Protect your eyes by using pre
scription safety glasses available
now under a new, more liberal
purchase plan.
GASTONIA
“Safety Is Individual Responsi
bility.”
Mrs. Eva Stockton, Cloth Room
(1953 Safety Slogan Contest)
VOLUME III
GASTONIA, N. C., MARCH 10, 1954
NO. 4
Rayon Expansion Program Underway; Machinery
To Be Moved Here From Leased Roanoke Plant
THE TERMINATION of the Company’s Roanoke, Virginia, rayon twisting and weaving operations
and the transfer of machinery to the Gastonia plant is scheduled to coincide with the completion of a
12,500 square foot plant addition to the weave room here, according to an announcement by William A.
Karl, President of Firestone Textiles. The plant addition will accommodate part of the machinery being
moved here, which includes numerous looms, cable twisters, and a ply respooler.
Since 1943 Firestone has beeno
receiving rayon tire cord fabric
from a leased plant in Roanoke.
The plant was leased from and
operated by the American Viscose
Corporation. Production is schedul
ed to end at this plant during June.
The termination of the plant-
lease agreement at Roanoke with
American Viscose Corporation in
creases the prospect of full time
employment for employees in the
synthetic division of the Gastonia
plant. There will be no decrease in
cotton production here as a result
of the rayon expansion program.
Cotton production will be main
tained as long as our product can
be sold on a competitive basis.
FIRESTONE test tires, especially built with half-and-half side
walls and driven more than 23,000 miles on test cars in California,
clearly demonstrate the advantage of the new Firestone compound
which gives extra protection against smog, ozone, chemical fumes
snd smoke. The new sidewall compound retained its original crack-
free condition and color while the other compound without the
protective material suffered the usual cracking, crazing and dis
coloration. Here, Raymond C. Firestone, Executive Vice-President
of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company (right), and W. E. Lyon,
Firestone Director of Tire Engineering and Development, examine
one of the test tires. The newly discovered pigment is now added to
all Firestone tires, black as well as white sidewall construction.
New Chemical Ingredient Gives Tire
Sidewalls Added Weather Resistance
tires that retain the “new^
ook ’ for the life of the original
^ead mileage are now being pro-
in the complete passenger
The Firestone Tire &
^ ber Company, according to an
^Jnouncement by Raymond C. Fire-
one, Executive Vice-President of
® Company.
solving of a specific side-
'^est area on the
tie ^®3^st where heavy concentra-
to ^ ozone and smog contributed
weather checking, crack-
WalW- ^^®^°^o^ation of white side-
ment develop-
^ ^ chemical ingredient
black^^^^ Firestone tires—
Mr white sidewall,”
®^imin practically
radial cracks, reduces
Preserve” weather checking,
the original appearance
of the f original appearance
taticg and gives added resis-
aging of tires used
^a.ti(
everv f^^ng of tires use<
In country.”
^®W comparison tests, the
per sidewall showed a
greater resistance to
Xh than any other
series of tests rated
after'Tonrj
P'^sure. of ^oof ex-
Exh
made of
the sidewalls—half hav-
the nf-u compound and
type—were conduct
ed on test fleet cars which were
driven over 23,000 miles through
areas of concentrated ozone and
smog on the west coast. In every
case, the new sidewall sections
showed absolutely no weather
checking and radial cracking while
the sections of the older material
had grayed in color and suffered
the usual cracking.
(Continued on Page 2)
Safefy Engineers Want
Safety Taught In Schools
THE North Carolina Society of
Safety Engineers has gone on
record as favoring the establish
ment of safety training in public
schools as an accredited course.
Driver training and safety would
be but one phase of the proposed
program as the sponsors envision
a comprehensive safety course for
school students.
The safety engineers adopted the
chool safety training proposal
.t their regular quarterly dinner
meeting held in Thomasville on
February 19. Attending the meet
ing from this plant were Safety
Director L. B. McAbee, who serves
as secretary and treasurer for the
Society, and Overseer 0. K. For
rester.
TO provide space at the rear of
the Gastonia plant for the addition,
a conversion from coal to gas fuel
for operating plant boilers was
necessary in order that the side
track and coal trestle could be re
moved. This change-over as well
as construction on the weave room
addition is now in progress. The
conversion to gas is to be com
pleted within 60 days or sooner,
depending on the arrival of certain
gas operation equipment. Oil will
be available as a standby fuel fol
lowing the change to gas. The en
tire expansion program is due to
be completed by July 31.
(Continued on Page 2)
Company Gets Top Industrial Safety
Award For Eighth Time In Nine Years
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company has been awarded the
highest honor in industrial safety for the eighth time in nine years.
The Company has been givenO-
the Award of Honor of the Na
tional Safety Council, according
to word received from Ned H. Dear
born, President of the National
Safety Council, for all the 22 Unit
ed States plants of the Company.
In addition, 15 of the approximate
ly 30 individual plant awards given
in the rubber industry by the
Council were won by Firestone
Plants. The individual plant awards
are new this year.
Arrangements are being made
by the National Safety Council
for a public presentation of the
over-all Award of Honor received
by all the United States plants of
the Company.
One of the special individual
plant awards received from the
Council by Firestone went to the
Memphis, Tennessee, Tire Plant
for setting a new world safety
record for the rubber industry by
completing 7,721,421 man-hours of
work without a lost-time accident.
The record was set between Febru
ary 23, 1953, and January 28, 1954.
ACCORDING to the Safety
Council, Firestone plants are a-
mong the safest in all industry.
Firestone is the only rubber com
pany that has received the nation’s
top award as many as eight times.
The record of the Company’s
United States plants in 1953 was
the best they have ever attained,
their accident frequency rate hav
ing gone down to 1.4 from the
previous year’s all-time record of
1.8. The frequency rate of 1.4
lost-time accidents for each million
man-hours worked is well below
the latest available national fre
quency average for the rubber in
dustry of 6.2 accidents per million
man-hours worked.
In order to qualify for honor a-
wards, industries are required to
have records far below a “par” set
by the National Safety Council—
both in frequency and severity
rates—for accidents. The Firestone
Company’s records were 65 per
cent better than par for frequency
and 51 per cent better than par
(Continued on Page 3)
IX
m
i
m
fi
THIS AERIAL VIEW shows the beginning of work at the rear of the plant on the addition to the
basement level weave room. The new structure will add 12,500 square feet of floor space to the plant.
To make room for the addition, the coal chute, and track leading to it, are being removed as work
leading to a conversion to natural gas rapidly nears completion.