Newspapers / Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.) / Oct. 1, 1972, edition 1 / Page 1
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GASTONIA NORTH CAROLINA BOWLING GREEN KENTUCKY BENNEHSVILLE SOUTH CAROLINA OCTOBER 1972 Ttre$tone TEXTILES COMPANY Pyrenees? No. The Smokies October is “smoky gold” and a choice time of year to go and appreciate “this Au tumn-blessed land.” Gatlin- burg, Tenn., “jewel town” in the Great Smoky Mountains, is a favorite with many Fire stone people. This Firestone News-photo scene, reminiscent of an Old World village, is at the off- Riley Company President The recently-elected ninth president of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company moved up from executive vice president, with responsibilities including operation of the textiles division. In his former assignment, he had oversight of operations of 11 Firestone diversified products divisions headquartered in the United States, 59 production fa cilities in 26 foreign countries, and 14 sales subsidiaries for tires and other Firestone prod ucts in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Richard A. Riley, 56, was elected the corporate president last month. He succeeds Robert D. Thomas, Bowling Green and Warren County, Ky. ob served Sept. 11-16 as In dustry Appreciation Week. During the week the American National Bank downtown featured a win dow exhibit of Firestone products, and cord and tire fabric produced at the Bowling Green plant. Industry Appreciation Week is observed to "make the public more aweure of the vital role industries play in building a greater economic community." 62, with the company 40 years. Thomas, amember of the board of directors since 1966, had been president since 1970. Although he took early retirement be cause of illness, Thomas con tinues on the board of direc tors and serves as a consultant. RILEY, a veteran of 33 years Firestone service, was executive vice president since early 1971, has been a member of the board of directors since Jan. 1970. The new president’s Fire stone career has encompassed sales, manufacturing and finan cial management positions in five Firestone divisions, includ ing the presidency of four. He became a vice president of the parent company in 1968. The company’s announce ment last month of an internal realignment of executive re sponsibilities said that it will be unnecessary to fill Mr. Riley’s previous position as executive vice president. Firestone has three other executive vice presi dents. "As the ninth president of our company, Mr. Riley will carry on a tradition of operational leadership that will help us con- We in the Tire Cord business are no longer bystanders Now They've Made A ‘Shoe’ For OUR Toof BY JAMES B. CALL President, Firestone Textiles Company Main Street shopping center in Gatlinburg. The town has many special events during the year. Dates of the annual Craftsman’s Fair of the Southern Highlands in Oct. 17-21. Other travel-adven- ture notes on page 4. RICHARD A. RILEY tinue our 72-year record of growth and progress in the months and years ahead," said Raymond C. Firestone, chairman and chief executive officer. Riley, a native of Fall River, Mass., joined Firestone as an accountant at the company’s Fall River plant in 1939. He was named comptroller of World Bestos Division three years later, moving to New Castle, Ind., when that operation was transferred from Paterson, N.J. in 1945. In 1954 he became as sistant general manager of World Bestos and two years later was made general man ager and president. HE WAS named president of Firestone Rubber & Latex Prod ucts Company in 1960, serving until 1965 when he moved to • More on page 2 Who cares about imports? • The textile industry has been ex periencing heavy competition from imports of cloth and yarn for a long time. Many jobs have been lost, and some companies have either gone out of business or shifted to other products. One thing sure: Imports are a serious problem. Talks between the United States and foreign countries— principally Japan—have resulted in the establishment of “voluntary quotas” on the amount of material being sent to the U.S. To some extent, this arrangement has made a bad situation a little better. In addition to the huge volume of materials, Japan is accused of selling at prices that do not cover the production cost of the goods sold. This practice is called “dumping.” The reported consequence of such a practice has been the loss of jobs in the U. S. Textile Industry. The more room the camel has in the tent, the less there is for us THE U.S. Treasury Department found recently that cer tain Japanese fabrics were sold in the U.S. at less than their “fair value.” (This is a polite way of saying that the fabrics had been dumped.) It is now up to the U.S. Tariff Commission to decide whether to assess duties on the material in the future. Whatever happens, nothing can be done about the $60,000,000 worth of material already dumped. As long as this was wool or polyester dress fabric, we in the Tire Cord Industry were bystanders. We weren’t di rectly involved except maybe to talk about the “bargains” in fabric or clothing that were being sold. But we in the Tire Cord Industry are now involved! Additional talks with U.S. officials allow the Japanese to switch 20,000,000 equivalent square yards of their woolen fabric quota to NYLON TIRE CORD. Now they’ve made a ‘shoe’ for OUR foot! Inferior cord, you say? NOT BY A LONG SHOT! Many of you have examined Japanese tire cord in our plants. It’s as good as we’re making. How’s this? Workers in Japan take great pride in their products and their quality. This really means that they make better use of their time when at work. They will be fierce competitors. In 1970, the average wage in Japan was $.95 per hour. Today, I hear it’s been increased to $1.46 per hour. Compare that with what you are making. Is it any wonder there is a problem? The Arabs have an old saying: “Never let the camel get his nose in the tent. If you ever do, he will soon take over and crowd you out.” Importing nylon tire cord will have a decided effect on the U.S. Tire Cord Industry. Unless we at Firestone Textiles are willing to work to keep our QUALITY high and our costs COMPETITIVE, we will be giving that camel more room in the tent. Remember one thing: The more room the camel has, the less there is for us! Five Retired • Almost 154 years—the added-up time represented by the five Gastonia, Fire stone, employees who retired in the summer-early fall per iod. Most recent of these was Lillie Rowland, reclaimer in TC Twisting, with 30 years and 4 months service. She retired Oct. 1. Ending their Firestone careers Sept. 1 were Reid Al bert Deal, section supervisor AT GASTONIA in Spinning, with 36 years and 9 months service; Bertha Atkinson, TC Twisting re spooler operator, 33 years and 6 months; and Alhe Jones, TC Twisting respool er operator, 30 years and 4 months. Emma Moore, who retired in June, had 25 years and 11 months service. By mis take, her name was not in cluded on the list of retired persons in the July issue of Firestone News.
Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Oct. 1, 1972, edition 1
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