Puerto Rico Iron Works
Encyclopedia
Puerto Rico Iron Works is a heavy industry
iron foundry
located in barrio
La Playa in Ponce, Puerto Rico
. The company was founded in 1918. The foundry "was Puerto Rico's most prolific steel bridge fabricator in the 20th
Century."
, whose father was a French engineer that had worked in the construction of the Panama Canal
. Antonio Ferré's family would become one of the most legendary families in Puerto Rico: one of his sons, Luis Antonio Ferré
became governor of the Island from 1969 to 1973, and one of his daughters, Isolina Ferré
, known as The Mother Teresa of Puerto Rico, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
from President Bill Clinton
in 1999 for her outstanding role in community activities, including the founding of a small hospital and school in Playa de Ponce next to the iron foundry called Centro de Orientacion y Servicios.
Antonio Ferre founded Puerto Rico Iron Works after experience he had garnished from his short employnment experience at Puerto Rico's first iron foundry Sobrinos de Portilla Foundry in San Juan. After learning that his uncle, Luis Bacallao, had settled in Ponce, Antonio Ferre moved to Ponce where his family would establish roots.
Son Luis Ferre helped transform Antonio's Puerto Rico Iron Works into a highly successful business after returning to Puerto Rico in 1925, having himself compalted a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT. Luis recruited some very bright talen for the company, including Raúl G. Villaronga
, the company's accountant who would later become the first Puerto Rican mayor of a Texas city.
s. Almost all of the railroad tracks laid in Puerto Rico in the early decades of the 20th century originated from PRIW. In the first half of the 20th century, the company was heavily involved in the production of iron-based bridges to address Puerto Rico's need for bridges The foundry was located just a few blocks away from the Port of Ponce docks, making the company one within easy reach for vessels requiering repairs as well. In the second half of the century the company was into the manufacturing of a number of specialty items such as manhole cover
s.
bonus
for employees to supplement the cost-of-living increases during financially difficult times; and the incorporation of a pension fund
. The company was also the first to provide aid to families in case of a worker’s incapacity or death. The company also implemented a minimum wage "law" of its own and an 8-hour labor day "before US law enforced those ideas."
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
iron foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
located in barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
La Playa in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. The company was founded in 1918. The foundry "was Puerto Rico's most prolific steel bridge fabricator in the 20th
Century."
History
Puerto Rico Iron Works (PRIW) was founded by Antonio Ferré Bacallao, an 1896 immigrant from CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, whose father was a French engineer that had worked in the construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. Antonio Ferré's family would become one of the most legendary families in Puerto Rico: one of his sons, Luis Antonio Ferré
Luis A. Ferré
Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party which advocates for Puerto Rico...
became governor of the Island from 1969 to 1973, and one of his daughters, Isolina Ferré
Isolina Ferré
Isolina Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican Roman Catholic nun. Known as the "Mother Teresa of Puerto Rico", she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her humanitarian work....
, known as The Mother Teresa of Puerto Rico, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
from President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 1999 for her outstanding role in community activities, including the founding of a small hospital and school in Playa de Ponce next to the iron foundry called Centro de Orientacion y Servicios.
Antonio Ferre founded Puerto Rico Iron Works after experience he had garnished from his short employnment experience at Puerto Rico's first iron foundry Sobrinos de Portilla Foundry in San Juan. After learning that his uncle, Luis Bacallao, had settled in Ponce, Antonio Ferre moved to Ponce where his family would establish roots.
Son Luis Ferre helped transform Antonio's Puerto Rico Iron Works into a highly successful business after returning to Puerto Rico in 1925, having himself compalted a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT. Luis recruited some very bright talen for the company, including Raúl G. Villaronga
Raúl G. Villaronga
Colonel Raúl G. Villaronga is a retired United States Army officer who has the distinction of being the first Puerto Rican mayor of a Texas city...
, the company's accountant who would later become the first Puerto Rican mayor of a Texas city.
Foundry works
The company first started doing business for Puerto Rican sugar and coffee plantations, in the area of irrigation systems and railroad track and wagon systems to carry products between plantations in the south. It also developed machinery for the crushing of sugar cane at sugar cane millSugar refinery
A sugar refinery is a factory which refines raw sugar.Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, i.e. sugar with more colour and therefore more impurities than the white sugar which is normally consumed in households and used as an ingredient in soft drinks, cookies and so forth...
s. Almost all of the railroad tracks laid in Puerto Rico in the early decades of the 20th century originated from PRIW. In the first half of the 20th century, the company was heavily involved in the production of iron-based bridges to address Puerto Rico's need for bridges The foundry was located just a few blocks away from the Port of Ponce docks, making the company one within easy reach for vessels requiering repairs as well. In the second half of the century the company was into the manufacturing of a number of specialty items such as manhole cover
Manhole cover
A manhole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, to prevent anyone from falling in and to keep unauthorized persons out....
s.
Social inclination
Puerto Rico Iron Works, under Luis Ferre's leadership, was the first company doing business in Puerto Rico to implement several labor measures that would not be adopted by the Puerto Rico Legislature until decades later, among them the institution of a ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
bonus
Performance-related pay
Performance-related pay is money paid to someone relating to how well one works. Car salesmen, production line workers, for example, may be paid in this way, or through commission....
for employees to supplement the cost-of-living increases during financially difficult times; and the incorporation of a pension fund
Pension fund
A pension fund is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.Pension funds are important shareholders of listed and private companies. They are especially important to the stock market where large institutional investors dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold...
. The company was also the first to provide aid to families in case of a worker’s incapacity or death. The company also implemented a minimum wage "law" of its own and an 8-hour labor day "before US law enforced those ideas."
See also
- Luis A. FerreLuis A. FerréDon Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party which advocates for Puerto Rico...
- Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto RicoPonce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...