Chapter 167: Visiting a Small Enterprise

While Jonathan was busy with his affairs in New York, Amelia, and Poul were hard at work on important tasks of their own. Amelia was meticulously preparing the necessary documents for the acquisition of lands in the Appalachian Basin, Texas, and Wyoming, while Poul was overseeing the manufacturing of an electric locomotive for the local metro station.

Meanwhile, inside the bustling Avonside Engine Factory, workers donned their coveralls and diligently went about their duties. The sounds of clanking metal and hissing steam filled the air as the skilled laborers expertly crafted intricate machinery. The factory floor was a symphony of motion, with workers hustling back and forth, delivering parts and pieces to their respective stations.

There were people welding, hammering, and drilling, and each worker was lost in their own world of precise movements and focused attention. The machines they were building were works of art, their gleaming surfaces and intricate designs reflecting the care and skill that had gone into their creation. Poul oversaw it all with a watchful eye, occasionally pausing to offer guidance or encouragement to the workers.

"So, what do you think, Mr. Nielsen? Does it meet your expectations?" Chapman asked with a grin on his face.

Poul stroked his chin as he glanced over at the pre-fabricated parts of the electric locomotive being hoisted by a crane and fitted onto the chassis.

"It's looking good, Chapman. Keep up the good work," Poul replied, a smile forming on his lips. "Are we within schedule? You know, my partner in New York said that they already drilled one thousand meters."

"According to the progress we have made so far, I can say with full confidence that we are on schedule," Chapman replied and continued. "To think that they have already drilled a one thousand meters long tunnel is impressive."

"I concur," Poul said, nodding thoughtfully. "My partner said that he got interviewed for it due to the constant rumbling of the ground," he chuckled.

"Well, as long as we supply you with aluminum and other materials that we need for the locomotive, we will make sure to meet our deadlines," Chapman said.

Poul smiled. "I will leave the rest to you, Mr. Chapman. I will return in six months. Have the locomotive ready by that time for the test."

"Understood, Mr. Nielsen. I will notify you as soon as we finish the first prototype," Chapman said with a confident nod.

Poul nodded in return before turning to leave the factory floor. As he stepped outside, he took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling the sun on his face. He hopped onto his carriage and signaled the coachman to move forward.

Poul's carriage made its way through the busy streets of the city, dodging pedestrians and other carriages along the way. His next destination would be the aluminum smelter just 50 kilometers away from the Engine Avonside Factory.

For his itinerary today, Poul was to visit the factories that produce raw materials for his major enterprises. The air brakes, the arms manufacturing, the signaling equipment, and lastly the electric company. The aluminum smelter was one of the most important stops on his list, as the lightweight metal was a crucial component in the electric locomotive being built at the Avonside Engine Factory.

Two hours later.

As the carriage approached the smelter, Poul could see plumes of smoke rising from the towering chimneys. The smell of burning coal filled the air, and the clang of metal echoed across the yard. Poul stepped out of the carriage and was greeted by the factory manager.

"Mr. Nielsen! A pleasure to meet you, my name is Jensen and I am the one responsible for overseeing the production of aluminum," the manager greeted him with a polite bow.

"Good day to you too, Mr. Jensen," Poul replied with a smile.

"Shall I give you a tour of the facility, Mr. Nielsen?" Jensen offered.

"Yes, please. I'd like to see if you are following the production process by the book," Poul said.

Jensen nodded and led Poul through the bustling factory. They walked past huge vats of molten metal, where workers in protective suits carefully poured the liquid metal into molds.

"Here, Mr. Nielsen is where we melt the aluminum," Jensen explained, gesturing to the vats. "We heat it to over 1,200 degrees Celsius before pouring it into the molds."

Poul watched in awe as the workers expertly handled the molten metal, their movements swift and precise. He could feel the intense heat emanating from the vats like a wall hitting him in the face.

As they continued the tour, Poul saw the workers shaping the aluminum into various forms, including sheets, rods, and pipes.

He observed the different stages of the production process and they seemed to be following everything he wrote in the manual.

The production of aluminum, even in the modern world, used the Heroult Process, but in the late nineteenth century, the method was not as efficient as in the modern world due to its shortcomings, specifically in the technology being used at the time.

Poul observed that the main problem with the Heroult Process was the inefficiency of the electric arc furnace. The furnace consumed a lot of energy, and a lot of heat was lost through the furnace walls and the slag. Poul realized that if he could improve the design of the furnace and the electrodes, he could reduce energy consumption and increase the efficiency of the process.

So he redesigned the furnace, making it more efficient and reducing heat loss. He used a refractory material to line the walls of the furnace and insulated it to prevent heat loss. He also modified the shape of the furnace to reduce the surface area, which helped to retain heat.

Next, Poul changed the electrodes. He noticed that the electrodes used in the Heroult Process were made of carbon, which was inefficient and led to a lot of waste. Poul replaced the carbon electrodes with graphite electrodes, which were more efficient and had a longer lifespan. He also developed a new electrode design that increased the contact area between the electrodes and the metal, which improved the efficiency of the melting process.

His improvements to the Heroult Process were significant and resulted in a substantial reduction in energy consumption and waste, something that other aluminum smelters are struggling to solve. As a result, the production process became more efficient and cost-effective. And in the next coming years, Poul believes that his aluminum smelter company will be the major producer of aluminum.

But all of those come with a major cost, a million-dollar cost. Aluminum smelting is not popular in the current era as it was expensive to produce and there was no efficient way to produce it as efficiently as his smelting company. Also, there were no obvious applications for it as the people in the era hadn't realized their full potential yet.

Despite that, he remained confident, knowing that the future would soon be dominated by aluminum, especially in the technology that he is going to introduce next.