Carey, Charles Henry. "History of Oregon." Vol. 3. Chicago-Portland: Pioneer Historical Pub. Co., 1922. p. 464. WILLIAM ALBERS William Albers of Portland, as vice president of the Albers Brothers Milling Company, is active in the control and management of one of the largest enterprises of this character throughout the entire west, the business having been developed to gigantic proportions, with manufacturing plants in most of the leading coast cities. William Albers was born in Lingen, Germany, December 29, 1869, and is a son of Herman Albers, who was born, reared and married in Germany and afterward came to Portland, where he continued to reside until called to his final rest. His wife, however, passed away in Germany. William Albers of this review attended school in his native city and in 1891 came to the United States with his brother, Henry Albers, making Portland his destination. Here they joined an older brother, Bernard Albers, who passed away on the 4th of March, 1908. In 1895 Bernard and Henry Albers established the milling business from which has been developed the present gigantic enterprise. In 1901 the business was incorporated under the name of the Albers Brothers Milling Company, of which William Albers is now the vice president. The success of the enterprise has been due to the adoption of several principles to which the firm has strictly adhered. One of these has to do with the selection of locations "where rail and water meet." This was the thought in mind when the first plant was built in Portland in 1893 and the idea uppermost in selecting their last location on the Oakland pier in 1918. All of their docks are accessible to the largest vessels. They have always maintained the highest standards in the quality of their output and their success is plainly indicated in a comparison of their sales of 1908 with those of 1918 -- ten years later: In 1908 their sales amounted to five million dollars, at which time their total floor space in four mills was one hundred and thirty-five thousand square feet. In 1918 their total floor space in nine mills was one million three hundred and twenty-six thousand four hundred and twenty square feet and their sales amounted to twenty million dollars. The Portland establishment, the first of their large milling structures, was erected on the Willamette river in 1910. The building is over a thousand feet in length and includes three hundred and sixty-five thousand square feet of floor space, with an elevator capacity of two hundred and fifty thousand bushels. The company manufactures in its several establishments Albers flapjack flour, Albers oats, Albers Peacock buckwheat flour, Albers wheat flakes, Albers pearls of wheat, Peacock daily bread and Del Monte flour, Carnation oats, Sunripe oats, Carnation wheat flakes, and approximately two hundred other brands under the Albers, Carnation, Peacock, Del Monte and Sunripe trade-marks; also fifty brands of stock and poultry feeds, including the Carnation dairy feed, Albers molasses feeds, molasses O-Meal, meal and dairy products, hog feed, Albers Porko and Swino and Albers poultry foods, which are widely known throughout the country. Extending the scope of their business, mills were erected at Tacoma in 1902, situated in the heart of the city and amply provided with both rail and water shipping facilities. The floor space there is seventy-three thousand square feet, with a grain capacity of two hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels, and the latest and most complete equipment is installed for cereals and flours. The Albers mills at Seattle are located in the heart of the manufacturing district on the water front. Originally constructed in 1906, the capacity was doubled in 1913. The docks will accommodate four steamers and the spur tracks, sixty freight cars. The total floor space is three hundred and twenty-six thousand six hundred and thirty-six square feet. The elevator capacity is four hundred thousand bushels of grain, while employment in the Seattle plant is given to about two hundred and fifty men. At Oakland, California, the mills of the Albers Company are located on the Oakland pier, on the water front of San Francisco bay, and were completed in 1918. The floor space covers three hundred and sixty-six thousand two hundred square feet and the elevator capacity is two hundred and fifty thousand bushels of grain. This plant was erected at a cost of almost a million dollars. The business of the company at San Francisco is housed in two reinforced modern concrete structures, in one of which the Albers flour and meal products are produced. The plant is located near the docks, was constructed in 1908 and has about fifty thousand square feet of floor space. The cereal mills at San Francisco are located near the wharves and along the belt line railroad. The mills are fully equipped with all modern machinery for the manufacture of cereals, the output consisting largely of the Carnation wheat and oat products. This building was erected in 1908 and has about fifty thousand square feet of floor space. In 1907 the business was extended to Los Angeles, in which year the mill was originally built, while in 1915 the capacity was doubled, the total floor space being now thirty-eight thousand five hundred square feet, while the grain capacity is one hundred thousand bushels. At Los Angeles the plant is especially used for the Albers flapjack flour, although a full line of the Albers goods is manufactured. Into Utah the business has also been extended, for at Ogden in 1916 were constructed additional mills provided with ample storing and manufacturing facilities. There is a grain capacity of three hundred and fifty thousand bushels and a floor space of thirty-seven thousand sixty-four square feet. The principal output being the famous brand of Sunripe cereals. Thus with the continuous development and expansion of the business it has become one of the important enterprises of this character on the Pacific coast. The officers are: George Albers of Seattle, Washington, president; William Albers of Portland, vice president; Frank Albers of San Francisco, treasurer; and B. M. Denison of Portland, secretary; Mrs. B. Albers and Mr. George A. Westgate, are directors. Offices and agencies are maintained at Seattle, Tacoma and Bellingham, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, California; Ogden, Utah; New York city; Kobe, Japan; and Valparaiso, Chile. William Albers was married in Portland, April 26, 1904, to Miss Mary Miller. He belongs to the Portland Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Catholic church and also has membership with the Knights of Columbus. Transcriber's additional notes: "Men of Oregon" Published by: The Chamber of Commerce Bulletin Portland, Oregon; 1911 ALBERS BROTHERS, Cereal Manufacturers. Came to Oregon in October, 1891, started in business in 1893, and in the milling business on June 1, 1895. Now largest concern of its kind on the Pacific Coast. Mills located at San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Tacoma. Albers, Henry; Born at Lingen, Germany, April 13, 1866 Albers, William; Born at Lingen, Germany, December 29, 1869 Albers, George; Born at Lingen, Germany, March 12, 1872 Albers, Frank; Born at Lingen, Germany, December 15, 1874 ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2006 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.