A Ust of awards of fifteen, ten,
and five year service pins for
November appears at the bottom
on page 2.
GASTONIA
Carelessness can mean the dif
ference between a happy hunting
trip or a sad one. For your sake
read “ Ten Commandments of Gun
Safety” on page 4.
VOLUME III
GASTONIA, N. C., NOVEMBER 10, 1954
NO. 17
General Manager Harold Mercer presents a letter containing
announcement that Cramer Little has been named “Suggestioneer of
the Year.”
Suggestioneer’ Wins Trip
To Akron, Ohio
Cramer Little, lathe operator inO
he Firestone Shop, has been a-
^arded a trip to Akron, Ohio, for
aving won the “Suggestioneer of
he Year” contest, General Mana-
Harold Mercer announced at
^ safety banquet attended by plant
®'ipervisors and employees, at the
^ecreation Center, October 27, at
P- m. Mr. Mercer made the an-
^^ncement by reading a letter to
Little from W. A. Karl, Presi-
of Firestone Textiles. The a-
^srd trip for Mr. Little will in-
^ude a tour of the Firestone Tire
Rubber Company plant in Akron.
of the trip will be set later.
-Attending the meeting were per-
®pns who had submitted sugges
tion
s "Which had been approved dur-
the period of July 1,
"^ough July 1, 1954.
1953
It
IS an established custom at
CotciUIioilcU CUbtUIlI Cl
/^estone Textiles to give recogni
to the individual who turns in
greatest number of approved
^^Sgestions, as “Suggestioneer of
Year,” and to present that in-
with an award for his or
interest and achievement,
nether highlight of the October
fleeting was the recognition of
ty ^^ding performances in safe-
^^^chieved by various departments
^ohr Appointed
Of Defence
D. Gohr has been
Director of Defense
foi* the Firestone
according to an an-
Son ^^’^ent by Lee R. Jack-
^^’esident.
numerous de-
A.k>. ^^ntracts which include in
•'■ron 4-v
I'iflo production of recoilless
*6s. Qn
^nd 120-m. guns for Army
3-inch 50 caliber
guns, loaders, and
steej ^ Navy, stainless
in engine and tank parts;
IOq I^edford, Massachusetts,
^^5-mm. shells; in Fall
■^sssachusetts, gas masks
^Continued on Page 2)
of the Gastonia plant. Superin
tendent Francis Galligan’s Team 3,
winner in the Company’s Super
visory Safety Contest during the
first six months of the year, re
ceived special recognition. Mem
bers of all teams participating
were commended for their excellent
efforts in the interest of accident
prevention this year.
Scoring in the contest was based
on an arbitrary schedule of points
ranging from 1,000 for completing
a calendar month without a lost
time accident, to 10 points for each
personal contact with employees in
connection with safety promotion.
Team 3 won with a total score of
95,610 points.
Participating with Mr. Galligan
on the winning team were: S. L.
(Continued on Page 4)
American Products
Go To Liberia
By early November, The Fire
stone Tire & Rubber Company will
begin exporting American products
to Liberia through recently en
larged facilities at Locust Point,
Port of Baltimore.
An average of three ships a
month will clear through the Fire
stone Latex Terminal.
These exports—which will in
clude machinery, clothing, textiles,
automobiles and other products—
will be for the Firestone Planta
tions Company and the United
States Trading Company in Li
beria. The United States Trading
Company is the exclusive distri
butor for nationally advertised
brands of American merchandise
in the West Africa republic.
Until now, most Firestone ex
ports to Liberia have gone through
the Port of New York. Shipments
of natural latex—the liquid tapped
from rubber trees on the Fire
stone plantations—have been im
ported at Locust Point since 1948,
when a warehouse a-nd under
ground storage tanks were built
for Firestone.
Recently, construction of addi
tional storage tanks was completed
underneath the warehouse, and new
offices were installed in the 120
by 240 foot building.
While the majority of commodi
ties destined by Firestone for Li
beria will be handled through the
Port of Baltimore, some articles
still will be exported through New
York and New Orleans and other
Gulf ports.
Lloyd W. Irving, who has been
associated with Firestone in Akron
during the last four years, has
(Continued on Page 4)
The President Speaks. . . .
Karl Notes Progress;
Offers Formula For
Increased Efficiency
W. A. Karl, president of^
Firestone Textiles, has chal
lenged Firestone personnel to
strive toward a measure of
highest efficiency, as an
assurance of maximum safety,
better quality of product, and
more opportunities for em
ployees.
Speaking at 7 p. m., October 27
before a banquet audience of 100
employees in the Recreation Cen
ter, where outstanding achieve
ments for the Gastonia plant were
recognized, the President reviewed
the past year, and offered these
suggestions for continued increas
ed efficiency in plant operation and
good will toward the consumer
public;
1. Reduce amount of waste in;
production.
2. Improve processes of opera
tion.
3. Raise the standard of quality
of our products.
Elaborating on this last point,
Mr. Karl noted that in production
of goods of highest quality, a man
ufacturer must please the custo
mer and keep competitive in his
costs. During the coming year
there will be a substantial capital
outlay for large package spinning
and spooling equipment. This, said
Mr. Karl, will be a progressive
step and in line with the Firestone
slogan, “Best today, still better to
morrow.”
Citing safety consciousness as a
prime factor in increased effi-
I
Olertifiratp af rtt
TO
I
Firestone Textiles
In Recognition of Its Outstanding Sports and Recreation Program
Conducted During 1954 for the Benefit of All Citizens in the Community
Thereby Fulfilling the Goals of
I
The National Sports Festival of 1954
APRQ. 19-MAY 16
And Thus Expressing the Keen Interest of the Community
In Wholesome Recreational Activities.
^tUivdl iPirecU*'
I
Spoo#oriDf9 Organ^Mttioiw erf the Notional Sports Festival of 19S4
kUWCJiM ASSOCiATK>» POR HKALTIL
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AKD RSCItBATI^
NATJOKAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH JOCIETV OP STATE DIRECTORS OF HEALTH
SCHOOL ATHLBTW AS^CIATIONS PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND RECREATION
SPORT FISHING INSTITUTB
UNITED STATES JUNIOR CITXMBER
AMSMCAN INmTUTX Of FARE KXBCUT1VES
AXXRSCAM RECIUSATIOM 90CIBTY
THE ATHLBTIC INSTTTUTl
NATIONAL GOLF FOUNDATION
NATIOKAL INDUSTRIAL RECREATION
I
OF COMMERCE
IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA
ASSOCIATION
Firestone Textiles, Gastonia,
program conducted during 1954,
tificate of merit was awarded by
has received national honor for its outstanding sports and recreation
in a citation received by Recreation Director Ralph Johnson. This cer-
sponsors of the National Sports Festival of 1954.
ciency, Mr. Karl affirmed that
“safety is a Firestone desire,” and
emphasized that it is the respon
sibility of both management and
employees. “Safety in the Fire
stone organization begins with Mr.
Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., and goes
all the way down the line to the
individual worker.” He explained
W. A. KARL
that the safety engineer is train
ed to help eliminate the causes
of accidents, and that it is the
responsibility of the supervisor to
promote safety on the job. Mr.
Karl challenged the group to sur
pass the safety record of D,2()4,000
man hours without a lost-time in
jury, a record set in the (Jastonia
plant several years ago. “The en
tire Firestone organization is
proud of this achievement,” he said.
The President was confident that
many accident hazards have been
eliminated, and called upon all
plant personnel to strive toward
elimination of the existing two
major accident causes, which he
listed as “carelessness and inatten
tion.”
“The initial cost is not always
the greatest, when it comes to
safety prevention,” he said. “It is
often the little things that cause
big accidents, and money spent
wisely for accident prevention is a
good investment. By solving the
little problems we will eliminate
many of the big ones.”
The president paid tribute to
those employees who make sugges
tions for plant improvement, point-
ting out that the plant manager
and each supervisor are fortunate
in having workers who make sug
gestions for company improvement.
He referred to a number of tech
nical advances in the plant that
have resulted from suggestions
1)rought in by employees.
(Continued on Page 3)