Tlre$ton«
JULY
1968
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GASTONIA
NORTH CAROLINA
An integral pari of the American character is for
ever to seek improvements. That is one reason why we
have been such a progressive and successful nation.
—HARVEY S. FIRESTONE JR.
High Awards
For ZD
Top honors last month
^ent to two production de
partments at Gastonia for
'^he most outstanding
achievement in Zero Defects
program here.
Splicing (tire cord) receiv
ed the division President’s
Award for performance dur-
i^ig the first year of ZD ef
fort at Gastonia; and 4th
floor twisting (tire cord) re
ceived the Gastonia Plant
Manager’s Award for best
progress in the most recent
six-month period.
John V. Darwin, plant
^anager, presented the
President’s Award on behalf
of Robert W. Rice. The presi
dent of Firestone Synthetic
fibers and Textiles Com
pany had planned to be in
Grastonia for the presenta-
PRESIDENT'S AWARD PLAQUE was presented by John V.
Darwin, plant manager, to Carl Rape (right), manager of weaving-
splicing (tire cord). With them were department shift foremen
(from left): Tracy Whitener, Fred Hardee and W. H. Dilling.
PLANT MANAGER'S AWARD PLAQUE—Twisting (tire cord)
manager T. E. Gibson Jr. (right) received trophy from John V.
Darwin. Department shift foremen at presentation were (from left):
Belon Hanna, Claude Taylor and Wade Stiles.
tion, but was unable to come
from Hopewell because of
other commitments in his
schedule. Mr. Darwin also
presented the Manager’s
Award to twisting.
Hathaway: Bright Future For Tire Industry
It’s Tire Cord And Chafer
Time comes and goes (alas, so
^oon!). And things change.
So, names, designation and
descriptions now and then need
^0 be brought up-to-date, to bet-
fit operations and things
concern.
Latest designations “gone into
history” at the Gastonia plant
9re “synthetics” (referring to
major production depart-
^6nt here), and “cotton” (an
other broad area of operation).
The "synthetics" department
is now "tire cord." "Cotton" has
been dropped in favor of "chaf
er."
On division level of the com
pany in recent months. Fire
stone Textiles Company was
changed to Firestone Synthetic
Fibers and Textiles Company;
and the parent-company “fam
ily’’ division to which the Gas
tonia plant belongs was rede
signated Diversified Products
Division. It replaces the older
term, Non-Tire Operations.
A very bright future for the tire industry. This is the
picture which Earl B. Hathaway projected while visiting
the Firestone Test Center at Fort Stockton, Texas recently.
tires, we estimate the figure by
1973 will be as many as 148,-
000,000. Our estimates for this
year are 116,000,000. We also
feel that there will be some 19,-
000,000 replacement truck and
bus tires shipped in 1973, com
pared with 14,700,000 for 1968.”
Mr. Hathaway estimated that
in 1973 consumption of synthetic
rubber would go beyond 2,375,-
The Firestone president based
his prediction on projected fig
ures for the next five years
which show a 20 per cent in
crease in the number of passen
ger cars and a 27 per cent in
crease in the number of
replacement passenger tires.
"WE NOW estimate that by
the year 1973 there should be
some 90,500,000 passenger cars
on the highways of America,”
the president noted. This com
pares with some 75,650,000 in
1968.
“We estimate some 18,750,000
trucks by 1973 against the 15,-
650,000 in service in 1968.
“Of replacement passenger
• This cove
at Seven Oaks
is near the
point where
the Catawba
is joined by
one of its
major tribu
taries, the
South Fork.
From
OF NEW
PR0DUC1S
I
^’or many Firestone employees and their fam-
the Catawba River and its banks form a de-
^§htful playground from spring through autumn,
a week-end retreat the year-round.
Some Firestone people, such as Mr. and Mrs.
,^1’nian Pearson (he of the shop), develop their
^iver properties into fulltime residences.
’I'he Catawba, named for a flourishing Indian
^ibe of the Carolinas long ago, rises in the Blue
Mountains of Western North Carolina. Its
stop is Lake James, then flows eastward
of the hills some 220 miles, forming recrea-
^Oh-hydroelectric compounds along the way.
At Great Falls, S. C., the Catawba gives up its
name to become the Wateree, which flows on
ward 75 miles to its junction with the Congaree.
There, the two rivers form the Santee.
East of Orangeburg, the Santee forms 40-mile-
long Lake Marion. Upper outflow of the lake
continues as the Santee to the Intracoastal
Waterway, emptying into the Atlantic near
Murphy Island.
A lower outflow of Lake Marion forms Lake
Moultrie north of Moncks Corner. Moultrie de
parts as the Cooper River, traveling on to the sea
at Charleston.
As this issue of Firestone
News was being produced,
the Gastonia plant was con
ducting a Savings Bonds-
Freedom Shares sales effort
through payroll-purchase.
The campaign, running into
early July and led by S. E.
000 long tons. His estimate of
the 1968 figure: 1,856,000 long
tons.
"COMPARING the figures for
the industry for 1973 with those
of today, it is obvious there is
tremendous growth taking
place. We look to the future
with extreme optimism.”
Mr. Hathaway spoke of Fire
stone’s role in this future;
“We are proud of our position
in the rubber industry today.
—More page 2
Firestone’s
L X X “hew-
concept” tire
has a new
shape and
larger-diame
ter rim — for
safety ad
vantages
never before
realized in a
pneumatic
tire. John
Kelly, Fire
stone engi
neer, points to
another fea
ture — the
double-belted
sidewalls,
which im
prove hand
ling and ride
characteristics
over conven
tional tires.
More Bargain
In Savings
Crawford, Zero Defects co
ordinator, stressed the latest
added bargain in Payroll
Savings.
☆ ☆
Interest on Series E and H U.S. Savings Bonds increased
from 4.15 per cent to 4.25 per cent, effective June 1, 1968.
And the interest rate on Freedom Shares (which can be pur
chased only in conjunction with Series E Bonds) has been
increased from 4.74 per cent to 5 per cent.
Besides applying to E and H Bonds purchased on or after
June 1, the new interest rate applies to these Bonds ac
quired before June 1, until they reach maturity.