The Iron Industry Essay Example

on a large scale was first introduced by Richard Crawshay in South Wales. He used Cort's processes and in 1812 his Cyfartha works employed 2000 people and produced 10000 tons of iron a year.

The Darby of Coalbrookdale made a huge contribution to the Iron Industry. Abraham Darby I developed a method for casting iron pots and then patented the idea. He has learnt that in the malt industry, that coal was heated to produce coke, which removed many unpleasant gases from coal. He then found an answer to the problem of the charcoal shortage. He first tried using raw coal, like it came out of the mines, but it wasn't successful. He then had the coal cooked to a cinder, which was very successful. It was not exactly a breakthrough, but it was a big technological advance.

The new method was fine for casting pots in mass production, but was not suitable for wrought iron. When Abraham Darby I died, his son in law Richard Ford managed the business until

Abraham Darby was old enough to run it, as he was only 6 at the time. Abraham Darby II took over in 1738. He borrowed a lot of money to improve the business and spent his money in many ways, such as buying a Newcomen steam engine, 6 new blast furnaces, the local coal and iron-ore mines; a horse powered tramway and developed an important new market making cast-iron boilers for steam engines.

He also significantly improved the quality, as the price was rising because of war, the price of charcoal was inceasing tremendously, and so Darby carried on experimenting, with different cooking methods, blast pressure, and different balances in ingredients. He once went one week without sleep. He then finally got the quality he wanted and took it to his forgers, who agreed. Over the next 20 years, the company made huge profits, and his work paid off selling pig iron to manufacturers.

Again, when Abraham Darby II died in 1763, his son in law Richard Reynolds took over till 1768, when Abraham Darby III was old enough to take over. Darby II was more of an innovator, making the worlds first iron bridge, a huge advertisement for his company. He was a good employer, buying farms and good homes to attract good workers. But in 50 years time, iron had improved so much that iron could be used for boats, steam engines and wheels. Soon there was a huge demand for the goods made by the company.