Lead bars, or “pigs” are continuously fed  into the grid casting machines. The machines heat the lead to a liquid  state, and then rapidly pour preset amounts into the molds to produce the grids. Once pasted with lead oxide, they become the "plates" that make up each cell of a battery.  

As they are removed from the conveyor, each grid is inspected for proper thickness, stacked and palatalized for transport to the pasting area. Positive and Negative plates are cast using separate specialized molds. Different cell sizes use different molds, which requires retooling between production runs. 

The positive and negative grids go to separate pasting areas. The positive "paste" has a reddish color and the negative paste has a dull gray color. Quality control personnel are ever present during this critical stage. 

The finished plates are then dried and cured in large ovens to harden the "paste" material. Once cured, the positive plates are wrapped, and the positive / negative plates are placed in the correct order with “separators” between them in preparation for initial cell assembly. 

Prior to inserting the "plates" into the "cell" jars, they are clamped tightly in a hydraulic jig, and the opposing rows of positive and negative plates are soldered together to form the positive and negative “straps”. The positive and negative posts are also formed during this process. Again, quality control is paramount at this   stage. 

The charged cells finally merge with the trays for final battery assembly. The lead intercell connectors are put in place and the delicate process of soldering them in series begins. Any mistake at this stage could cause a lead melt down, which would damage the cell(s), requiring them to be removed and scrapped. Upon completion, quality control personnel thoroughly inspect each battery.