Full Story of a Place Where I Worked
Finding a decent job when you're a teenager has always been a challenge. But in 1975, I got really lucky and was invited to work at Apollo Microwave Products in Crystal Lake, Illinois, my hometown. This is my personal recollection of that company's history. I can't guarantee completeness nor 100% accuracy, but I belive that the company and all the people and technology involved deserve to have their story preserved. Sadly, I have no photos at all from my time working there but the internet has provided some useful information.
Invention
Like many companies, Apollo Microwave Products Company grew out of an idea—a key invention and patent. The inventor and co-founder of Apollo was Lowell A. Moe. Everyone called him Moe, or Moesy, and in fact he was the fellow who hired me. He was quite an innovative self-taught engineer, racking up around 70 patents over his lifetime. His patent of interest here, No. 3,813,918 (Fig. 1), issued in June of 1974 [Ref. 1]. The principle is simple. To measure the amount of moisture in a material, such as food, you weigh it, then use microwave energy to heat the bound water, thus evaporating it. Weigh the sample again, and the loss in weight represents the moisture content. Moe's invention came while he was working for the F. H. Peavey company, which was involved with food processing. At the time, a vacuum oven was used for moisture analysis. While accurate, it took many hours to obtain a final value. Microwave ovens were rather new and just becoming popular then, and while it seems obvious now as a solution to this heating/drying problem, Moe did in fact have a great idea that allowed a full analysis in just a few minutes.
The Machines We Built
Officially, the units we built were called Microwave Laboratories, and we were always admonished for calling them ovens. Based on Amana Radar Ranges (models RR-4D and RR-7), we basically used only the sheet metal, interlock switches, and the magnetron tube. Everything else was custom-made. Amana did make a very solid and reliable mainframe, and the door in particular was highly resistant to microwave leakage, even with abuse (Fig. 3). In an appendix to this document, I include the full product brochure from the time that I worked there. I believe a basic unit sold for something around $7000.
Fig. 1. The 1974 patent that gave birth to Apollo Microwave Products Co.
I don't have much information on exactly how the company was formed. As a kid in high school, there's things you just don't pay a lot of attention to! What I do know is that Moe was somewhat independent of Apollo Microwave. His own company, Moeco, appears to have had a contractor relationship, though I'm sure he made out well on any business deals. He actually lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, and would travel to Illinois or wherever he was needed to promote the product. He was personally involved in the construction of the first few units in the early 1970s, in Crystal Lake.
The main company partner with whom I was familiar was James A. Stuart, who visited the plant fairly often. I believe one of the other partners was William R. Renwick. The two of them had worked at Pauly Cheese Co. in Green Bay, WI. They had a mutual interest in the measurement of moisture content in cheese and other dairy products, and that must have led to their relationship with Moe and his new invention. At least one journal paper was published on this topic. [Ref 2.]
The company was established in Crystal Lake, at 6204 Official Road, and that's where we built the units (Fig. 2). I'm not sure of the starting date, but 1973 is a good guess. Owners of Apollo also owned a machine shop on the other side of town (Triple-D Manufacturing), and for all I know, other businesses as well.
Founding a Company
Fig. 2. The Apollo Microwave building as it looks today. It hasn't changed over the years. We occupied the right-hand side of the building.
The Machines We Built
A number of important features were added that really did make this a laboratory instrument. First, a very heavy-duty power supply was installed, with a Variac and voltmeter that allowed for linear adjustment of microwave power via an electromagnet installed on the magnetron. Second, a power detector (Volatilization Control Meter, in Fig. 3) was installed with a front-panel meter. The reading would rise as the sample dried out. This was very important because precise power control was required to obtain repeatable and accurate drying of samples. Third, a water load was added into the cavity. Your home microwave has a carbon-loaded glass dish. Its purpose is to provide a minimum load to the microwave generator (magnetron). But if the machine is run continuously in commercial service, that dish will overheat. So we added a loop of surgical rubber hose (Heat Exchanger, in Fig. 3) which had to be connected to a source of running water.
Next, a laboratory balance (scale) was installed on top of the unit, and coupled into the microwave cavity through a brass tube, known as a gland seal. This was a clever use of a microwave principle known as a waveguide below cutoff: You have a hole (tube) but its dimensions do not support propagation of microwave energy. (The water load also coupled in through gland seals.) A linkage to the balance ran into the cavity, and a hook on the end supported the sample under test. Several balance types were available including 10 and 100-gram Ohaus triple-beam balances, an electronic balance from Scientech that always gave us problems, and very high-resolution Torbal analytical balance that must have cost a fortune.
Some other options were available that would improve results with certain products. There was a vacuum bell jar, which we fabricated from solid Teflon, a turntable also made of Teflon, and various weighing accessories to hold the sample. I believe that turntable could have been patented since no such feature appeared in consumer microwave ovens for many years.
Fig. 3. This is one of the more full-featured Apollo microwave laboratories.
Working There
I was part-time during high school and also summers during my first years of college, 1975 through 1978 altogether, so this is only a snapshot of the work experience. Our half of the building consisted of a very spartan front office, a large highbay with a rollup door, and also a smaller room that we used as a stock room. When I first started in 1975, the working staff consisted of:
Brian Jaeger - Lead fabrication tech
Jim Cemenski - Fabrication tech.
Gary Johnson (me) - Fabrication tech
Kevin Hinderliter - Fabrication tech, joined a bit later
Ken Janiak - Chemist. The only person present with a college degree! [Ref. 3]
Darlene (can't recall her last name) - Secretary
Orders would mystically appear in those early days, and we'd start a build by tearing down a new Amana oven. Custom parts were fabricated in small batches, then the unit was assembled and tested, and finally packed for shipping, always by air freight.
Our chemist, Ken, was responsible for developing process parameters for whatever material a prospective customer might want to analyze. He had his own dedicated unit and work area. The list of materials that could be handled was extensive, everything from cereals and dairy to chemicals and plastics. Many are listed in the brochure. Ken's experiments sometimes were rather pungent. I vividly recall the stench of decomposing tripe! For some reason, we gave him a lot of grief. I suppose we were just being unruly teenagers.
Brian was pretty much in charge of what went on in the shop, having been there the longest. I knew him from high school—he was a couple years ahead of me. Between him and the other guys, we had a pretty good time though sometimes we'd have a little tiff about something, but overall it was a wonderful work experience for me. I learned a great deal about small-scale production and also enjoyed the high jinx, like making match-head hand grenades and cannons, and of course working on cars at lunch time, especially Brian's '57 Chevy Belair. Years later, I restored an old pickup and I think the guys in the shop would be pleased at the results.
Service calls were interesting; you never knew what might go wrong. A call would come in that there's a problem with someone's machine, usually way up in Wisconsin since that's where many of the cheese factories were. One of the most bizarre "failures" was when a lab tech decided to cook a raw egg in their Apollo. As I said, microwave ovens were unfamiliar to a lot of people, and of course the egg exploded. The damage was impressive The cavity was pooched out, the door destroyed, and goo was blasted up into the expensive Scientech balance. The thing was totaled. I only went on one call myself, driving the company car, a Chevy Chevette, which we referred to as a Shove-It. A van was eventually acquired and Kevin outfitted it, including a bed for overnight stays which saved the company money and maybe helped with the sense of adventure. We called it the Apollo Service Module.
Here is a list of some of the people who joined the company while I was working there. Sorry if I forget some or don't get the names spelled quite right.
Larry Moller - Took over as plant manager [Ref. 4]
Al Mathis - Kevin's friend, a very skilled fellow who really helped improve production
Mark Gilbert - My lifetime best friend
Scott Shelton - Another guy from my high school class
Kyle Jeske - An ex-navy guy
Mario Pedroza - Shop helper
Mike ? - Set up and organized the stock room
Two nice ladies from Triple-D Manufacturing also came over part-time to run machines
Photovolt Takes Over
The goal of many startup companies is to be acquired at substantial profit to the founders, and Apollo was no exception. Around 1977, the company was sold to Photovolt Instruments in New York, makers of analytical instrumentation, in particular moisture analyzers. I remember some fellows from the company coming by to review what we were doing, and I think they may have capitalized the company a bit better and we hired more help. Sales and product increased a bit, as far as I could tell. (Al Mathis used to call them Photomat. I loved that...).
Sadly, my tour of duty at Apollo ended around 1978 when Photovolt decided to reshuffle the staff, possibly moving some operations to New York. I remember Mark Gilbert calling me while I was at college, letting me know I (we) needed to find another job. I never saw any of the guys again.
Legacy
So what eventually happened to the Apollo machines and the technology? I never heard. The company must have lasted awhile because in the obituary for Larry Moller it states that he worked for Apollo for 9 years. That would put a possible endpoint around 1985. Other than that, there is very little information on the internet.
For a young man with interests in technology, working at Apollo was a marvelous opportunity. Not only did I learn a lot, there was a long-term financial benefit: My long-term employer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, gave me 1.5 years of industrial experience, which increased my initial paygrade.
Finally, I have to thank Mr. Lowell Moe, rest his soul, for taking a chance on a teenage kid.
References
1. US Patent No. 3,813,918, "Methods and Apparatus Using Microwaves for Material Characteristics Measurement," June 4, 1974.
2. H. Pieper, J.A. Stuart, and W.R. Renwick, "Microwave Technique for Rapid Determination of Moisture in Cheese." Journal of Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Volume 60, Issue 6, 1 November 1977, Pages 1392–1396. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaoac/60.6.1392
3. Obituary for Ken Janiak, March 4, 1946 - January 19, 2020
https://www.davenportfamily.com/obituary/Kenneth-Janiak
4. Obituary for Larry Moller, January 24, 1953 - August 10, 2019.
https://www.advancedfuneralandcremation.com/obituaries/Larry-G-Moller?obId=6509520
Appendix A
Lowell A. Moe, Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame Entry
(1916 - 2003) During World War II Lowell Moe was associated with the Army Air Force Aircraft Radio Laboratory Headquarters at Wright Field in Ohio, where he was the inventor and co-inventor of inventions relating to microwave radar and the sonic blind landing altimeter for military aircraft. He was one of twelve members of the "Radar Pool" which was largely responsible for the successful development and application of microwave, high power radar.
Most of his inventions relate to electronic measuring and control apparatus used in the food processing and grain handling industries. In 1946 he founded American Engineering Company, a diversified electronics company, which was acquired by the Peavey Company in 1956. Moe then began a long career as Director of Electronics Research, and developed many products, including the Piped Piper, an ultra-sonic device for repelling rodents and other pests from food and grain storage areas. He considers his inventions dealing with the generation of this unique type of ultra-sound for the control of rodent and insect infestation a significant contribution for the good of Minnesota and the world at large. He was awarded more than 70 U.S. and foreign patents.
[N.B.: A photo is included with the webpage this came from, but it's not Moe]
Appendix B
Lowell A. Moe Obituary
Moe, Lowell A. Died July 8, 2003 at Southview Acres Care Center, W. St. Paul. Born Aug. 18, 1916 in Decorah, IA, the son of Leonard & Carolyn (Jacobson) Moe. He attended elementary and high school and Luther College in Decorah. He began his career in electronics working for Zenith Radio Company, and married Mary Dewar on March 2, 1941. During WWII, he was associated with the Army Air Force Aircraft Radio Laboratory Headquarters at Wright Field, OH, where he was a co-inventor of inventions relating to microwave radar and the sonic blind landing altimeter for military aircraft. In 1946 Lowell founded American Engineering Co. headquartered in Eau Claire, WI. When it was acquired by the Peavey Co., he became their Director of Electronics Research. After his retirement from Peavey, he founded Moeco, an independent manufacturing firm and consulting practice serving clients in the food, plastics, electrical and electronics industries. Lowell was awarded more than 75 U.S. and foreign patents. In 1990 he was inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame, Redwood Falls, MN. He was preceded in death by his parents; and his wife; and by a sister, Doris Carolyn Ansay. He is survived by his sister Sylvia (Donald) Dyrhaug; nieces, nephews; and many good friends. A memorial service will be held at 11AM Monday July 14 at GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1669 Arcade St., St. Paul. Private interment Riverside Cemetery, Moorehead, MN. Memorials preferred. Cremation Society MN Mpls 612-825-2435.
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