Newspapers / Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.) / Feb. 1, 1954, edition 1 / Page 6
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Page 6 news February, 1954 Important contributions to the defense program were made by advanced Thousands of 155-mm artillery shells are shown as they start through RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WORK. GUIDED MISSILE PRODUCTION WAS ACCELER- THE AMMUNITION LOADING LINES AT THE RAVENNA ArSENAL WHICH THE ATED. Twin Gun Mount Production at Plant 3 is shown here. Company operates for the Government. Government-owned equipment is being installed. Production has started and this plant will be in full operation early this year. We are also major suppliers of tires, tubes, rims and many other products to various Govern ment divisions. Our Defense Research Division has developed a new defense weapon of great effectiveness and has received contracts for additional important weapon research work. Firestone products are marketed primarily through independent tire dealers. Their splendid efforts materially increased our sales volume and the demand for our products. Our complete line of quality tires and tubes and our expanding lines of home and auto supplies have broadened the market for our dealers and made the Firestone dealer franchise increasingly valuable. Our 700 Firestone stores have had another successful year and con tinue to serve as valuable testing laboratories where profitable merchandis ing plans are developed for our dealers. ♦ * * WE EXTEND OUR APPRECIATION and congratulations to the men and women of Firestone in factories, offices, stores, warehouses, branches and plantations throughout the world for their loyalty, skill and co-opera tion in helping to make possible the first billion-dollar sales year in the history of our Company. Their skill, experience and loyalty are among the greatest assets of our organization. The continuous service records of employees in our Akron plants, for example, reveal that 28 per cent of our factory and office em ployees have been with the Company 20 years or more. More than 76 per cent of our entire working force in Akron plants have continuous service records of five years or more. Our Military Service Bureau is in contact with 1,570 Firestone em ployees who are serving our country in the armed forces. Christmas packages and other remembrances were sent to these men and women who are on leave of absence from the Company. For the seventh time in the last eight years, the National Safety Council presented to our Company its Distinguished Service to Safety Award, the highest honor given by the Council for industrial safety. Also during the year we set two new world records in industrial safety for the rubber industry. Last June Plant 2 in Akron set a world record of 6,542,463 man-hours worked without a single lost-time accident. Memphis passed that mark on December 1, and established the new world safety record of approximately 7,500,000 man-hours of accident-free work. « 4c « A TOTAL OF 52,058 MEN AND WOMEN of Firestone and 55,968 dependents now are protected by our employees’ group insurance plan which for the year paid out $1,005,300 in death benefits and $1,665,156 in disability and hospitalization. In April, 1952, Firestone became the first company in the rubber industry to invite the Red Cross Bloodmobile to visit its Akron plants on a regular basis. For two days every other month the Bloodmobile comes to our plants, and Firestone employees during 1953 contributed 1,848 pints of blood, establishing an average of 154 pints a day against a quota of 125 pints. Other Firestone plants also are participating in this very worthy national program of the Red Cross. In completing its thirty-fifth year, our factory suggestion program paid out $76,272 for the 3,593 suggestions adopted by the Company. The highest award of the year was $3,000 presented to Frank B. Bowen of our Los Angeles plant for an improved method of cleaning bolt holes in fuel cells. Employees in Akron worked 1,610 gardens which produced about $64,000 worth of fruits and vegetables. Prizes were awarded to 15 em ployees who had the most productive and best-looking gardens. Continuing its leadership in the development of rubber asphalt road AND playground SURFACING MATERIALS, THE COMPANY ANNOUNCED A NEW LOW-COST, SYNTHETIC LATEX COMPOUND DIFFERENT FROM ANY RUBBER HERETO FORE USED IN ASPHALT ROADS. Production of air springs for buses was started during the year. APPEARS that this NEW METHOD OF SUSPENSION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES WiLl' GAIN WIDE ACCEPTANCE IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY.
Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Feb. 1, 1954, edition 1
6
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