1910s
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1913
- The Monarch Portland Cement Company is sold and reorganized as The Monarch Cement Company.
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1915
- New coal burners are installed and big tube mills set as the plant undergoes improvements. The upgrades lower the cost of production by 10 to 15 cents per barrel.
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1913
- H.F.G. Wulf is appointed receiver of Monarch, and together with August C. Kreitzer, he transforms the plant into a thriving business. The Humboldt Union calls it “a new season of prosperity for Humboldt.”
191319151913
1920s
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1920
- The original method of manually loading raw materials into mule-drawn cars is replaced by eight-ton steam engines and a steam-driven shovel that moves on rail sections.
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1922
- Monarch announces a payroll of 179 men per day with wages totaling $258,834.51. The Humboldt Union writes, “The Monarch Cement Company has made a good fight through years of adversity and is coming out on top.”
- For the first time since its reorganization, Monarch announces it will pay a 6 percent dividend to stockholders.
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1923
- Walter H. Wulf, son of H.F.G. Wulf, is appointed as the assistant manager of the plant. Later that year, Wulf announces record production at the plant: more than 400,000 barrels.
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1924
- The four area cement plants – Monarch (Humboldt), Ash Grove (Chanute), Lehigh (Iola) and Great Western (Mildred) – organize a basketball league composed of employees from all four plants. Monarch wins the first game against Ash Grove.
1920192219231924
1930s
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1933
- The Portland Cement Association awards an 8-foot-tall safety “trophy” (made of concrete, of course) to Monarch in recognition of a perfect safety record for the entire year of 1932.
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1935
- Fred H. Rhodes is elected president and general manager of Monarch; Walter H. Wulf, son of the late H.F.G. Wulf, is elected vice president.
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1939
- Production employees unionize under the United Cement Lime & Gypsum Workers Union.
193319351939
1940s
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1941
- Monarch adds a new diesel locomotive to its switch yards, replacing an old steam engine.
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1942
- Monarch earns safety honors again as the Portland Cement Association recognizes the plant for a perfect safety record for five consecutive years.
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1945
- Fred Rhodes retires, and Walter H. Wulf is elected president of Monarch.
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1949
- A new 426-ton kiln is installed, part of a $1.5 million expansion. Draft, temperature, motor speed, cooler speed, steam and flow of gas are all controlled through a single instrument panel.
1941194219451949
1950s
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1951
- Work begins on the new Monarch office addition, a total of 6,000 square feet, complete with air conditioning, indirect light and the latest in heating and plumbing.
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1952
- A new type of explosive that better protects workers and eliminates drilling is tried at the Monarch plant. The “shaped charge” prevents flying rock typically caused by dynamite and allows employees to be much closer to the detonation.
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1953
- Monarch announces it will build a new shale crushing and drying plant 316 feet west of its current plant buildings at a cost of $750,000.
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1956
- Monarch employees receive an 18-cent-an-hour pay increase, part of an agreement negotiated between the plant and Local 93 of the United Cement, Lime and Gypsum workers.
- The Company announces a $6.5 million expansion, adding 50% more capacity to the plant—from 1,500,000 to 2,250,000 barrels of cement annually.
1951195219531956
1960s
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1968
- Blueprints are created for what would become the iconic Monarch lion logo sign on the west lawn.
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1969
- Walter H. Wulf Sr. steps down as president of Monarch and becomes chairman of the board. He’s replaced by Charles Fussman.
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1965
- Monarch acquires Salina Concrete Products Inc. in Salina, Kansas.
196819691965
1970s
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1971
- Construction begins on a multi-year, $7.5 million plant expansion, including new clinker-producing technology, an automated packing house, and new dust control systems to meet air pollution control standards.
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1975
- Monarch begins efficiently burning clinker in two four-stage suspension preheater kilns. These kilns preheat the raw materials prior to entering the kiln and thereby use available heat that otherwise would be vented into the atmosphere. The roller mill efficiently uses all but about 200° of the available heat.
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1977
- Monarch acquires Concrete Materials Inc., located in Merriam, Kansas.
197119751977
1980s
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1980
- Jack R. Callahan is named President upon the retirement of Charles Fussman.
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1983
- Construction begins on a roller mill system to process raw materials, such as limestone and shale. Once the roller mill system is complete, the raw mills are converted to swing mills, allowing them to grind either raw materials or clinker into cement, thus increasing overall production capacity.
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1986
- The Company acquires Concrete Enterprises Inc. (Hutchinson, Kansas), Kansas Sand and Concrete Inc. (Topeka, Kansas) and Kansas Building Products (Wichita, Kansas).
- Management elects to serve the Iowa market by transferring clinker produced in Humboldt to its Des Moines plant for grinding into finished cement, leading to an appreciable reduction in costs.
198019831986
1990s
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1994
- Monarch begins purchasing foreign clinker to supplement production to fulfill its customers’ demand for cement.
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1995
- Modifications to the two preheater kilns and installation of a vibrating grizzly increases the plant’s production capacity, reducing its dependence on foreign clinker.
- Monarch installs a concrete lab to provide technical services to customers.
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1997
- Walter H. Wulf Jr. is elected to the presidency of Monarch by the Board of Directors, following the retirement of past president Jack Callahan.
199419951997
2000s
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2001
- Walter H. Wulf dies at the age of 101 after serving as a Monarch employee for more than 80 years of his life. His office desk is donated to the Humboldt Historical Museum as part of the Monarch display.
- To eliminate the need to purchase foreign clinker to keep up with demand, Monarch commits to another expansion project to increase production by 40 percent.
- Monarch acquires Capitol Concrete Products Co. Inc. in Topeka, Kansas.
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2002
- The Company acquires a new subsidiary, Joplin Concrete Company Inc., in Joplin, Missouri.
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2005
- The Monarch Medical Clinic opens its doors to provide on-site medical services to employees and their dependents covered under the provided health plan.
200120022005
2010s
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2011
- Monarch acquires Kay Concrete Materials Co. in Monett, Missouri.
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2014
- Monarch deregisters from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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2015
- After five years of engineering and construction (and an investment of approximately $20 million), Monarch becomes compliant with the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations.
201120142015
2020s
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2020
- Declaration of the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 13, 2020. Annual Stockholder’s meeting went live-streamed for the first time in history due to COVID-19.
- Monarch closed Salina Concrete Products in Salina, KS, and consolidated operations in Wichita, KS
- Monarch awarded the 2020 Safety Innovation Award by the Portland Cement Association.
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2021
- Began construction of new Spring Hill, KS facility, which includes a new 200 cu. yds./hr. central mix concrete plant (CMI), a new 10,000-ton autonomous cement terminal (MCC), a new trucking center (BLC), and lease space occupied by Dondlinger & Sons Construction.
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2022
- Monarch completed a new 97,500 sq. ft. Material Storage Building at Humboldt, KS.
- Monarch began production of Type 1L-Portland Limestone Cement (PLC).
- Monarch acquired American Concrete Company, Inc. in Pittsburg, KS.
- Monarch reached a new single-day record in tons shipped.
202020212022
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1908
- The Monarch Portland Cement Company is founded on Coal Creek, directly south of Humboldt, Kansas.
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1909
- The plant opens with a capacity of 5,000 barrels daily and features the largest crushing plant in Kansas.
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1913
- The Monarch Portland Cement Company is sold and reorganized as The Monarch Cement Company.
