Wide Fabrics Choice For Today’s Tire Maker
When the Firestone company was founded in
1900, women had little variety to choose from in
fabrics for clothing and home use. Tire makers,
too, had little choice in fabrics for the primary
structural or reinforcing material for their tire.
In fact, the only choice for pneumatic tires was
square-woven cotton fabric.
Today, women enjoy a great variety of versa
tile fabrics for different purposes. So do tire
makers have variety.
In 1915 the first experiments were conducted
in the use of cord fabric for tires, consisting of a
number of long-staple cotton cords lying parallel
to each other and held together by an occasional
yarn of small diameter. The same type of cord
fabric construction was used in 1933 when the
company first used man-made rayon in tires.
Later nylon, steel wire and polyester cord were
introduced.
BY LATE 1963, Firestone was on the threshold
of another exciting development in tire cord—fi
berglass. It was announced that fiberglass cord is
particularly promising for use in a new type of
tire in which the cords run directly across the tire
body instead of at an angle of 34 to 38 degrees
from the circumferential direction as in con
ventional tires.
Fiberglass tire cord is made from the same tiny
glass fibers for which there are now so many
applications in both home and industry. Tires
originally were of solid rubber, fastened around a
carriage, bicycle, automobile or other wheel in
various ways. But a softer ride was in demand
and the idea of riding on air encased in a rub
ber tube was developed.
Robert William Thompson, an Englishman,
built the first pneumatic tire in 1845. He used
leather, both to cover and protect the rubber air
tube and to give the tire strength. His tire met
with little success.
In 1888, John Boyd Dunlop of Belfast, Ire
land, built his first pneumatic tire, consisting of
a rubber air tube enclosed in a linen jacket. Flaps
of the jacket were cemented to a wooden bicycle
rim and the outside surface was covered with
rubber sheeting.
SQUARE-WOVEN COTTON, considered as a
reinforcement about 1900, was the first reinforce
ment material used that actually adhered to the
rubber. This fabric was much like canvas and was
used for 15 years until specially-designed cotton
cord fabric was introduced.
As transportation grew and motor vehicles
traveled greater distances at ever-increasing
speeds, more and more was demanded of tires.
They had to be strong enough to withstand se-
EVOLUTION
OF TIRE CORD is represented here, as girl ai
left wearing typical cotton costume of the early
1900s holds sample of square-woven cotton tire
fabric and displays early Firestone Non-Skid
tire. Wearing polyester dress and nylon gloves,
the other girl stands behind experimental tire
containing fiberglass cord (center) and a con
ventional rayon cord Firestone De Luxe Cham
pion. Foreground: Packages of the six cords
which have been used to reinforce tires. Cards
show years in which Firestone first used the
cords.
☆ ☆ ☆
vere road shocks and intense heat, but they also
had to be flexible enough to provide the best
possible ride. Improved tire cords, along with
better rubber compounds, made remarkable
progress possible.
Rayon appeared for tire cord about 20 years
after cotton cord fabric. It was quickly accepted
and from 1939 to 1949 gained 75 per cent of the
tire market. During World War II rayon achieved
universal use because it had the heat resistance
necessary to withstand the higher-running tem
peratures of the new synthetic rubber tires. Soon
nylon was challenging rayon because it also had
this characteristic.
First used in aircraft tires during World War
II, nylon became popular for off-road and heavy-
duty truck tires; then penetrated the passenger-
tire market.
Makers of rayon cord met the competition by
increasing strength, durability and adhesion of
their products. Nylon cord makers also improv
ed their cord by doubling its resistance to heat
fatigue and greatly increasing durability, ad
hesion and strength.
PNEUMATIC-TIRE SALES now are split
about evenly between nylon and rayon, in the
overall original-equipment and replacement mar
kets for trucks, buses and passenger cars. Steel
wire cord provides the answer in many applica
tions.
Challengers have appeared for these tire cord
materials, just as they have in women’s fashions
and home furnishings. Each challenger has its
own advantages and potentialities.
In 1959 Firestone announced successful testing
of tires made with cord fabric of polyester fibers,
such as Dacron and Terylene, and recently the
company announced testing of fiberglass cord.
As in every field, the old standbys remain and
continue to be improved in the textile field, but
exciting new materials offer much promise for
the future on the highways, as well as at home.
190.J
SOUABf
COTTCm FABRIC
fabric
Edison Biographer Mentions Firestone
“Edison—that veritable dyna
mo of genius and invention—
typifies more than any of his
peers the American dream. His
education was limited to three
months in a Port Huron, Mich.,
school. But the fires burned
brightly within the lad who was,
successively, a railroad newsboy
and a telegraph operator, but
who always found time to ex
periment in his spare time.
“Deafened at an early age, he
forged on in an ever-growing
world of silence, to give man
kind, among other things, the
electric light and the phono
graph. The farm boy from Ohio
(Milan was the original family
home) brought light and music
into the lives of millions.”
SO BEGINS a review on the
jacket of the new biography of
Inventor Thomas Edison, written
by Rex Beasley and published
Feb. 11 by Chilton Books.
“In Rex Beasley’s exciting
book,” continues the review,
Blood Donors
—From page 1
McCurry, Cramer McDaniel,
Edith McGinnis, William Mc
Ginnis, Erma McNabb, James
McNabb, Roxie McNabb, Jerry
Mitchell, John Mitchell, Isaac
Moss, Paul Neal, Roxie Newton,
William O’Neal, William Page,
Dillard Palmer.
Leroy Palmer, Charlie Par
ham, Mattie Passmore, Moses
Player, Charlie Plyler, Leroy
Posey, Roy Prine, Bobby Queen,
Mack Quinn Jr., Dillard Ram
sey, James Rankin, Deuel Red
ding, James Reel, Ralph Reep,
Margaret Rhyne, Alvin Riley,
Ruby Riley.
Audrey Robinson, Harold Rob
inson, Horace Robinson, Linda
Robinson, Albert Roebuck, Bar
bara Rogers, Bobby Rogers, Ran
dall Roland, Jack Roper, Julia
Rosdahl, William Schuerg, Rob
ert Shannon, William Shull,
Dave Smith, James Smith, Jr.,
Lloyd Smith, Paul Smith, Lorina
Spearman, Helen Spencer, W. O.
Stephenson, Buster Stiles, Wade
Stiles, Elton Still, Joe Styers,
Off-Job
Study
Brought
Rewards
YMCA
MEMBERSHIP
DRIVE
BEGINS
MARCH 23
' Five men here in February re
ceived certificates upon com
pletion of 10-hour courses in the
Industrial Management Club’s
program of adult education.
General Manager Harold
Mercer (center) presented Carl
Margaret Summerell.
Buford Tate, Ray Thomas,
James Thompson, Marlin
Thompson, James Truesdale, G.
D. (Bill) Ward, Ila Webster,
Tracy Whitener, Brady White
sides, Hansford Wilkes, George
Williams, P. R. Williams, Ted
Williams, Margaret Willis.
About two and one-half yards
of heavy webbing are required
for production of an automobile
seat belt.
Rape of carding with certificate
for his course in applied psy
chology. At left: visiting textiles
division president R. M. Sawyer.
Others (from left), their de
partments and courses: Cramer
Little (shop), supervisory tech
niques; Alvin Riley (industrial
relations), supervisory tech
niques; James Burr (methods-
time study), better quality con
trol; Ralph Johnson (industrial
relations), supervisory tech
niques.
“Edison is seen in a conflict of
moods as he proves, pushes
shouts for results he is deterrnii^'
ed to achieve. Here he is—
the bright days of youth through
the middle years of success
failure, to the twilight time of
honor, for in his old age hiS
name was known to every
schoolboy throughout the world-
“In this era of modern eleC'
tronics and science, it is fitting
that Edison’s story be told ane'^
—His achievements stand for aH
time. His position is unique
the history of mankind and
his age. But beneath the genius
there lay the man. Many
biographers have ignored that
particularly human quali^^
which endeared Edison to
who knew him. Here for
first time, and for all time,
Edison the man and Edison th®
genius.”
OF SPECIAL interest to Fire'
stone employees are the refef'
ences in the book to the friend'
ship of Mr. Edison and Harvey
S. Firestone, founder of
Firestone company. Among
acknowledgements at the sta^
of the book, the author thanl^®
Harvey S. Firestone Jr. for
assistance with illustrative
terial and permission to
from a letter written by Natura'
list John Burroughs to Harvey
S. Firestone.
Author Rex Beasley is a se^'
ior vice president and vice chai^'
man of the board of Republ^^
National Life Insurance Cot^
pany of Dallas, Texas. The aii'
thor of many books, Mr. Bea^'
ley in 1962 received the Natioi^'
al L.A.A. Award of Excellen*'^
for his popular magazine series
on “Great Men of History.”
interest in Mr. Edison was
that he collected original Ediso|j
inventions and documents an
spent long months in talking
with people who knew the
ventor personally, before star^'
ing the writing of the biograpl’J^'
March, 1964
Volume XIII
Page 2
Number 4
☆ ☆
Published by The Firestone
Tire & Rubber Company,
Firestone Textiles Division,
Gastonia, North Carolina.
Claude C. Callaway, Editor
O South Atlantic Council of Indus
trial Editors
PLANT REPORTERS
Carding—Payton Lewis
Main Office—Bea McCarter
Mechanical Department—Rosie Fran-
cum
Quality Control — Sallie CraW^®^^’
Louella Queen, Leila Rape
Warp Preparation—Elmina Bradsh®’?^'
Vera Carswell, Elease Cole,
Cosey, Katie Elkins, Cather>»
Fletcher
Warehouse—Harold Robinson,
Good, Rosevelt Rainey
Weaving (cottion)—Ruth Veitch
Weaving (synthetics)—Irene O'P®
Mayzelle Lewis
Winding—Nell Bolick, Ruth Clonin^®^