Newspapers / Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.) / Nov. 1, 1971, edition 1 / Page 1
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GASTONIA BENNETTSVILLE NORTH CAROLINA SOUTH CAROLINA BOWLING GREEN KENTUCKY NOVEMBER • 1971 • If it costs us $1 per yard lo produce tire fabric from yarn and cord, and we sell the fabric $40,316.65 United Appeal FINAL "WE ARE PROUD of our or- zanization and its people — that so many are willing to give so much to benefit and bless oth ers and, in turn, make our coun ty a better place in which to work and live.” On the basis of this year’s UA response, the Firestone plant again becomes entitled to a Community Service Award, in recognition of showing 80 per cent or greater employee par ticipation in the UA funding ef fort. The United Way of Giving to help people began in Gastonia more than 18 years ago. It first was confined to Gastonia, but More on page 3 • A Gee-Haw Whimmydiddle Or Tire Fabric THE PRINCIPLE WORKS FOR BOTH Sue programming the computer. Wendell doffing bobbins. John fixing a gear. Sidney painting the office. Elbert loading fabric. Evelyn typing letters. Marsha running a quality test. All different jobs,requiring varying skills. But they have one big thing in common. Each job is made possible through production. These and just about all other jobs depend upon productivity for their continued ex istence, success, and security. Productivity? “It’s simply a measure of efficiency, or how well resources (materi als, labor and machinery) are converted into goods and services,” says James B. Call, president of Firestone Tex tiles Company. “It is a way of measuring output in light of all that goes into turning out sale able products or services.” at $.65 per yard—what would happen to everybody's job be fore long? New heights of sharing through United Appeal were reflected in the report at Firestone’s Gastonia plant last month. The record $40,316.65 employee con tribution continues the generally-unbroken climb which the United figure has made across the years (for example, the figure a decade ago was $15,549). The latest figure exceeds last year's United Appeal con tribution by more than $5,000. The Firestone campaign— only general in-plant money collection during any year— yielded a major amount to ward the county UA goal of $566,819. Funds go to support of 33 “people” services in communities throughout Gaston County in 1972. James B. Call, Firestone Tex tiles Company president, re ported that this plant’s UA con tribution represents 99.3 percent participation of the emplojrment during the funds-collection per iod in October. AVERAGE amount of giving among those giving was $28.65. Out of the total 1,397 giving, 1,013 made “Fair Share” pled ges. Ray Thomas and Terry Kirby of the plant supervisory staff were chairmen of the UA pro gram. They had help from doz ens of volunteers in plant, ware houses, offices and service de partments. “Year after year we have ad vanced to higher goals,” noted Kirby. “As the need increased, our people matched it with their generosity. We’re sure that this year’s great response, has been a definite boost to the entire community and county as the United Appeal campaign went into its final days toward reach ing its overall goal.” Said Presi dent Call: Suppose, for example, a whittler in Beech Grove is turn ing out gee-haw whimmydiddles (a familiar North Carolina folk toy) to sell to tourists who stop at his roadside stand. Assuming there is a market and he is pro ducing a quality item, the Whit tier’s volume of sales is tied di rectly to the number he can produce. Further, if he obtains materi als at reasonable cost and his skill and effort — teamed with jacknife and other tools—will turn out whimmydiddles within a reasonable length of time per unit, he can expect the tourist to buy his product and keep his stand in business. Now, a business principle starts to cross his mind. If he can increase production without sacrifice of quality, by working faster and more skillfully or by hiring more whittlers with ma terials and tools, the added number of toys will increase business—so long as customers keep coming. THESE SALES at a “going” price at a fair profit will have the whittler “safely” in busi ness, so long as he can meet competition in case a neighbor down the road should try the whimmydiddle trade. GEE-HAW WHIMMYDID DLES OR TIRE FABRICS— THE PRINCIPLE WORKS FOR BOTH. Productivity (or output) is in separably linked in one way or another with every person’s job in industry. It’s true also in all other places in the business world and in much of life itself, for that matter. Reminds Mr. Call; “Productive efficiency is the price we have to pay for our success as a company—even for our own survival. It’s so easy to overlook this truth.” It involves a simple principle which is vital to any business in our competitive, free-enter prise way of life: To "stay in the game and come oul on top", you have to produce the scheduled volume of QUALITY GOODS or SERV ICES, doing it in the most ef ficient way we can by using best the manpower, materials and machines we have avail able. Our American system of econ omy is based on production, dis tribution and sales of goods and services. NOBODY GETS PAID UN TIL SOMETHING IS SOLD. This is an unchanging law of business! Of course, that “some thing” first must be produced at a cost that will allow a selling price to cover production and other expenses and provide a margain of profit to keep the producer going. PRODUCTIVITY depends on many things, Mr. Call points out. All human material produc tion is based on natural re sources (materials, or the stuff we have to work with). Produc tion also depends on manpower. People who plan, those who finance materials and equip ment, and others who supply their skills and labor. All are combined with the help of ma chines or tools. Productivity is what you have to show for performance. It’s the amount of saleable commodity per unit of time spent. That per formance depends on a number of things, such as • Caliber of management • Degree of investment in machinery, equipment, factories and other means of production. • Techniques in performance of the work. • Loyalty, dedication and dil igence of the people involved, and their degree of skills ap plied to the job. “You can see, then, that man power (human resource) is a main factor in productivity,” says Mr. Call. So what can people on the job do to efficiently produce the scheduled volume of quality tire fabric at a cost that will en able the company to sell the ma terial at a profit? A few things he suggests: • Return an honest day’s work for a day’s pay • Take a fresh look at your job now and then. Search for better methods • Be alert to save production costs; promote job safety • Increase job skills all along, and strive to improve work ef ficiency ☆ ☆ ☆ WHAT IS THE ONLY WAY? More: Page 4 New Water Supply Coming Up Old Reservoir: 1899-1971 Firestone at Bennettsville, S. C., appeared to have a new marble ring in October, but it’s really the base of an added 250,000-gallon water supply tank. The facility will replace the familiar reservoir which has served the plant since 1899 (it was then Marlboro Cotton Mills.) The tank, under con struction, becomes necessary because of the new evaporative cooling system being installed at the Bennettsville plant. Concrete base for new storage tank. ■ir
Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Nov. 1, 1971, edition 1
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