? I will bear the expense!”43 If that exchange illustrates
interconnections between private businesses and academics44, it also has to be placed in the
German historical context, following World War I. If, during the conflict, fundamental
research was seen as a way to overcome the Allied blockade, after 1918 R&D became also a
means with which to counter the Versailles Treaty, which, for instance, imposed weight
limits on the German navy. In that perspective, finding new and lighter metals had to be
seen as a scientific, industrial and political imperative. In other words, the international
context put the German sectors of chemistry45 and metallurgy46 in front, in a paradoxical
position: by losing the war a technological advantage was created.
After Goldschmidt´s death in 1923, beryllium research became sponsored by S&H, through
the creation of the Beryllium-Studiengesellschaft in Berlin. Its role was to increase
production in an ongoing process, which became registered in 192547. One year later, the
unit was integrated into S&H Laboratorien der Abteilung für Elektrochemie (LAE), one of the
39
DPMA/DE375824: “Dr. Alfred Stock in Berlin-Dahlem und Dr. Hans Goldschmidt in Berlin. Elektrolytische Darstellung von
metallischem Beryllium in kompakter Form. Patentiert im Deutschen Reiche vom 1. April 1921 ab. Ausgegeben den 18. Mai
1923”.
40 TH. GOLDSCHMIDT AG (ed.), Grenzen überwinden. 150 Jahre Th.Goldschmidt, Essen: Pomp, 1997, 191 p.
41 VIERHAUS Rudolf (ed), Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie, 4 (2006), p. 32. From now on: DBE.
42 DBE, 9 (2008), p. 713.
43 ZENTRALSTELLE FÜR WISSENSCHAFTLICH-TECHNISCHE FORSCHUNGSARBEITEN DES SIEMENS-KONZERNS (ed.), Beryllium-Arbeiten, Berlin :
Springer, 1929, p. 1.
44 JOHNSON Jeffrey Allen, “The Academical-Industrial Symbiosis in German Chemical Research, 1905-1939”, in: LESCH John E.
(ed.), The German Chemical Industry in the Twentieth Century, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000, p. 16.
45 SZÖLLÖSI-JANZE Margit, « Losing the War, but Gaining Ground: the German Chemical Industry during World War I », in:
LESCH John E. (ed.), The German Chemical Industry in the Twentieth Century, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000,
pp. 91-121.
46 MAIER Helmut, Forschung als Waffe. Rüstungsforschung in der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft und das Kaiser-WilhelmInstitut für Metallforschung 1900 1945, Göttingen : Wallstein, 2007, 1235 p.
47 DPMA/DE443944: “Siemens & Halske Akt.-Ges. in Berlin-Siemensstadt. Reinigung von metallischem Beryllium. Von dem
Patentsucher ist als der Erfinder ausgegeben worden: Dr. Hellmut Fischer, Berlin-Friedenau. Patentiert in Deutschen Reiche
vom 11. September 1925 ab. Ausgegeben den 12. Mai 1927” and DPMA/DE465525: “Siemens & Halske Akt.-Ges. in BerlinSiemensstadt. Reinigung von metallischem Beryllium. Von dem Patentsucher ist als der Erfinder ausgegeben worden: Dr.
Hellmut Fischer, Berlin-Siemensstadt. Patentiert im Deutschen Reiche vom 10. Oktober 1925 ab. Ausgegeben den 19.
September 1928”.
6
numerous
departments
of
the
Zentralstelle
für
wissenschaftlich-technische
Forschungsarbeiten (ZWTF)48. The LAE, monitored by Viktor Engelhardt (1866-1944)49, had
the mission to investigate beryllium behaviour. It was composed of a small group of
engineers: Hellmuth Fischer (1902-1972)50, Georg Masing (1885-1956)51, Otto Dahl (18991962)52 and Wilhelm Kroll (1869-1939)53. Their results were published54, translated55 and
registered between 1925 and 1933, leading the multinational company to a dominant
position in the industry. That policy inserted itself in a general industrial strategy that saw
patenting as a way to invest in future markets’ potential, which in return would lead to
another set of innovations56. In the particular case of beryllium, chronological analysis of
Siemens´ patents reveals that original investments were made by pure R&D discoveries,
willingness, and were then progressively pulled by market demands by the end of the
1920s57.
If US actors were confronted by the same physical and chemical constants, the situation was
different in the sense that beryllium activities didn´t result from direct sponsorship, although
interconnections between academics and industrial companies were growing by 191958. The
48
GERDIEN Hans, “Das Forschungslaboratorium der Siemens & Halske A.-G. und der Siemens-Schuckertwerke G.m.b.H. in
Berlin-Siemenstadt”, in: Siemens Zeitschrift, 6 (1926), pp. 413-419, 469-477 and 525-533. See also: MASING Georg, FISCHER
Hellmuth, “Die elektrochemischen Laboratorien und Entwicklungstätten der Siemens & Halske AG”, in: Siemens Zeitschrift,
17 (1937), pp. 252-258.
49 DBE, 3 (2006), p. 78.
50 DBE, 3 (2006), p. 348.
51 DBE, 6 (2006), p. 777.
52 DBE, 2 (2006), p. 478.
53 DBE, 6 (2006), p. 79.
54 ZENTRALSTELLE FÜR WISSENSCHAFTLICH-TECHNISCHE FORSCHUNGSARBEITEN DES SIEMENS-KONZERNS (ed.), Beryllium-Arbeiten, Berlin:
Springer, 1929, 256 p.
55 ZENTRALSTELLE FÜR WISSENSCHAFTLICH-TECHNISCHE FORSCHUNGSARBEITEN DES SIEMENS-KONZERNS (ed.), Beryllium: Its Production and
Application. Translated by Richard Rimbach and A. J. Michel, New York: Reinhold, 1932, 331 p.
56 CARON Francois (dir.), Les brevets. Leur utilisation en histoire des techniques et de l’économie, Paris: CNRS, 1984, p. 15.
57 WALSH Vivien, “Invention and Innovation in the Chemical Industry: Demand-pull or Discovery-push?”, in: Research Policy,
13 (1984), pp. 211-234.
58 ROSENBERG Nathan, “Technological Change in Chemicals: The Role of University-Industry Relations”, in : ARORA Ashish,
LANDAU Ralph, ROSENBERG Nathan (ed.), Chemicals and Long-Term Economic Growth. Insights from the Chemical Industry,
New York: Wiley, 1998, pp. 193-230.
7
involvement was more diffused and included subsidiaries and engineers of Union Carbide
and Carbon Corporation (UCC) between 1917 and 192759.
However, claiming is not necessarily producing; a first milestone was put in place in 1917 by
Hugh S. Cooper, in a quite elusive patent60. The discovery looked promising enough to lead
The Cooper Research Company to be purchased by UCC in 1919, under the name of the
Kemet Laboratories Company. The concrete step was made in 1923, when Charles Francis
Brush Jr., also a UCC engineer61, bought Michael George Corson´s process back. As a
metallurgist at Electro Metallurgical Company, another subsidiary of UCC, Corson registered
the first American master alloy, made out of beryllium, copper and nickel62. To sum up this
section, we can see that UCC was involved in the origin of two producers in the USA: through
Corson´s activities at Electro Metallurgical Corporation and through Cooper´s connections
with Kemet Laboratories. Finally, antagonistic transatlantic developments in the 1920s –
S&H homogenous support vs UCC heterogeneous involvement – reflect two distinct path
dependencies. When German scientists focused on metallurgy, American engineers were
more related to chemistry apprehension. But whatever technological approaches were
involved, beryllium industrialisation was the result of an interdisciplinary fertilization, which
has to be considered as the consequence of previous innovations63.
These different economic and scientific contexts turned in Siemens’ favour. When in 1927
the Americans got in touch with Berlin, in order to use the Stock & Goldschmidt-Siemens
59
“Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation”, in: HAYNES William (ed.), American Chemical Industry, New York : D. van
Nostrand Company Inc., 1949, vol. 6, pp. 429-438 and “Union Carbide Corporation”, in: International Directory of Company
Histories, 1 (1988), pp. 399-401. See also: ROBERT D. Stief, A History of Union Carbide Corporation: From the 1890s to the
1990s, Danbury CT : Carbide Retiree Corps, 1998, 153 p.
60 DPMA/US1254987 . “Hugh S. Cooper, of Cleveland Ohio. Assignor to the Cooper Research Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, a
Corporation. Alloy. Patented Jan. 29, 1918. Application filed on October 15, 1917”.
61 HAYNES William (ed.), American Chemical Industry, New York: D. van Nostrand Company Inc., 1949, vol. 6, p. 430.
62 DPMA/US1893984: “Michael G. Corson, of Jackson Heights, New York, Assignor to Electro Metallurgical Company, a
Corporation of West Virginia. Alloy. Patented Jan. 10, 1933. Application filed October 20, 1923”.
63 BRAUN Hans-Joachim, EDGERTON David, “Spin-off from British and German Aircraft Technology after the Great War”, in:
CARON François, ERKER Paul, FISCHER Wolfram (ed.), Innovations in the European Economy between the Wars, Berlin: W. de
Gruyter, 1995, pp. 119-130.
8
process, they discovered that key patents were held by the Metal & Thermit Corporation,
whose assignees, Otto Dahl, Georg Masing and Hellmuth Fischer, represented LAE64. The
origin of liaisons between M&T and S&H lay in Goldschmidt´s individual history65. Theodor
Goldschmidt senior (1817-1879)66, with his sons Karl (1857-1926)67 and Hans (at the origin of
Siemens´ investigations), created the Th. Goldschmidt AG, specialising in aluminium and tin
processes. In the US, similar business was conducted by two different enterprises, which
merged in 1918 to form the Metal & Thermit Corporation, after the sequestration of German
proprieties on US territory68. That sequence enlightened economic relations between USA
and Germany. In our case, Siemens’ US policy didn´t involve its daughter-company actively
from 189269. Beryllium technology seemed too important to be drawn through common
channels. Technological transfer from Europe was organised through indirect connections
and indirect investments within joint ventures that were used as a “screen society” to
negotiate licence agreements70. Notwithstanding German language and culture, which were
64
DPMA/US1801808: “Hellmut Fischer of Berlin-Friedenau, Germany, Assignor by Mesne Assignments, to Metal & Thermit
Corporation, of New York, N. Y., a Corporation of New Jersey. Process for Covering Metals or Alloys with Layers of Metallic
Beryllium. Patented Apr. 21, 1931. Application filed October 3, 1927 and in Germany August 20, 1926”; US1809442 :
“Hellmut Fischer of Berlin-Friedenau, Germany, Assignor by Mesne Assignments, to Metal & Thermit Corporation, of New
York, N. Y., a Corporation of New Jersey. Process for the Manufacture of Metallic Beryllium or its Alloys. Patented June 9,
1931. Application filed October 3, 1927 and in Germany October 7, 1926”; US1813919: “Hellmut Fischer of BerlinFriedenau, Germany, Assignor by Mesne Assignments, to Metal & Thermit Corporation, of New York, N. Y., a Corporation of
New Jersey. Process for the Production of Beryllium Alloys, in Particular those with a High Beryllium Content by Means of
Fused Liquid Electrolysis. Patented July 14, 1931. Application filed May 22, 1929 and in Germany November 13, 1928”;
US1815056: “Hellmut Fischer of Berlin-Friedenau, Germany, Assignor by Mesne Assignments, to Metal & Thermit
Corporation, of New York, N. Y., a Corporation of New Jersey. Process of Industrially Valuable Beryllium Salts from
Beryllium-Bearing Minerals. Patented July 21, 1931. Application filed December 13, 1928 and in Germany December 17,
1927”; US1820655: “Hellmut Fischer of Berlin-Friedenau, Germany, Assignor by Mesne Assignments, to Metal & Thermit
Corporation, of New York, N. Y., a Corporation of New Jersey. Process of Obtaining Beryllium Compounds from BerylliumBearing Minerals. Patented Aug. 25, 1931. Application filed December 13, 1928 and in Germany December 15, 1927” and
US1975112: “Georg Masing, Berlin, and Otto Dahl, Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany, Assignors by Mesne Assignments, to
Metal & Thermit Corporation, New York, N. Y., a Corporation of New Jersey. Beryllium Alloy. Patented Oct. 2, 1934.
Application May 13, 1927. In Germany May 21, 1926”.
65 DUFFUS Roy A. Jr, The Story of M & T Chemicals Inc., New York: Codella Dufus Baker Inc., 1965, 113 p.
66 DBE, 4 (2006), p. 36.
67 DBE, 4 (2006), p. 34.
68 KABISCH Thomas R., Deutsches Kapital in den USA. Von der Reichsgründung bis zur Sequestrierung (1917) und Freigabe,
Stuttgart : Klett-Cotta, 1982, 413 p.
69 FELDENKIRCHEN Wilfried, “Siemens in the US”, in: JONES Geoffrey, GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ Lina, Foreign Multinationals in the United
States: Management and Performance, London: Routledge, 2002, pp. 89-105.
70 WILKINS Mira, The History of Foreign Investment in the United States, 1914 – 1945, Cambridge MA: Harvard University
Press, 2004, p. 420.
9
an important factor in US-German business development71, the exact relations between
M&T and S&H´s engineers are unknown72. However, that fact must not be seen as an
exception. As for other chemical activities, German-American connections were fully
established by the middle of the 1920s, using joint ventures, subsidiaries and patents
registration to gain transatlantic customers73. In the post-World War context, determined by
American claims on German chemicals, Siemens’ strategy was also a way to discreetly but
firmly re-conquer US markets after international sanctions74, and show German economic
domination over high technology areas75, in one of the largest and fastest growing export
markets at that time76. On the other side, American corporate companies didn’t register any
beryllium patents in Germany at all before Kemet Laboratories in 1927, six years after the
first Stock and Goldschmidt investigations77.
Cooperation (1930-1939)
During the 1930s, the beryllium industry was dominated by the question of international
cooperation and state interventions. An investigation of patent evolution in the 1930s shows
the emergence of newcomers (Graph 2). The French case is characterised by its national
flagship company Pechiney78, which appeared to be the only national corporate company
71
WILKINS Mira, The History of Foreign Investment in the United States to 1914, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press,
1989, pp. 450-451; WILKINS Mira, “German Chemical Firms in the United States from the Late 19th Century to Post-World
War II”, in: LESCH John E. (ed.), The German Chemical Industry in the Twentieth Century, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic
Publishers, 2000, pp. 285-321.
72 HALLER Charles Regis, German-American Business Biographies: High Finance and Big Business, Asheville, NC: Money Tree
Imprint, 2001, 550 p.
73 WILKINS Mira, “German Chemical Firms in the United States from the Late 19th Century to Post-World War II”, in: LESCH
John E. (ed.), The German Chemical Industry in the Twentieth Century, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000, p. 306.
74 STEEN Kathryn, « German Chemicals and American Politics, 1919-1922 », in: LESCH John E. (ed.), The German Chemical
Industry in the Twentieth Century, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000, pp. 323-346.
75 ARORA Ashish, “Patents, Licensing, and Market Structure in the Chemical Industry”, in: Research Policy, 26 (1997), pp. 391403.
76 LIEBENAU Jonathan, “Patents and the Chemical Industry: Tools of Business Strategy”, in: LIEBENAU Jonathan (ed.), The
Challenge of New Technology. Innovation in British Business since 1850, Aldershot: Gower, 1988, pp. 135-150.
77 DPMA/DE547620: “Kemet Laboratories Company, Inc. in New York, V. St. A. Verfahren zur Gewinnung von Beryllium
durch Elektrolyse von Beryliumchlorid. Patentiert im Deutschen Reiche vom 24. April 1927 ab. Ausgegeben den 26. März
1932”.
78 LE ROUX Muriel, L’entreprise et la recherche. Un siècle de recherche industrielle à Péchiney, Paris: Rive Droite, 1998, 499 p.
From now on: Péchiney.
10
involved in the beryllium business between 1919 and 1939. In Italy, the emergence of a
laboratory related to the academic sphere of Milano, with Professor Panebianco79, resulted
in febrile patenting activity by the second half of the 1930s. Here, the question of to what
extent had Mussolini´s government encouraged beryllium fundamental research, as he did
for parallel sectors, remains open80.
Graph 2 : Number of beryllium patents taken out, 1898-1939,
by owners’ nationality (n=424)81
In the German market, a willingness to embrace reorganisation was proposed by S&H, who
wanted to transfer their beryllium department after Engelhard’s retirement in 1932. That
externalisation was also motivated by the fact that most of the Be-alloys properties had
been discovered and protected. The deal was made in 1933 with Hereaus, which bought
79
Born in 1880. Son of Ruggero Panebianco, socialist deputee and professor of chemistry and cristallograpy at Padova
University (1848-1930). See: PANTALONI Marco, “Panebianco Ruggero”, in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 80 (2014), pp.
744-746.
80 PETRI Rolf, “Technical Change in the Italian Chemical Industry: Markets, Firms and State Intervention”, in: TRAVIS Anthony
S., SCHRÖTER Harm G., HOMBURG Ernst, MORRIS Peter J. T. (ed.), Determinants in the Evolution of the European Chemical
Industry, 1900-1939. New Technologies, Political Frameworks, Markets and Companies, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic
Publishers, 1998, pp. 275-300.
81 DE-DPMA.
11
back the S&H patents wallet and became an exclusive producer of alloys. The question of
beryl extraction was taken by Degussa, also in Frankfurt, which was in charge of supplying
HV´s furnaces. Unlike most other German chemical industrial sectors in the 1920s82 and in
the 1930s83, beryllium activities were here characterised by the absence of cartelisation. One
explanation could be the fact that the NS-regime put pressure on actors in order to segment
activities between beryl extraction and beryllium fabrication. In that case, it would be
considered as a rather interesting situation in the post-1933 economy84. On the American
side, markets were not segmented: beryl and beryllium productions remained under a
competitive environment85.
On an international scale, Germans and Americans decided to organise business conditions.
Unlike it has sometimes been told86, it was not a cartel, but a gentleman’s agreement in the
sense that no executive committee was created to monitor flows. After three years of
discussions, a deal was signed on April 1st, 1934, and was to last about 10 years87. On the
geographical scale, Europe was declared to be under German influence and North and South
America under US influence. On the technological side, both parties agreed on a constant
and mutual exchange of patents. On the financial side, apart from mutual royalties payments
calculated on the amount of European and American sales, a yearly rent had to be paid by
Americans to Alfred Stock (500$ dollars) and Wilhelm Kroll (1’000$). Moreover,
technological transfer was organised, with furnace shipments to the USA. That contract was
82
STECKEL Francis C., “Cartelization of the German Chemical Industry, 1918-1925”, in: Journal of European Economic History,
19 (1990), pp. 329-351.
83 SCHRÖTER Harm G., “Cartels as a Form of Concentration in Industry: The Example of the International Dyestuffs Cartel from
1927 to 1939”, in: POHL Hans, BERND Rudolph, German Yearbook on Business History, 1988, pp. 113-144.
84 SCHRÖTER
Harm G., “Kartellierung und Dekartellierung 1890-1990”, in: Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-und
Wirtschaftsgeschichte, 81 (1994), pp. 457-493.
85 US-NARA/TNEC, pp. 2011-2158.
86 HEXNER Ervin Paul, International Cartels, Durham: University of North Carolina Press, 1945, p. 222.
87 US-NARA/TNEC, pp. 2279-2283.
12
twice modified before World War II. In 1938, Péchiney obtained Belgian and Swiss markets88
and in 1939, Great Britain was transferred to the US orbit, under the discreet pressure of the
British government89.
Finally, and quite surprisingly, the question of flows from the West to Japan didn´t arise from
our analysis. Although industrial migrations in general 90 , and in electrochemistry in
particular91, had been occurring since the end of the 19th century between Germany and
Japan, no beryllium plants were active in Nippon territory before 1939 92 . However,
according to the fact that Siemens had been involved in Extreme Asia before World War I93,
and considering the reinforcement of political and military tides under Hitler´s regime and
taking into account that aluminium alloys were already in production in 193794, that
situation still remained dependent on forthcoming discoveries among the multiple and
various channels of migrations possibilities95.
Conclusions
The beryllium industry was born in Europe between the wars, at the confluence of the fields
of chemistry and metallurgy. Its historical evolution can be understood according to actors’
behaviour and markets’ developments.
88
US-NARA/TNEC, p. 2157-2158.
US-NARA/TNEC, p. 2044.
90 KREINER Josef, Deutschland - Japan. Historische Kontakte, Bonn: Bouvier, 1984, 320 p.
91 UCHIDA Hoshimi, “Western Big Business and the Adoption of New Technology in Japan. The Electrical Equipment and
Chemical Industries 1890-1920”, in: OKOCHI Akio, UCHIDA Hoshimi (ed.), Development and Diffusion of Technology: Electrical
and Chemical Industries, Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1980, pp. 145-172.
92 MISHIMA Yoshitsugu, “Half a Century of History of the Beryllium Industry in Japan”, in: Mineral Processing and Extractive
Metallurgy Review, 13 (1994), pp. 13-18.
93 TORU Takenaka, “Technologiepolitik und Direktinvestition von Siemens in Japan vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg”, in: PAUER Erich
(ed.), Technologietransfer Deutschland – Japan von 1850 bis zur Gegenwart, München: iudicium Verlag, 1992, pp. 138-157.
94 MIKAMI Atsufumi, “Old and New Zaibatsu in the History of Japan´s Chemical Industry: With Special Reference to the
Sumitomo Chemical Co. And the Showa Denko Co.”, in: OKOCHI Akio, UCHIDA Hoshimi (ed.), Development and Diffusion of
Technology: Electrical and Chemical Industries, Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1980, p. 210.
95 ROSENBERG Nathan, FRISCHTAK Claudio (ed.), International Technology Transfer: Concepts, Measures, and Comparisons, New
York: Praeger, 1985, 329 p.
89
13
The original impulsions differed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In Germany, Siemens &
Halske had strong links with the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft and decided to sponsor a
laboratory team, working on electrolysing. In the United States, beryllium production started
later. Because of the lack of a real pool of investors and because of the absence of focused
academic and industrial cooperation, attempts were uncoordinated, although any actual
developments were all related to the Union Carbide Corporation. In other words, the
German industrial, scientific and political particular context was a determinant in the
emergence of the beryllium innovative process. By using patent registration, assignees
enrolments and subsidiaries appropriation, Germans penetrated the US market earlier and
deeper than did the Americans in Europe. Technological transfer became finally
accomplished in 1934, when Frankfurt sent high-tech equipment to US firms. However, the
question of the paths followed by technology in migrating towards other countries still
remains open.
Concerning the markets, the question of whether demand pulled or actors’ discovery pushed
the beryllium industry has to be nuanced according to original localisation. In 1919, Siemens
& Halske’ policy had to be considered as a pioneer programme in order to take control over
an unknown element. In the USA, the industrial atmosphere was different, so the “discovery
process” was delayed and perhaps more demand-pulled. Nevertheless, by the time that
proof was established that beryllium would be an element able to lighten and harden alloys,
a multitude of patents were recorded, covering a wide range of combinations (gold,
aluminium, nickel, copper, iron, chrome, tin and zinc). In that perspective, the 1930 take-off
was in fact a multiplier effect of previous R&D efforts. Returns on investment were then
massive for producers; by this time, national economies required high performance alloys
able in order to be able to enlarge technological abilities in the area of transportation
14
(speed, heat, weight). Finally, unlike other non-ferrous industries, the beryllium business was
characterized by an absence of cartelisation. However, this relatively liberal framework must
be tempered by realising the legal, financial and political State interventions, which sought
to reveal vital “master alloy” aspects and capabilities that might have been needed for the
forthcoming war.
Johann BOILLAT
FWT des Deutschen Museums
Museumsinsel 1 – D-80306 München
15
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DE-Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (DPMA); München
US-National Archives and Records Administration; Washington DC
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Economic Power. Part 5. Monopolistic Practices in Industries. Development of the
Beryllium Industry, Washington DC: US Gov. Printing Office, 1939, p. 2011-2158.
US-United States Department of Interior, Geological Survey (USGS); Reston (VI)
Minerals Yearbook, 1919 sqq.
Information Circular n°6190. Beryllium and Beryl, 1929, 20 p.
AITCHISON Leslie, “Non-Ferrous Metals in Modern Transport”, in: The Journal of the Institute
of Metals, 38 (1927), p. 7-28.
DEGUSSA AG (ed.), Immer eine Idee besser. Forscher und Erfinder der Degussa, Frankfurt am
Main: Brönners Druckerei Breidenstein GmbH, 1998, 351 p.
DUFFUS Roy A. Jr, The Story of M & T Chemicals Inc., New York: Codella Dufus Baker Inc.,
1965, 113 p.
GERDIEN Hans, “Das Forschungslaboratorium der Siemens & Halske A.-G. und der SiemensSchuckertwerke G.m.b.H. in Berlin-Siemenstadt”, in : Siemens Zeitschrift, 6 (1926), pp. 413419, 469-477 and 525-533.
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Platinschmelze zum internationalen Technologieunternehmen, München: Piper, 2001, 480 p.
MARTIN F. G., “Non-Ferrous Metals in the Shipping Industry”, in: The Journal of the Institute
of Metals, 40 (1928), p. 7-20.
MASING Georg, FISCHER Hellmuth, “Die elektrochemischen Laboratorien und
Entwicklungstätten der Siemens & Halske AG”, in: Siemens Zeitschrift, 17 (1937), p. 252-258.
ROBERT D. Stief, A History of Union Carbide Corporation: From the 1890s to the 1990s,
Danbury CT: Carbide Retiree Corps, 1998, 153 p.
SAWYER C. B., “Beryllium— Glamour Child of Metallurgy”, in: The Yale Scientific Magazine,
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STOUGHTON Bradley, “Metals Used in Aircraft Construction”, in: Metals and Alloys, 1930 (1),
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TH. GOLDSCHMIDT AG (ed.), Grenzen überwinden. 150 Jahre Th.Goldschmidt, Essen: Pomp,
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WASSERMANN Günter, WINCIERZ Peter, Das Metall-Laboratorium der Metallgesellschaft AG,
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Beryllium-Arbeiten, Berlin: Springer, 1929, 256 p.
DES
SIEMENS-KONZERNS (ed.),
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20
Appendix 1 : Total number of beryllium patents taken out, by territories registration
(1898-1939)96
Comparing industrial with patent registration must be carried out with extreme caution and
can´t be executed without reflections about national heterogeneity delivery systems,
technical inventive potential, holders’ and inventors’ distinctions, national and territorial
patents segmentation and dates of registration, publication and delivery separation97. In
other words, and in our case study, as some files are only adjustments of anterior processes,
others are industrial paradigmatic changes.
The following database contains patents registered between 1898 and 1939 that are related
to beryllium inventions. Of over 550 patents collected, 478 could be classified according to
their registration date and 72 according to their publication and/or delivery dates. In order
to study homogenous material, only patents from the first categories were taken into
account. The table must then be considered as a chronological framework rather than a
matrix, allowing us to apprehend technical ameliorations and national borders’ permeability
to beryllium technology98.
96
DE-DPMA.
PLASSERAUD Yves, SAVIGNON François, L’Etat et l’invention. Histoire des brevets, Paris, 1986, 261 p.
98 INKSTER Ian, “Patents as Indicators of Technological Change and Innovation: An Historical Analysis of the Patent Data 1830
– 1914”, in: Transactions, 73 (2003), pp. 179-208.
97
21
Years
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
Total I
?
Total II
Total
2
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
2
0
1
3
4
4
2
7
8
23
14
13
21
53
62
26
23
24
33
64
43
37
478
72
550
AT
BE
CA
CH
DE
2
DK
ES
FR
GB
IT
LU
NO
RU
SE
US
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
3
2
2
2
5
6
3
6
15
15
6
11
6
6
15
9
17
137
2
137
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
4
3
3
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
20
1
1
1
2
15
2
17
1
7
8
44
44
20
3
6
10
4
5
9
13
9
9
4
5
3
6
6
2
102
102
2
3
1
1
1
3
3
1
6
10
3
1
5
6
11
5
7
62
1
63
4
3
4
3
8
11
2
5
5
8
15
12
7
88
88
1
1
3
9
4
1
9
14
5
3
50
9
59
2
1
1
2
2
3
3
Total
2
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
2
0
1
3
4
4
2
7
8
23
14
13
21
53
62
26
23
24
33
64
43
37
478
72
550
Years
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
Total I
?
Total II
22