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February 10, 193^
Raymond C. Firestone points out features of the
REVOLUTIONARY TREAD DESIGN OF THE FiRESTONE DeLuXE
Champion tubeless tire now standard equipment on
1955 AUTOMOBILES, THE FIRST TUBELESS TIRE TO SELL AT THE
price of a conventional TIRE AND TUBE,
Racing tire construction
FEATURES DEVELOPED AT THE
FAMED 500-mile INDIANAPO
LIS Race were used in de
signing THE Firestone all
nylon ”500” TUBELESS TIRE
—CALLED THE ''TIRE OF TO
MORROW/" The highest
tensile-strength nylon
CORD BODY WAS ADOPTED
ALONG WITH RACING TREAD
AND BODY RUBBER STOCKS TO
PRODUCE THE TIRE. As IN THE
DeLuxe Champion tire, al
though NAILS MAY pene
trate the tread, the INNER
liner, an INTEGRAL PART OF
THE TIRE, SEALS AGAINST AIR
LOSS, AS SHOWN IN THE ABOVE
CROSS SECTION.
Lee R. Jackson (right), President, receives the six
MILLIONTH TUBELESS TIRE PRODUCED BY THE COMPANY
FROM Roy H. Bird of Plant 2. In domestic plants alone,
MORE than seventy-five PER CENT OF OUR PASSENGER CAR
tire PRODUCTION IS OF THE TUBELESS TYPE.
J
The development of a complete line of tubeless truck tires with
DROP CENTER RIMS BROUGHT A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN MOUNTING AND
DESIGN. The simple, two-part TUBELESS TIRE ASSEMBLY OF TIRE AND RIM
REPLACES THE COMPLICATED, SIX-PART CONVENTIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TIRE,
TUBE, FLAP, RIM BASE, FLANGE AND LOCKING RING (SHOWN AT LEFT IN
picture).
During the fiscal year, we redeemed $2,750,000 of long-term debt and
$1,200,000 of preferred stock. Net v^orking capital at the close of the year
was $300,703,549 compared with $293,337,497 on October 31, 1953.
Additions to and improvements of plants and equipment amounted
to $43,693,495. Compared with this expenditure, $27,870,048 was provided
from current income and charged to depreciation. This included additional
depreciation resulting from the adoption of a method of accelerated depre
ciation on domestic facilities acquired after December 31,1953, as permitted
by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Net income for the year was not
materially reduced by this change but income in subsequent years will be
affected as additional facilities are acquired.
EARLY IN THE YEAR, a new plant was completed and began operat
ing in Valencia, Venezuela, and construction was begun on a new plant at
Los Angeles for the production of guided missiles and airplane fuel cells. Ma
jor additions were made to our plants in Los Angeles; Des Moines; Nobles-
ville; Hamilton, Canada; Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Christchurch, New Zealand.
Expanded capacity and large-scale improvements in processes and equip
ment were provided for the manufacture of passenger car, truck and
earth-mover tires; Foamex foamed rubber; mechanical rubber goods;
defense products; reclaimed rubber; Velon plastics and basic resins for
plastics. All of our domestic tire plants and some in other countries were
equipped for the manufacture of tubeless tires. In our domestic plants
alone, more than seventy-five per cent of our passenger car tire production
is of the tubeless type.
Also, we added to our plant in Gastonia, North Carolina, revolutionary
new equipment which gum dips, stretches and tempers tire cord in one
continuous, electronically controlled operation. This new process of safety
tensioning and gum dipping tire cord is considered to be the most important
advancementjn tire-cord engineering since the introduction of the original
gum-dipping process by our Company many years ago.
newest principles of
Tubeless Construcflon
newest concepts d
Tread Enqmeerinq
Puncture
Protection
I A
k act w *
m
"A New Day Is Dawning^' was the theme for Dealer Meetings as tubeless tires took over the spotlight in the sales as well as the production
picture. These pictures show a dealer meeting and its setting at Memphis, Tenn.