62 The Late Twenties Hawaii, a U.S. territory before its 1959 statehood and a major sugar producer, was the source of one of Eugene Roberts’ most important innovations. On a 1927 visit to the Pahala plant, Boiling House Superintendent, Walter Child showed Roberts how he had increased sugar production by speeding up his centrifugals by 200 rpm. Upon returning to Hamilton, Roberts sought ways to achieve higher speeds, ultimately designing a new suspension head for belt drives that raised operating speeds to 1600 rpm. In 1927, Cecil Ferguson, who had been working with Roberts, struck out on his own, establishing the J.C. Ferguson Manufacturing Works. His company developed liners for centrifugals and came up with a successful process for manufacturing perforated metal screens and filtration parts. J.C Ferguson became a longtime supplier to Western States. 62 CHAPTER 4 right: A map showing the many sugar plantations in Hawaii. Also, a Western States advertisement for the discharger. Note the many office locations of Western States: Hamilton, Ohio; New York, New York; Havana, Cuba; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Honolulu, Hawaii.