February 16, 1960
MSW
Page 5
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FIRESTONE AND ITS leadership are
recognized throughout the world. On
July 8, 1959, Harvey S. Firestone, Jr.,
was awarded, by decree of President
Charles de Gaulle of France, the rank
of officer in the Legion of Honor, ^‘for
outstanding service to France.” It was
presented by French Ambassador Herve
Alphand (right).
GREAT STRIDES were made in the
research and development of new and
better products, such as the Premium
Quality passenger tire with a Silver
Safety seal, the world’s safest tire,
being examined above by Raymond C.
Firestone (left), president, and J. E.
Trainer, executive vice president.
INFLATABLE DUNNAGE cushions called "Air-
Blok by Firestone” replace wood or other materials
used to support or protect cargo during shipment. They
are shown here being inflated in a freight car. The
new product, which will reduce shipping costs ma
terially and effectively reduce freight damage, is manu
factured at the Noblesville, Ind., plant.
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which will build new plants for the manufacturfi of butadiene, styrene,
and synthetic rubber. The synthetic rubber plant will liave an annual
capacity of 20,000 tons, which can be expanded to 3’0,000 tons.
Rubber consumption throughout the world was the highest in
history, due to the unprecedented demand for tires and other rubber
products created by the greatly increased production of automotive
vehicles, both in the United States and abroad. However, world produc
tion of natural and synthetic rubbers was ample to meet the demand.
The use of synthetic rubber is expanding throughout the world. Several
foreign countries now have, or soon will have, synthetic rubber plants.
One such plant, in which our company has an interest, is now in opera
tion in England. Because of the high quality and many types of today’s
synthetic rubbers, the United States and Great Britain began disposing
of surplus natural rubber from Government strategic stockpiles.
The Firestone Rubber Plantations in Liberia produced the highest
average yield per acre in their history and set a new world record in
average yield per acre for large plantations. The program of replacing
older trees with higher-yielding stock continues on schedule. A portion
of the 3,000 acres of rubber trees on our plantation at Itubera, Brazil,
will be ready for tapping in the 1960 fiscal year and all of the trees
should be in full production by 1967. Over 1,000 acres have been planted
in Makilala on the island of Mindanao in the Republic of the Philippines,
and these trees are scheduled for full production in 1967.
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MANY NEW or improved products were introduced during the
year, including 13-inch tires for the new American compact cars and for
foreign cars; new and improved tires for passenger cars, trucks, buses,
tractors, airplanes, off-the-highway machines and other types of vehicles,
and for industrial equipment; Accu - Ride precision-made wheels for
trucks and buses; disc wheels for road graders; stainless steel vending
machine tanks; Super Hy-Lift wagon hoists; farm wagons; boat trailers;
camping and baggage trailers; brake bands and side rings for earth-
moving equipment; fabrications of anodized aluminum; evaporator pans
for refrigerators; propeller shaft bearings; aluminum carrying cases;
golf bag bottoms; Fibrocast, previously described; Exon resins; Velon
plastics; Air-Blok dunnage bags; Climatite weather sealant; Flextite
expansion joints; highway marking paint; parking deck protective
coating; rubberized asphalt emulsions; colored surfacing material for
playgrounds; synthetic rubber polymers; nylon compounds; and many
others;
Our Company continued to be an important supplier of products and
services for national defense. We are playing a vital role in the manu
facture of the Army’s Corporal missile, and in research and development on
a major missile for the Navy, and on a rolling fluid transporter for the
Transportation Corps. We continue to operate, for the Government, the
arsenal at Ravenna, Ohio. Among other defense products which we
manufacture, or on which we perform research and development work,
are tires for aircraft and vehicles, missile launchers, recoilless rifles,
ammunition, fuel cells, propellants, tank components, radomes, rubber
boats and floats, bulk fuel containers, pneumatic dunnage bags, jet
engine and missile motor components, and special weapons under classi
fied defense projects.
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FIRESTONE TIRES were on the winning cars in all national
championship race car events and in most stock car and sports car races.
For the thirty-sixth consecutive time, they were on the winning car in
the 500-Mile Indianapolis Sweepstakes and for the thirtieth consecutive
time on the car which won the Pikes Peak Climb.
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DUE TO THE DEMAND created by the increased production
of automotive vehicles, both in the United States and abroad, rubber
consumption was the highest in history during 1959. Above, a
mammoth one-ton Firestone Rock Grip Excavator tire manufactured
in the Akron plants, swings aboard the S. S. President Adams in
New York harbor, bound for Hong Kong. In use on giant earth-
movers, this tire, which stands more than seven feet high, is capable
of hauling loads up to 19 tons.
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FIRESTONE TIRES were on the winning cars in all national
championship race car events and in most stock car and sports
car races. In the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on Memorial Day, Rodger
Ward of Los Angeles drove his Leader Card Special to a record-
smashing 135.857 m.p.h. victory. He is being congratulated (above)
by Raymond C. Firestone, president, honorary steward of the race.