TOPICS IN WALL STREET.: Finding Use for Idle Capacity

The New York Times
July 21, 1915

Increased activity in recent weeks at the South Bend, Ind., plant of the Studebaker Corporation has given rise to rumors in the Middle West that the company was planning to move its Detroit works to South Bend. The rumors went so far as to set an estimate of $800,000 as the probable expenditure to be made in buying additional property for the extended plant. A Director of the corporation yesterday denied the reports and explained that efficient production is being pushed at the Indiana factory, and as a result capacity that formerly was idle is now in operation. Before the corporation was stimulated by the injection of new blood in the management two years ago it had been the custom to buy around 75 per cent. of the automobile bodies for Studebaker chasses and also a substantial amount of steel castings used. Now practically the entire output of bodies is manufactured at South Bend, and a greater profit on the automobiles sold is derived from this home production.