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In the beginning, it was all-cotton pro
duction. Then came the age of manmade
fibers (really, just man-processed) and of
recent time, back to natural material—
steelwire.
Cotton processing at Firestone Textiles
Company’s Gastonia and Bennettsville
plants was phased out within the past five
Gastonia Bennettsville
North Carolina South Carolina
Bowling Green • Kentucky
☆ ☆
☆
January 1975
$320,420
Paid for
Suggestions
The Firestone Suggestion Program during fiscal 1974
adopted 8,416 ideas from 36,227 submitted, with awards
totaling $320,420. Estimated annual savings resulting from
the employees’ adopted suggestions: $2,016,792.
The company’s Suggestion
Program, now in its 57th
year, continued its record-
breaking performance over
the past 3 years.
Awards ranged from the
minimum $15 to $7,560 and
$6,5D0, both at the Decatur
(111.) Firestone plant.
Ideas submitted through
the Factory Suggestion Pro
gram accounted for more
than 35,000 of the total sug
gestions and $1.9 million of
savings in 1974. The Factorj*
program went beyond the
goal of 600 suggestions per
1,000 employees and savings
of $1.5 million. Company
President Richard A. Riley
established the goal at the
beginning of last fiscal year.
years. (Cotton production was never a part
of the Bowling Green operation.)
So, now a major use of cotton yarn is in
supplying automatic loom batteries which
send shuttles flying, to work filling into
tire fabric of synthetic warp.
Today, outside suppliers sell Firestone
the cotton yam, wound in cone form and
ready to go on the loom.
For BG
People
BUS SERVICE
Stanley Scully, a foreman in the Twisting department
at Bowling Green, Firestone Textiles Company, has gained
State authorization for his proposal to operate a commuter
bus service for the plant employees who live in the Glas
gow, Ky., area.
Again,
First . .
Beautification Program
For the sixth consecutive year, the Firestone Bowling
Green (Ky.) textile plant has been named to first place in
the annual community beautification program in industry.
The competition, sponsored by the Beautification Committee
of Bowling Green, is in its sixth year.
Because Firestone has been the environment and physi-
named lo first place for all these
years, the plant was presented
an additional 5-year award,
placing it in the "industry hall
of fame" of the program.
The honors have come to
Firestone because of the
plant’s exceptional merit in
landscape design, overall im
pact, good maintenance, orig
inality of color; and for Fire
stone people’s cooperation in
efforts toward beautification
and development of the com
munity.
At a reception for all win
ners in the contest, plant
manager Thomas Yelton —
accepting the award for the
company—said:
“. . . This speaks of our ef
forts at being a good cor
porate citizen; and of our re
sponsibility to contribute to
Social Security
Changes
Base figure for levying
Social Security taxes in
creased to $14,100 of each
wage-eamer’s income, as of
Jan. 1. The previous ceiling
was $13,200.
An estimated 19 million work
ers—or 1 in every 5 covered by
Social Security earn $13,200 or
more. They and their employers
each have to pay a maximum of
More on Page 3 •
cal attractiveness of the
place where our plant is lo
cated.”
Next month the Ameri
can Red Cross Regional
Bloodbank will make the
first of two collections in
the Gastonia Firestone
community during 1975.
Date for the Bloodmo-
bile stop at Loray Bap
tist Church is February
12.
The second stop of the
year will be in August.
The Bureau of Vehicle Regu
lation in Frankfort announced
approval of a Certificate of Con
venience and Necessity, allow
ing Scully to have the required
Common Carrier rating.
Stanley, who is from Glasgow,
has been operating his bus serv
ice for Firestone employees who
live in the Glasgow, Horse Cave
and Cave City area since May of
Five Years
Betty Ann Herndon at
Firestone, Bennettsville, will
mark 5 years service with
the company, Jan. 28, 1975.
It’s ‘Wheels’
For Them
• For Charlie and Eva Ply-
ler, the bicycle is good for
all-season fun and recrea
tion. The retired (Firestone,
Gastonia) couple have had
their ‘wheels’ since last
Spring. His is a Traveler
from Firestone Stores; hers,
a 3-wheeler with cargo bas
ket. Both are single-speed.
Charlie retired as a loomfixer
in TC Weaving, Aug., 1972, with
30 years company service. Eva
had 32 years service when she
retired as respooler operator in
TC Twisting, Feb., 1973.
The Plylers live part of the
year in the Myrtle Beach SC
Grand Strand area where they
take their camper trailer. So,
last summer they rode their
bikes mostly on trails and in
parks at the beach.
A WHILE BACK, they brought
the trailer and bikes back home
to Gastonia. Charlie and Eva
have a second home on the Ca
tawba River 15 miles from Gas
tonia. Down there, they ride the
bikes quite a bit, and some they
do on streets and highways.
1974. His passengers are workers
on the plant’s “D” Crew.
The bus service operates
along Highway 90 to U.S. 31-W
at Cave City, then Southwest on
U.S. 31-W to the Firestone plant
in the Bristow community. The
bus returns along the same
route.
“Hats off to Stan for render
ing a great service which helps
Firestone people come to work
safely and on time,” said Terry
J. Slack, employment super
visor.
Winter Tires
Underinflated tires don’t pro
vide better traction in snow,
mud, or ice, say engineers of the
Firestone company. For good
surface contact, proper inflation
needs to be maintained in win
ter as well as summer. And you
need some extra checking when
temperatures drop or if you
drive from a warm to cold cli
mate.
For every 10-degrees drop in
temperature, a tire loses about
a pound of pressure.
• The Plylers: Bikes for fun and exercise.
“For this kind of biking, we
have to be especially careful of
motor traffic and other haz
ards,” says Eva. “Back-country
roads are good, but you have to
be careful of unexpected traffic
there, too.”
Biking and camping are fa
vorite pastimes of the Plylers,
but they like gardening, too.
Last season they canned more
than 500 jars of foodstuff and
put a ‘big amount’ in the freez
er.
Looking toward a trip to
Florida in February, Charlie
and Eva may decide to take
along their bikes.
Christmas
For Children
A doll for Sue, a game
for Debbie, a volleyball
for Danny. . .
Gastonia, Bowling
Green and Bennettsville
plants of Firestone Tex
tiles Company distribut
ed Christmas gifts to
children of employee
households during the re
cent holidays.
The gifts, selected for
children according to
ages, were presented by
departments to the
youngsters up to 13 years.