10/20/2011:
Ground was broken at Rolla, North Dakota, on this date in 1953 for the construction of the country’s only jewel bearing factory. Named the Turtle Mountain Ordnance Plant, the factory would produce synthetic ruby, sapphire, ceramic, and carbide jewel bearings, which were considered critical to United States military operations during the early years of the Cold War.
Jewel bearings are industrial components used in precision instruments, although their most common use is in mechanical watches. Jewel bearings are more accurate, smaller, lighter, and less corrosive than their alloyed counterparts, and usually require no lubrication. With the invention of a synthetic process to manufacture ruby and sapphire, jewel bearings also became much less expensive. They remain the bearing of choice for highly sensitive measuring equipment, and are used in military galvanometers, compasses, gimbals, and other high-precision instruments. During the early years of the Cold War, the American military demanded a ready supply of jewel bearings to meet America’s defensive needs. In response, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal leaders of the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa Indians worked together in a federal-private partnership to build the Turtle Mountain Ordnance Plant near Rolla. The Bureau of Indian Affairs believed that placing the factory on the Turtle Mountain Reservation would help to improve the tribal economy, while satisfying an existing need of the federal government. The factory was initially placed under the management of the Bulova Watch Company, and employed nearly 100 Turtle Mountain Native Americans. In 1973, its name was changed to the William Langer Jewel Bearing Plant, and in 1996, the factory was privatized and renamed once again. Historians continue to consider the plant a “significant reflection of American logistical responses to perceived Cold War security threats.”
Today, the plant goes by Microlap Technologies, Incorporated, and employs fifty-five people out of its 33,000 square foot facility on First Street in Rolla. It continues to prove a valuable source of income to the Turtle Mountain tribal economy, serving medical, aerospace, defense, and fiber optic customers. Manufacturing and offering custom modification in a wide variety of industrial components, it remains a leader in the manufacture of jewel bearings in the United States.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
http://library.ndsu.edu/exhibits/text/indians/dakotas.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewel_bearing
http://www.statehistoricalfoundation.com/?id=81&offset=350
http://www.microlap.com/MicrolapPowerpoint_122810.pdf
http://www.microlap.com/about.php
http://cgi.ebay.com/Turtle-Mountain-Ordnance-Plant-Rolla-ND-Photo-1-/300530928085