70 Stevens wanted Western States to buy the rights to what became known as the Stevens Mingler, but Roberts persuaded him to join the company and become its first Chief Sugar Technologist. In that role, which was seen as highly innovative for a manufacturer, Stevens traveled to sugar plants throughout the world, lending his expertise to enhance efficiency and improve operations while strengthening the reputation of Western States. The new gear-driven centrifugal and the Stevens Mingler were first installed together at the Pennsylvania Sugar Company, and the resulting performance captured global attention. Roberts and Stevens continued to seek ways to optimize production. By creating automatic cooled brakes and clutches, they shortened the nonproductive portion of the production cycle, increasing sugar yields. Despite the Depression, demand for all these innovative products grew to the point at which Columbia Tool struggled to keep up, leading to unacceptable delivery delays as it divided production CHAPTER 5