PEOPLE IN P & PD DEPARTMENT SEARCH FOR
AND FIND
the better way
From items as little as thread guides for twister
frames to projects as big as a new design of a fabric-
treating unit. And in between, a shuttleless loom and
investigations on an in-line computer.
The current more than 50 sep
arate projects range from stand
ard tire-cord fabrics with new
dips and treatments for use in
vehicle fuel cells, to new pas
senger restraint fabrics for au-
More than 50 separate
projects. That’s the current
scope of the Process & Pro
duct Development Depart
ment for Firestone Textiles
Company, with headquarters
at Gastonia.
P & PD is one of the newer
departments of the textiles di
vision. A manager, six engin
eers, five technicians and a sec
retary comprise the P & PD
work force.
David N. Lewis, who came to
Gastonia in 1970 from the Fire
stone Hopewell, Va., operation,
is manager of the department.
Engineers are E. H. (Chip)
Hurst, Bernie Farmer, Beryl
Parks, Roy Bird, Hal Hayes and
Dennis Johnson.
Engineers hold educational
degrees that cover the diverse
fields of textile engineering,
chemical engineering and en
gineering physics.
Technicians are Earl Cunning
ham, Ray Kaylor, William Brad
shaw, Robert Metcalf and Bill
Calhoun. The department office
secretary is Nova (Mrs. Randy)
Lowe.
People in the P & PD depart-
ment are charged with responsi
bility of finding ways to make
our current products better at
lower costs, and developing new
products that will add to our
profits and increase our pro
duction requirements.
tomobiles, using new yarns and
looms.
In the twisting area, projects
cover new types of rings and
spindles for our present frames,
also testing and evaluation of
new experimental frames from
nine different suppliers, with an
eye to replacing the existing
frames.
P & PD is developing steel-
cord fabric, a product of po
tentially high volume. A low-
humidity weaving room was
constructed near the cotton
opening area at Gastonia. Here
steel cord is woven in an atmos
phere which has “licked” the
rust problem.
A recent display in the Gas
tonia plant main entrance fea
tured spools of steel cord, fin
ished fabric and tire sections
showing the metal belting in
combination with body plies of
polyester.
STEEL FABRIC, such as
woven at Gastonia, goes into the
Firestone Steel Belt 500 which
Firestone recently introduced as
available in sizes to fit most
standard-size passenger cars.
The company was the first
U. S. tiremaker to announce use
of steel belts in passenger-car
i
tires (Steel Belt 60), brought out
a year ago for high-performance
cars. Now, the tire in general
production is the Firestone Steel
Belt 500.
P & PD projects in tire cord
and chafer weaving seek to im
prove fabric quality through
changes of existing equipment
and procedures, and evaluation
of new equipment.
These projects are dealing
with modification of existing
compressor roll stands, evalu
ation of new looms, design of an
air-thrown shuttle, and doing
away with painting splicing
headers in TC Weaving.
A shuttleless loom is being
evaluated for weaving tire cord
and chafer fabrics.
PROJECTS in fabric treating
deal with quality improvements.
SHINING TUNNEL &
SWINGING ON A WIRE
• Fabric of steel cord (here
a closeup of warp spools) is
being produced in a specially-
designed weaveroom at Gas
tonia. Strength of finely-drawn
wire in New Firestone Steel
Belt 500 is demonstrated (right)
by Betty Mittiga, Secretary in
Ways to refine and advance heat
and tension control and improve
the rollup of finished fabric
are under study.
Also “in the works” is the
design of a radically-new dip
application system.
the company's Akron offices.
The wire, about size of 842-ply
nylon cord here supports 144
pounds (119 for Betty and 25 for
tire). Each of the Steel Belt 500
tires has 805 feet of the wire,
composing the belts which en
circle tire under tread, giving
strength and resistance to punc
tures.
The department is investiga
ting how an in-line computer
could be installed “to advan
tage.”
Process & Product Develop
ment is searching for The Better
Way.
BOWLING
GREEN
King VP Of UGF
DR. McKNIGHT
Dr. Arnold Woodrow Mc-
Knight is coordinator of Pro
fessional Theory Courses and
director of research in the
Department of Physical Edu
cation at Howard University,
Washington, D. C. For the
past five years he served as
head baseball coach and as
sistant football coach at
Howard.
McKnight, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Woodrow McKnight of Gastonia,
was awarded the doctorate de
gree in higher education from
American University of Wash
ington in late 1971.
Besides his duties on the
Howard faculty. Dr. McKnight
is part-time professor of psy
chology at Washington Techni
cal Institute, and lecturer at
American University.
He has written a book, “The
Psychology of Weight Training
Programs”, to be published in
May.
Dr. McKnight's father works
in TC Twisting at Firestone,
Gastonia.
The educator is a graduate of
Highland High School of Gas
tonia, where he starred in foot
ball and received a full athletic
scholarship to North Carolina
A & T University. He was
named most valuable player in
the first East-West Shrine Bowl
Game in Durham in 1956.
ATTENDING Winston-Salem
State University, he was named
to “Who’s Who in American
At Howard
U.
The 1972 vice president of United Givers Fund of
Bowling Green and Warren County (Ky.) is Ralph King,
plant manager of Firestone Textiles Company. King, who
r]niir5P« From 1 December was also re-elected to a three-year term on the
page UGF board of directors, will automatically become UGF
president for 1973.
Colleges and Universities,” re
ceived the NCAA All-American
'Scholarship award while playing
football and recording a 3.3 aca
demic grade-point average.
Graduated from Winston-
Salem State U in 1964 with a
B.S. degree in physical educa
tion, he went on to earn a mas
ter’s degree in physical educa
tion at North Carolina Central
University, 1965. At NCCU Mc
Knight was named the top grad
uate student.
Dr. McKnight is married to
the former Willie Mae Johnson
of Washington, D. C. They have
a daughter, Paula.
Speed Reading • Barbara
Galloway, Christine Clark, De-
lores Fritton, Martha Kendrick,
Betty Sawyer, Marguerite Sty-
ers, Robert Taylor, Main Office;
Donald Hedges, Traffic; Nova
Lowe, P r o c e s s-Development;
Jeanette Brock, Freida Price,
Production (office).
Motivating People • Cecil
Heffner, TC Twisting.
Zero Plus Two (Management
& Personnel) • George Jackson,
Arthur Gordon, Warehouse.
Those who studied Employee
Interviewing & Evaluating took
the course at Belmont Abbey
College in five weekly evening
sessions, for 10-hour credit. The
other courses, in weekly evening
sessions for five weeks, were
completed at Gaston College.
They, too, earned 10-hour credit.
• Gastonia’s First Baptist
Church Child Development Cen
ter offers educational day care
for ages 3-5 years. For details,
contact Miss Aileen Shifflett, di
rector. Telephone 865-9419.
On the board of directors.
King had completed the unfin
ished three-year term of Francis
B. Galligan, who as plant man
ager transferred from Bowling
Green to Gastonia where he is
division factories manager.
IN THE 1971 UGF funding
campaign, King and Richard
Webber (Firestone manager of
industrial relations) served in
the corporate division. That di
vision, reporting almost $97,000
in contributions from industry
and employees, was especially
commended for its part toward
the drive’s success—reporting
pledges of more than $3,000 be
yond the goal of $150,000.
Firestone was the first major
business to report in the cam
paign. Final total was $16,064.56.
United Givers Fund of Bow
ling Green and Warren County
allocates financial help toward
operation of 11 health, social
service and character-building
agencies in the city and county.
On Toward 2,000,000
Firestone’s Bowling Green plant is well along to
ward the second million-manhours record of operation
without a lost-time injury.
Division Factories Mana
ger Francis B. Galligan pre
sented an achievement
award certificate to repre
sentative group of employees
in late December.
Commemorating the safety
milestone of 1,000,000 man-
hours, employees each re
ceived a ballpoint pen along
with paychecks, Dec. 31.
Volume XXX
Number 2
February, 1972
Page 2
• GASTONIA
Claude C. Callaway, Editor
Monthly publicalion of the Gastonia, N. C., plant of Firestone Textiles
Company, a division of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio.
Division headquarters, Castonia, N. C. 28052. James B. Call, president. Mem
ber South Atlantic Council of Industrial Editors and International Association
of Business Communicators.
Plant
Offices REPORTERS
Warehouses
Industrial Relations—Dale Callahan
Main Office—Bea McCarter
Mechanical Dept.—Rosie Francum
Quality Control—^Louella Queen, Lelia
Rape
Twisting (synthetics) — Elease Cole,
Katie Elkins
Warp preparation—Elmina Bradshaw.
NeU Bolick
Warehouse—Harold Robinson, Israel
Good
Weaving (cotton)—Ruth Veitch
BENNETTSVILLE PLANT
Faye Shankle, Mary H, Oliver, Sylvia
Lockamy, Louise S. Preston—Report
ers.
BOWLING GREEN
Dorothy Kingrey, Mary Snell, Mary
Bryant, Brenda Loafman, Teresa
Leonard