Corporate History
Combustion Engineering, Inc. (CE) was a leader in steam and energy generation technologies for over 75 years. The Windsor site was located at 1000 Prospect Hill Rd. (the address was later changed to 2000 Day Hill Road) on a 530 acre tract purchased by Combustion Engineering in 1955.
From 1955 until the mid-1960s CE supplied enriched uranium nuclear fuel under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) for U. S. Navy submarine propulsion reactors and for utility power reactors. Other activities included the construction, testing, and operation of the S1C Prototype Reactor facility at the CE Windsor location. This facility, one of two Nuclear Power Training Units in the United States, provided instruction for thousands of Navy personnel in the operation of a full-size submarine reactor. In addition to the Atomic Energy Commission work, from the early 1960s until 2000 Combustion Engineering performed research, production, and servicing of nuclear and fossil fuel systems under both commercial and federal contracts.
Scope and Contents
The Combustion Engineering, Inc. Collection contains historical photographs, publications, and artifacts which portray some of the history of this company during its fifty year tenure (1960-2010) in Windsor, CT. Combustion Engineering was a prominent leader in the field of steam and nuclear energy generation technology. The collection was assembled during the decommissioning, remediation, and demolition phase of operations at the Connecticut site. Over 250 photographs depict aerial views, exterior shots of the buildings on the campus, research and development activities, and various special events. Representative combustion engineering texts, technical manuals, and promotional materials provide historical documentation of the non-classified work conducted in Windsor. Additional printed materials, awards, memorabilia, clothing and artifacts were collected by the retirees group for an exhibit at the company’s 50th anniversary celebration in April 2010. These provide a glimpse into the Combustion Engineering corporate culture which encouraged employee recreational, charity, and sports activities and recognized long-term employees with service awards and gifts. A DVD documenting the history and environmental remediation of the site will be added to the collection when it is available.