PAGE TWO
Tir««ton* NEWS
JANUARY 25, 1954
Mr. Trainer’s Talk
(Continued From Page 1)
“Whether our product sells will
depend on its quality,” he continu
ed. “We must produce the best pos
sible quality at the lowest possible
cost.
“Now that we are in a buyer’s
market instead of a seller’s mar
ket as we were for a number of
years, we also will have to sell
hard to keep our plants running at
capacity.”
^ ^ ^
STRESSING that one of the first
things the Manufacturing Division
must consider in going into the
next year will be employee rela
tions, Mr. Trainer told the depart
ment heads, foremen and super
visors that they must be sure that
the employees under them know
the viewpoint of the Company.
These viewpoints must be trans
mitted through the supervisory
staff.
“There is no substitute for know
ing your people—really knowing
them,” he said. “Be interested in
the people who work for you and
help them wherever possible. Stick
to the Golden Rule and treat the
other fellow as you want to be
treated yourself.
“You want to cooperate with
other persons and with other de
partments to get the best results.”
^ ^ ^
COMMENTING on both the im
provements in the mill and in the
homes of the employees, Mr. Train
er said he was very proud of the
continuous betterment in the last
six years.
“When I come to Gastonia I al
ways take time to drive around in
what used to be the mill village.
It is fine to see how the employees
continue to improve the houses
they bought from the Company.
This shows a wonderful spirit and
initiative.
“The same type of improvement
has been made in the mill. The
new lighting system is a fine
change. The greater orderliness,
cleanliness and the improved flow
of materials through the plant,
also are fine. There will be more
of that work done.”
Mr. Trainer concluded by wish
ing all the men well during the
coming year, both in their work
with the Company and as individu
als.
Preceding Mr. Trainer’s talk
Harold Mercer, General Manager,
introduced William A. Karl, Presi
dent of Firestone Textiles, who
spoke briefly about the operational
problems facing the plant in the
coming year. He then introduced
H. H. Waters, Dierctor of Engin
eering for the Firestone Company,
who outlined the activities of the
Engineering Department, not only
in the U.S.A., but throughout the
world. He said that the Company’s
expenditures last year were ap
proximately 43 million dollars for
plant expansions and refinements.
Mr. Karl also introduced Mr.
Trainer, whose talk was followed
by a question and answer period.
Suggestion Contest
Winners
(Continued From Page 1)
Earl Beeker, entered three winning
suggestions in the competition of
last November. The three sugges
tions were awarded a total of
thirty dollars, his contest prize be
ing a Firestone passenger tire of
the correct size for his automobile.
Mr. Beeker’s suggestions are con
cerned with the laboratory and the
equipment, racks, etc., used by the
Qua^ty Cont^rol Department to
test and store materials.
A third winner in the contest has
iiot yet been determined due to the
fact that final decisions as to
awcirds in several instances have
not been made. The range of a-
wards for the remaining contes
tants is known, however, it being
in each case lower than the total
of the second place winner.
Traffic Law Quiz
(Answers on Page 4)
1. What are the speed limits for
automobiles and trucks, respective
ly, in North Carolina?
2. Name two places on a 2-lane
highway at which passing is both
dangerous and illegal?
3. Are drivers in North Carolina
required to recognize road signs by
shape alone ? If so, what is the
shape of the stop sign? Its viola
tion can result in what maximum
fine?
4. What is the maximum fine
for speeding in excess of 55 miles-
per-hour, but less than 71 miles-
per-hour? What automatic penal
ties are attached to speeding viola
tions in excess of 70 miles-per-
hour ?
FIRESTONE NEWS
Volume III, No. 2, January 25, 1954
Published at Gastonia, North Carolina
By Firestone Textiles
A Division of
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
Department of Industrial Relations
R. H. HOOD, Editor
Department Reporters
CARDING—Edna Harris, Jessie Westmoreland.
SPINNING—Mary Turner, Maude Johnson.
SPOOLING—Nell Bolick, Helen Reel, Rosalee Burger.
TWISTING—Hazel Foy, Grace Stowe, Annie Cosey, Dean Haun,
Corrie Johnson.
SALES YARN TWISTING—Fannie Humphries.
SYC WEAVING—Sarah Davis, Nina Milton, Vivian Bumgardner.
CORD WEAVING—Margaret Rhyne, Irene Burroughs, Mary
Johnson.
QUALITY CONTROL—Dealva Jacobs, Leila Rape, Catherine Isham,
Margaret Tate.
WINDING—Mazelle Lewis, Ann Stevenson, Christine Stroupe.
CLOTH ROOM—Margie Waldrop.
SHOP—Cramer Little.
WAREHOUSE—George Harper, Albert Meeks.
PLASTIC DIP—Frances Huffman, Helen Guffey.
MAIN OFFICE—Mozelle Brockman.
SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE—Sue Van Dyke.
PERSONNEL OFFICE—Barbara Abernathy.
Substitutes For Customer, . . .
Inspectors Searching Eye Bolsters Quality
THE MOST IMPORTANT inspector of products is the customer who buys and uses them. Mindful of
that, someone has written a slogan which reads “Remember! The next inspector is the customer.” This
slogan, in fact, originated at the Pottstown plant of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company where it
appears on a sign in the Final Inspection Department. Similar signs are being suggested for other plants
in the Company.
Since it isn’t practical to haveo
the customer inspect the product
as it is being manufactured, an em-
ployee-inspector assumes the role;
checking, patrolling, verifying at
various manufacturing steps to in
sure the quality of the finished
product. The net result: If the pro
duct passes the scrutiny of the em-
ployee-inspector, it should like
wise meet the critical test of in
spection by the customer.
Mere at Firestone Texciles, in
spectors are assigned to all de
partments in the Kayon Division.
These include Ply Twisting, Cable
Twisting, and Cord Weavmg. In
the Cotton Division they cover
Sales Yarn Twisting, Sales Yarn
Winding, and Square Woven Weav
ing.
INSPECTORS’ jobs vary some
what between departments as far
as specific details are concerned;
their methods, however, follow a
similar pattern. Typical of inspec
tors and their work is Mrs. Mescal
Certain, first shift inspector in the
Sales Yarn Twisting Department.
Her assignment requires her to
inspect all the yarn that leaves her
department which is designated
either sales yarn or chafer fabric
yarn. In either case she must:
(1) Patrol all twisters in her
assigned area (in this case the
entire department) being watchful
at all times for defective yarn and
defective machinery which could
cause sub-standard work.
(2) Inspect all twisted yarn just
prior to doffing for tangled work,
bad build on the bobbin, defective
yarn, and less-than-full bobbins.
(3) Checks beams as they are
placed on twisters, prior to the tie-
ing-in process, to make sure yarn,
beam tag, and stencilled beam head
all agree as to specifications. If
there is a discrepancy here, the in
spector will not allow the beam to
be tied-in until positive indentifica-
tion of the yarn is determined.
(4) Makes a record of each
beam tied-in noting beam number,
shift, frame, time tied-in, and beam
construction.
(5) Reports immediately to de
partment supervision following
discovery of defective yarn, de
fective machinery, or beam speci
fication discrepancies.
(6) Makes out a routine report
for each shift worked, copies of
which are forwarded to the de
partment supervisor, the Quality
Control Department, and the di
vision superintendent.
The inspector is the guardian of
quality work in the plant. In every
instance her job compliments that
of the production worker in the
over-all take of turning out work
that can pass exacting tests to
meet ever higher quality stan
dards. Together they realize the
significance of another quality
slogan, this one the winner of the
1953 contest for the Company’s
Akron plants: “Quality Must Be
Built In To Stand Out.”
A. W. Horton, quill boy, and
Miss Nell Harris of Henrietta,
N. C., were married on Christmas
Eve at Henrietta.
i
Mrs. Mescal Certain
New Type Church Envelope Developed By
Company In Cooperation With Originator
THE FIRST MAJOR change in the design and use of church
offering envelopes in 25 years has been made possible by a development
of the Xylos Division of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company.
In co-operation with John Tay-O-
lor, Lisbon, Ohio, printer who con
ceived the idea of enclosing en
velopes in a trim checkbook form.
Firestone perfected the pressure-
sensitive adhesive that was need
ed to make the idea practical.
Mr. Taylor has named his sys
tem the “Account-o-lope.” It re
places the old church offering en
velope enclosed in a carton and
provides church members with an
easy, efficient way to give to
their churches and keep a record
of their contributions.
Each flat envelope form is torn
from its book in the same way a
check is detached from its stub. It
then is folded and the flap is sealed
by pressure. And it is this pres-
sure-sensitive adhesive that pre
vents the book of flat envelopes
from sticking together.
The envelopes in the checkbook-
type folder have tabs on which a
running record of contributions is
kept, providing an individual ac
counting system for the church
donor. The balance owed on a
pledge can be determined by a
simple matter of subtraction simi
lar to the recording of a balance
on a check stub. The same record
appears on the face of the enve
lopes deposited in the collection
basket at church.
^ ^
Wanting an easy method to open
and close the envelopes and an ad
hesive that would allow the en
velopes to lie flat without sticking] (Continued on Page 4)
AFTER recording a donation
and the balance of the pledge on
the envelope and the stub which
will remain in the book, the
church giver using the new
Account-o-lopes tears out the
envelope. The envelope will be
dropped in the church collec
tion basket and used to keep the
church records.
together, Mr. Taylor appealed to
the Firestone Company for help-
The adhesive developed by Fii"®
stone for the Account-o-lope is t ®
result. , .
At first consideration, it
seem to be a very simple prob ^
to apply an adhesive material to
piece of paper and have it
all requirements. However, the^