CORPORATIONS: Money for K-F

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The Kaiser-Frazer Corp., which has been grubstaked by the RFC to just about all the Government money it can get for its auto business, struck it rich in the private money markets last week. It got a $25 million credit from California's Bank of America, Pittsburgh's Mellon National Bank & Trust Co., and Manhattan's Bankers Trust Co.

Though K-F lost $13,260,193 last year making automobiles, the company now has an estimated $500 million in defense contracts for Fairchild C-119 "Flying Boxcars," Chase Aircraft (49% Kaiser-owned) C-123 assault transports, Wright aircraft engines and components for Lockheed's P2V antisubmarine patrol bomber.

K-F's near-idle auto plant has been put to good use by doing work for a competitor. The company, now making only about 200 cars a day, gets an NPA steel allotment on the basis of its previous production of 1,400 a day. K-F is using its excess steel to turn out body components for General Motors' Fisher Body Division. Although K-F lost money in the first quarter, Boss Edgar Kaiser thinks that it will be in the black by year's end.

All the rest of Henry Kaiser's 16 enterprises were solidly in the black, owed the Government no money, and were spending $130 million in private capital on expansion. Among them:

¶ Kaiser Steel Corp. has just added an eighth open-hearth furnace to boost ingot capacity to 1,380,000 tons.

¶ Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., already the third biggest producer of aluminum in the U.S., last week was granted tax advantages to expand still further, boost its capacity another 60%.

¶ The Permanente Cement Co. is spending $4,000,000 to increase production by 25%, up to 7,000,000 barrels a year.

¶ Kaiser Magnesium Co. this month reactivated the 20-million-lb.-a-year U.S. magnesium plant at Manteca, Calif.