Munising Wood Products
Information and links related to the Munising Wood Products
factory that operated in Munising, Michigan from 1911 to 1955.
Excerpts from Miscellaneous Munising News Articles
Related to Munising Wood Products
(Used with permission, granted February 2001)
February 2, 1912
On the 5th day of July last, ground was broken in this city for the new woodenware factory. Before January 1, 1912 the plant was practically completed and goods being manufactured.
The magnitude of building, equipping and putting in operation a manufacturing establishment such as the Munising Woodenware in a little more than six months cannot be appreciated by the general public. About 40 men now comprise the factory crew which is receiving additions almost daily.
Considerable new machinery has been installed recently and at the present time the output of the plant consists of butter bowls, butter prints, butter shells, potato mashers, paper roll plugs, and rolling pins.
The company's logging job near Chatham is nearly completed. So far over 1,000,000 feet of logs have been secured by the new concern, either by lumbering or by purchase. About 500,000 feet of logs are now on the company grounds and the rest of the timber is on skids close to the main line of the Munising Railroad.
circa 1916
NEW MUNISING WOODENWARE COMPANY
Capital increased from $50,000 to $200,000. M. M. Bonz will be manager.
New Power Plant to run both plants and new machinery ordered.
The Munising Veneer Company and the Munising Woodenware Company were recently consolidated and hereafter will be known as the Munising Woodenware Company. The capital of the former Munising Woodenware Company was $50,000. That of the new company will be $200,000.
It is the intention of the new company to operate woodenware factory No. 1 and veneer factory No. 2, the year round and that is to be accomplished by dividing the products of both factories so as to consume the timber obtainable in this territory. it has been impossible to procure sufficient timber to operate on veneer only, in the one plant, so the difficulty will be overcome by adding woodenware products. The number of employees expected to work in the near future is 250 to 300.
February 9, 1950
Notices were posted Tuesday at either end of the "Woodenware short-cut", the diagonal road from the Munising Wood Products Co. office to the L. S. & I. Railroad crossing near the Munising Paper Co. notifying motorists that the route is closed to auto traffic. That track is plowed for the benefit of pedestrians only, Police Chief John Trombley said.
January 24, 1952
The Munising Products Co., Inc. plant here which has been closed since December 21, will resume regular operations on Monday, Feb. 4. The announcement was made yesterday by Howard Norton, Manager. All departments will resume work that day, he said. The plant employs approximately 175 people.
May 27, 1954
Foreign competition in the woodenware line hit Alger County this week when the Munising plant of the Munising Wood Products Co. reduced its operation schedule to a 4 day week. The cutback to 32 hours per week took effect Monday and will continue into July at least, according to Manager Howard Norton. Inventory at the Munising plant is high because of slack sales.
June 13, 1962
The former Munising Wood Products Co. plant on Cedar St., which for many years made wooden bowls, clothes pins, salad forks and other articles of top quality, is now in the process of being torn down. The long storage shed on the east side was taken down first and now the remainder of the plant, all except the concrete building, are now being razed as well. At its peak the "Wooden Ware" employed 300 people.
