Heyl & Patterson Blog

Iron is the world's most commonly used metal and is the main ingredient in steel, which represents almost 95% of all metal used in any given year.  World iron production averages two billion metric tons of raw ore annually, and ore with quantities of greater than 60% iron can be fed directly into iron-making blast furnaces.  Iron-rich rocks are common worldwide, but ore-grade commercial mining operations are dominated by Australia, Brazil, India and, with higher production than the other three combined, China.

Throughout history, coal has been a useful resource.  It is primarily burned for the production of electricity and/or heat, and is also used for industrial purposes, such as refining metals.  Coal is a fossil fuel, and forms when dead plant matter is converted into peat, which after time becomes lignite, then sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal and finally anthracite. This involves biological and geological processes that take place over a long period.  Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide.

The Pittsburgh area is in the unique position to deliver innovative solutions that address the energy needs of the region, the United States and the world, with a rich portfolio of assets.  The region enjoys a competitive advantage in natural resources, supply chain presence and innovation in the energy sectors of coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, solar, electricity distribution and transmission, and intelligent building technologies.

Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create theme-based image collections related to their events, interests and hobbies.  Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, re-pin images to their own collections or 'like' photos.  Pinterest aims to connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting, via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing.

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel on the planet.  It is a relatively cheap fuel, with some of its largest deposits in regions such as China, India and the United States.  Solid coal cannot directly replace natural gas or petroleum in most applications, since petroleum is mostly used for transportation and the natural gas not used for electricity generation is used as heating fuel.  Coal can be converted to gas or liquid fuel, but the efficiencies and economics of such processes can make them unfeasible.

To mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of Heyl & Patterson Inc., the company held a event on October 6, 2012 at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh.  A company history book, “Heyl & Patterson: Celebrating 125 Years, 1887-2012” was presented to a group of more than 170 attendees, including employees, retirees, board members, customers and other special guests.  Many amateur historians offered their insights, memories and artifacts so that this history of Heyl & Patterson could come to life.

The word "trivia" originally described the three most important building blocks of Ancient Roman education:  grammar, logic and rhetoric.  It was derived from "triple" and "way" and also meant "the place where three roads meet."  By the 20th century, the term had become as forgotten as the system of education it pertained to when its definition was abruptly changed.  By 1900, it was used in a book title to mean "a collection of moral short pieces."  Since the 1960s, its meaning has widened to include knowledge that is nice to have but not essential.

Heyl & Patterson provides custom-engineered solutions in a wide range of equipment, and can help customers determine the best available equipment for their operations.  These solutions include a complete line of railcar movers that push or pull a railcar, string of cars or an entire train without locomotive assistance.  As part of our continuing efforts to update our customers on our product lines, a new Railcar Movers brochure has been added to the Bulk Transfer Division line of literature.

The expense involved in old high lift railcar dumpers led to the evolution of a side discharge machine that remains popular today.  This Rotary Dumper, just as with its predecessor, required no modifications to existing railcars, and in turn led to a significant development in how railcars were utilized.  A railcar's center of gravity is in the same plane as its coupler, so if railcars rotate about their own couplers, there is no need to uncouple the cars to dump them.  This led to the development of the rotating coupler and the “unit train.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Pittsburgh, PA – Heyl & Patterson Inc., a world leader in thermal processing and bulk materials handling, announced it has been ranked as one of the Best Places to Work in Western Pennsylvania in a survey conducted by the Pittsburgh Business Times.  This was Heyl & Patterson's first nomination for the list, and the first time it was ranked.