Heinrich L. J. Siemund, a German-born electrician and welder, established one of the earliest commercial metal-arc welding operations in the United States in New York around 1907 to 1908. He developed unique electric welding techniques for close-quarters work in Germany; Siemund was invited to the United States by investors seeking to capitalize on the expense and time-saving welding process.

In June 1908, he completed his first documented U.S. project: repairing the steamer Altai of the Hamburg-American Line. Subsequently, Siemund partnered with another German welder to form the Siemund-Wenzel (also spelled Siemund-Wienzell or Siemund & Wenzel) Electric Welding Company. The firm specialized in in-place repairs of marine boilers and steamship machinery, as well as railroad steam locomotives.

 

Siemund’s principal innovation was a practical metal-electrode arc welding process. This method utilized a small-diameter metallic conductor, approximately 1/8 to 3/8 inch in diameter, carrying 50 to 70 volts and about 200 amperes. The process generated a short voltaic arc that deposited molten metal from the electrode onto a superficially melted surface in successive layers. Heat and cooling distortion was significantly lower than with carbon-arc methods, which employed a longer arc. The technique enabled overhead and confined-space welding on large marine structures without the need for dismantling. Siemund filed patent applications in 1909 and was granted U.S. Patents 967,578 (“Art of Electric Welding and Repairing”) and 967,579 (“Method of Electric Welding and Repairing”) on August 16, 1910. These patents are recognized as foundational contributions to the development of shielded metal arc welding.

 

The company operated from New York and employed floating equipment, including barges, to access vessels at wharves. Photographs from approximately 1915 in the Merritt-Chapman & Scott salvage collection at Mystic Seaport document a damaged barge owned by Siemund & Wenzel being pumped out, with assistance from a floating derrick and a tug.

 

The firm competed with another German-led enterprise, Enderlein Electric Welding Co. In 1913, Siemund initiated a lawsuit against Enderlin in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York regarding patent rights; the case (Siemund v. Enderlin, 206 F. 283) provides detailed accounts of both parties’ activities in the harbor and the origins of the metal-arc welding method.

 

Siemund-Wenzel’s work contributed to the introduction of electric arc welding, a groundbreaking process at a time when welding was still regarded skeptically. Their focus on marine repair became particularly significant as welding later proved effective in larger ship-repair projects. The company appears to have remained a specialized harbor contractor rather than expanding into large-scale manufacturing, with documented activity primarily between 1908 and 1915.

The Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Company, located on the Hudson River in Weehawken, New Jersey, was the largest dry dock on the East Coast and also held the longest turning lathe for the manufacture/repair of ship propeller shafts. It operated from 1888 until it was acquired in 1916 by Todd Shipyards (originally the William H. Todd Corporation). Although located in Weehawken, the company used a Hoboken address (Park Avenue and 17th Street) and operated as Hoboken Dry Docks / Todd Shipyards Hoboken Division. It closed in 1965 but is still operating drydocks in New Orleans.