A Visit to the Bangs Plant
On December third of 2005, just days before it was emptied of its contents, I was given the opportunity to tour the Texans Incorporated production facility in Bangs. The facility first opened in 1952, and operated under the Texans Inc. banner until its sale to Sam Obert in 1983, at which time it became Challenger Lighting. At some point, probably the early '90s, the plant was sold again and became American Quality Ceramics. American Quality Ceramics ceased production in April of 2003. This location had seen fifty years of pottery production, and remnants of those years were in evidence everywhere. Today the building is owned by the Bangs Independent School District, and gives no indication of its history. This page provides a final look at the building as a ceramics factory.
These small kiln were undoubtedly added by American Quality Ceramics for production of collector plates.
Rising out of the darkness like the hull of the Titanic is this shuttle kiln, dating from the earliest Texans days.
Spray booths, where lamps were give their final decorative glaze.
Richard Gunter examines various lamp molds.
Richard finds several of his designs among the plaster models.
The tanks for storing and mixing the "slip" (fluid clay), long neglected.
Carts once used to move products.
This safe was once used to store 22k gold (suspended in a varnish) for lamp decoration as well as documents and petty cash.
