Biersach & Niedermeyer Co.

Biersach & Niedermeyer Co.
Names	Biersach & Niedermeyer Company BNCO BNCO Acquisitions Corporation GenMet Corporation
Headquarters	Mequon, WI
Founder	August Niedermeyer (BNCO) Louis Biersach (BNCO) Mary Isbister (GenMet) Eric Isbister (GenMet)
Key people	August Niedermeyer (BNCO) Louis Biersach (BNCO) Mary Isbister (GenMet) Eric Isbister (GenMet)
Founded	1873 (BNCO) 1999 (GenMet)
Defunct	1994 (BNCO)
Products	Custom fabricated metal products Outdoor warning sirens
Succeeded by	Alerting Communicators of America American Signal Corporation
Website	www.genmet.com

The Biersach & Niedermeyer Company, also referred to as BNCO, BNCO Acquisitions Corporation after the initial company's bankruptcy, and most recently GenMet Corporation after the company was sold, was a metal fabrication business founded in 1873 by August Niedermeyer (1845-1939) and Louis Biersach (1843-1910). In 1942, BNCO began producing the Mobil Directo, a rotational mechanical siren after being contracted by the United States government to produce air raid sirens suitable for use on Pacific naval bases, however waning sales forced the company to discontinue the Mobil Directo in 1967 and reform its siren division.

The company's siren division was reformed into the Alerting Communicators of America (ACA) by Jim Biersach, who quickly designed several new outdoor warning sirens in an attempt to claw back the sales lost due to competition from companies such as Federal Sign & Signal. As for BNCO, the company's metalwork operations continued into the 1990s, until financial problems brought about by ACA caused BNCO to enter bankruptcy in 1992, forcing them to sell off ACA to HÖRMANN Warnsysteme in 1993 or 1994, who reformed ACA into American Signal Corporation (ASC). BNCO would be reorganized into BNCO Acquisitions Corporation (BAC) in the following years to hold on to patents and such, until the company was bought by Mary and Eric Isbister in 1999, who once again reformed it into GenMet Corp. GenMet continues to be a custom metal fabricator to this day and resides in the same building which formerly belonged to BNCO in Mequon, WI.

Products

Mobil Directo

Main article: BNCO Mobil Directo

The Mobil Directo (sometimes styled as Mobil-Directo) was a rotational civil defense siren made from 1942 until 1967, and was the predecessor of ACA's Allertor 125. The Mobil Directo uses a unique split intake/projector design that was later carried over to the Allertor. The bottom horn is the intake, where air is drawn in through the chopper located inside the projector drum, and the sound comes out of the large top horn. The drum serves to compress the sound and air, which is then forced out of the top projector horn through an L-bend. The siren's external dual-sided motor (or engine) drives both the chopper as well as the rotator. The rotator is belt driven from the motor/engine, using two belts connected to a gear reduction drive that drives a single powered wheel and two unpowered wheels to rotate the entire siren unit at once. There were 3 models of the Mobil Directo produced, the Model BN52, BN54, and BN44E.

The Model BN52 and Model BN54 were the original variant produced, introduced in 1942. The gasoline-engine driven Model BN52 (and later Model BN54) used a 25 hp, VF4 Wisconsin air-cooled gasoline engine to drive the rotor/stator assembly while also rotating the entire siren assembly. All Model BN52 and Model BN54 units came exclusively in 8-port single tone and were rated at roughly 125-127 dB at 100 ft. This rotor was sourced from Federal Electric/Enterprises, and is the same rotor used in 8-port C3 1/2 Fedelcode sirens. Due to how the engine only supports the rotor on one side, an additional spider bearing is added inside the intake, held up by 3 supports. One example of a Model BN52 remains in service in Milwaukee, WI, which had been converted to using an electric motor in the 1980s, while another privately owned unit is currently undergoing a full restoration and is operational. Two operational units exist, one in San Bernardino, CA (inactive but is apparently operational as of roughly 2015) and the aforementioned privately owned unit, which was restored by Jerry Wick.

The Model BN44E was the electric motor driven variant of the Model BN52 and Model BN54 and was introduced in 1948. This variant retained the same components, but instead used a dual-sided 10 hp Louis Allis AC electric motor. Canadian units used a different 10 hp motor manufactured by General Supply Co. The two variants were offered alongside each other until the discontinuation of the gasoline-powered variants in 1953. The electric variant continued to be produced until around 1967, when it was discontinued after BNCO sold off its siren division, which was reformed into ACA. The BN44E was available in both 8-port single tone, as well as 10/12-port dual tone. 10/12-port units were the most common version installed. Some 8-port single tone units are also former Model BN52 and Model BN54 units that were converted. Two examples of a Model BN44E remain in service, an 8-port model in Memphis, TN and a 10/12 model in Pottsville, PA with a replacement projector. The rotor and stator of the 10/12-port BN44E would later be reused for the 10/12-port 1st generation ACA Allertor 125 in 1968, as well as the 10/12-port variants of the ACA Banshee 110 and Screamer S-10.

Model 110

Main article: BNCO Model 110

The Model 110 was was a short-lived omnidirectional siren produced by Biersach & Niedermayer (BNCO) from the mid to late 1960s, when Mobil Directo sales were on the decline due to stiff competition from the industry giant such as Federal Sign & Signal, whose Model 5 was on the rise in terms of sales. As such, the Model 110 was quickly conceived as a last-ditch effort to compete with Federal and keep the company's siren business afloat.

The Model 110, at its core, is little more than a rearranged Mobil Directo Model BN44E. The siren makes use of an 8-port rotor and stator, with the siren being driven by a large, 10 hp motor above the stator. The Model 110 reuses the Mobil Directo's projector drum, with 4 openings cut into it to make way for the siren's 4 rectangular horns, which help project the siren's sound better. These horns converge at the very front, forming a "flower" shape when viewed from above or below, in a similar manner to the T-121. The horns have mesh screens attached to the front, to prevent animals from getting into the rotor. This is all held up by 4 mounting legs, which are connected to a square base. Another mesh screen is placed in between the mounting legs and is connected to a rounded base which hovers above the square base. This assembly serves as the siren's intake.

Only 1 Model 110 unit is known to have been installed, located in Maiden Rock, WI. In 1967, BNCO sold off its siren division and discontinued the Mobil Directo and the Model 110. The company's siren division was reformed into Alerting Communicators of America (ACA), led by James Biersach, who partially reused the design for the Mobil Directo and Model 110 for the Allertor 125 and Banshee 110 respectively.