August, 1980 Gastonia ^
North Carolina W
Bennettsville
South Carolina Bowling Green, Kentucky
COMPANY
news
Plant
financial
analyst
Carl Kunkle, Firestone-Gas-
tonia factory auditor since 1973,
was appointed plant financial
analyst effective July 1. Kunkle
came to Gastonia from the
Bowling Green plant where he
had been factory auditor.
Kunkle’s current duties in
volve preparation and control
of financial and long-range
plans, capital expenditures,
profitability studies and cost
analysis. Also included are spe
cial projects on productivity im
provement through changes in
systems and putting new ways
into use.
He joined Firestone at the
Akron Synthetic Rubber & La
tex division in 1966 and for
three years held jobs in sales ac
counting and general account
ing. In late 1969 he transferred
to Bowling Green.
Kunkle, from Alliance, Ohio,
has a B.S. Degree with major in
accounting from Parsons Col
lege, Fairfield, Iowa. He and
Mrs. Kunkle (Anne Petty) have
a son, Mark, age 6.
This summer, Kunkle became
1980-81 president of Gastonia
Noon Lions Club, after having
served as secretary treasurer
and a term as vice president.
Vacation/Travel Note • At
Hoedown Island open-air patio
of Natural Bridge (Ky.) State
Resort Park: Squaredancing
Friday nights through Aug. 22;
Saturdays through Oct. 25.
Bicycle
louring is
a traveling al
ternative.
North Caro
lina Depart
ment of
Transporta
tion has a free
packet of in
formation on
cycling the
highways,
called
"Mountains to
the Seeu" For
a copy, write
Bicycle Pro
gram of NC-
DOT, Box
25201,
Raleigh. N. C.
26711.
• Exercise, recreation, improvement of en
vironment. Economical transportation without
“energy worry.”
The way to go for more than 100 million peo
ple in the U. S. nowadays, and why bike sales
in the country outstrip auto sales each year.
But as the number of cycling riders has
grown, so have the dangers—^fatalities and in
juries from accidents.
Firestone for years has been a major retailer
of bicycles, bike tires and accessories. Many
stores and dealers continue to sell them, after
the recent change in the Stores group to elimin
ate major appliances and some home and garden
merchandise.
The Firestone Gastonia plant in a full-produc-
tion year has an output of some 4.5 million yards
: a good way going
single-ply nylon fabric for bicycles and other 2-
wheel vehicles. An increasing number of em
ployees and members of their families are rid
ing bikes.
PEOPLE in the company’s safety department
offer some suggestions on how to bike with
safety.
First, select the right bicycle for the kind of
riding you’ll be doing, and check it out for
more on page 3
ATIE award
Thomas A. Grant, Firestone-
Gastonia retired Industrial En
gineering manager, received a
Distinguished Service Award
from the Association of Textile
Industrial Engineers at the or
ganization’s recent semi-annual
meeting in Atlanta.
The award is “in appreciation
for 24 years dedicated service”
to ATIE (originally designated
Southern Textile Methods and
Standards Association.) Grant
is the first to receive the award.
Earlier, the Association desig
nated him an Honorary Life
Member—that, too, a ‘first.’
Grant continues to attend the
ATIE meetings twice a year. He
retired last Dec. 31 with more
than 37 years service with
Firestone-Gastonia.
DEALERS
STORES
Car clinics for women
Jan K. Bryant will begin her
junior year at UNC-Chapel Hill,
in late August. A graduate of
Hunter Huss High School, she
has been employed as a respool-
er operator.
At Firestone since December
1977, Jan worked fulltime in TC
Twisting, while attending Bel
mont Abbey College two years.
She carried a full 15 class hours
and maintained an ‘A’ average
all semesters. At UNC, Jan will
A new series of car-care clin
ics for women, successfully con
ducted at Firestone stores in
Boston, Birmingham and Phoen
ix, is being extended to Fire
stone Stores and dealers nation
wide.
The original series of free
clinics, started in 1974, has in
structed more than 60,000 wom
en in auto maintenance funda
mentals. In the revised “Every-
woman’s Car-Care Clinics,” me
chanics explain basic working
parts of a car and show women
how to do routine maintenance
such as checking oil, belts, hos
es, fluids and tires.
Women are responsible for
the upkeep of nearly 20 percent
of the autos in the country. So,
the Firestone clinics are serving
a need, helping women to be
come more comfortable in deal
ing with automotive service cen
ters and in knowing how their
cars work.
The two three-hour sessions
follow a handbook, include some
classwork and “hands on” looks
at cars in the service area of
sponsoring Firestone service
centers.
major in sociology in prepara
tion for a career in social re
search.
• Do you have someone car
ing for your children while you
work? You could be entitled to
a tax credit. This is between-
filing times, yet a timely re
minder that when you file your
income tax next year, check out
the instructions for details.
li d i!
• • Controlling quality in our production of tire fab
ric is not just a little room adjacent to the Weave
Room. It isn’t the QC laboratory next to the Treating
Unit. It isn’t the “inspectors” checking machines and
cord—inspectors you may feel are making a nuisance
of themselves to everyone else.
Quality Control is a state of mind. Or it should be.
From the President to the newest employee, every
one is part of Quality Control.
Our Textiles Division is made up of many fine peo
ple dedicated to the success of this company, through
the production and sale of quality products.
To produce and sell quality products, we must main
tain our quality by on-the-spot observation as we work.
And as we work, we must know what is required.
Knowing after something has gone wrong is too late.
So, as we work, we must be on the lookout for mis
takes—even minor ones. They have the potential for
becoming major disasters.
Quality is an element of competition every bit as
important as price. You insist on it in everything you
buy. And you should. You must also insist on it for
everything you make or help to make!
Quality
Control
is a
state
of
mind