Fibers & Textiles Company
Gastonia, North Carolina
Bennettsville, South Carolina Bowling Green, Kentucky
1
October
1982
Hopewell, Virginia
■
Specially designed futuristic Firestone passenger tires equip the "stringer buck" design model of the Aero
2000 at General Motors World of Motion" display at Epcot Center. This model exposes the inner details of
the aerodynamic car, which GM says will obtain twice the fuel efficiency of any of the company's present cars.
Firestone Futuristic
Prescott Gets
Roofing Plant
Prescott, Ark., will be the site for
the multimillion dollar rubber roof
ing plant which Firestone an
nounced last month.
The new factory, which will
have more than 250,000 square
feet of production space and pro
duce more then 400 million square
feet of rubber roofing each year,
will use portions of an existing
Firestone facility that formerly
produced rubber hose for the
automotive and railroad industries.
The Prescott plant will employ
approximately 200 people when is
is in full operation.
Tires Equip Car
Restoration Gives Store Antique Look
Specially produced “four-of-a-
kind” futuristic Firestone Concept
tires are equipping a 21st Century
vehicle which has been assembled
for the General Motors pavilion at
Epcot, which opened recently at
Walt Disney World in Florida.
General Motors invited
Firestone to participate in the
automaker’s multi-million dollar
“World of Motion” exhibit at Ep
cot (Experimental Prototype Com
munity of Tomorrow), which
Disney officials describe as “a per
manent world’s fair.”
One of the areas in the GM ex
hibit—the designer’s workshop or
concept room — displays
aerodynamic vehicles of the future.
The special Firestone tires can be
seen on what is know in the
automotive industry as a “stringer
buck,” a frame structure which ex
poses all the interior features and
inner workings of the car, but does
not have the outer sheet metal.
Firestone tire designers have
been working on- the special tires
with General Motors stylists since
mid-1981. Pete McDonald,
manager of tire styling for
Firestone, has directed the project.
“Cieneral Motors provided us
with specifications for the overall
dimensions of the finished tire.
'then we designed sidewall and
tread treatments showing how a
tire of the future might appear,”
McDonald explained.
First step in the project of pro
ducing the special tires was
development of approved sketches.
Final drawings were completed
and plaster models for the tread
and sidewall were made. From
those models, an aluminum mold
was produced and the finished tires
were cast.
The Firestone Concept tire
features a directional tread pattern
in which the tread elements follow
the forward travel of the tire. For
aerodynamics, the sidewall is
smooth and has recessed lettering.
‘These are some of the features
which motorists may see on tires in
the 21st Century.” McDonald said.
GM’s venture into industrial
showmanship will be one of the
feature attractions in Epcot Center
which showcases the technological
potential of some of the most in
novative businesses in this country
and the cultural treasures of other
nations around the world.
Covering 660 acres, the center is
more than twice the size of
Disney’s nearby Magic Kingdom,
and is expected to draw more than
eight million visitors in its first
year.
Firestone is restoring its sales
and service center in Orlando, Fla.,
to its original 1930 condition. The
store at 578 N. Orange Ave. has
been declared a historic site by the
City of Orlando.
“Firestone believes the restored
structure will add important
historical significance to its central
city neighborhood,” explained
Robert S. Bowen, president of the
sales and marketing group.
“Our company had to decide
whether to demolish the existing
building or to improve the current
site,”he said “We chose the restora
tion project because of our pride in
Firestone’s history in Orlando and
because of the contribution the
restored structure will make to
downtown Orlando.”
Bowen said the store’s exterior
and portions of the interior will be
refurbished to look as they did
when the center was first opened
by company founder Harvey S.
Firestone 52 years ago. There will
be displays of antique tires and vin
tage photographs in the customer
lounge area.
The store will be a MasterCare
by Firestone outlet, the program
which is being introduced nation
wide in company stores over the
next three years.
Firestone
Stock
The most recent report (Sept.)
showed 5,944 employees with ac
counts in the Firestone Stock Pur
chase & Savings Plan. Manufac
turers Hanover Turst Company,
Trustee for the Plan, purchased
Firesone Common Stock for ac
counts of participating employees
at an average price of $ 11.93.
XuitiOn Refund Firestone store in Orlando, Fla., is being restored to the look it had when it opened in 1930.
The Tuition Reimbursement
Program is designed to fulfill
Firestone’s commitment to conti
nuing education on the part of its
employees which can mutually
benefit the employees’ personal
goals and the company’s objec
tives.
Firestone will reimburse up to
six hours per quarter on approved
courses and programs at accredited
technical schools, colleges and
universities.
For more information, contact
Johnette Mitchell in the Personnel
Dept.
Marshmallow Has
Another Use
Firestone’s Marsh Mellow spr
ings—proven in heavy-duty truck
applications and as machinery
vibration isolators—have another
new use.
They are being used successfully
as die springs in stamping
machines.
The Marsh Mellow die springs
have a host of advantages over
steel coil springs, according to
stamping machine and press
operators. The springs do not
break, they carry heavier loads
than steel springs and they reduce
maintenance costs.
The Marsh Mellow springs con
sist of a rubber core, wrapped with
bias-ply fabric. They were
developed by the Firestone In
dustrial Products Company in
Noblesville, Ind.
Light Trucks
Get All Terrain T/X
A new traction tire designed for
recreation vehicles and four-wheel-
drive light trucks is being manufac
tured and marketed by Firestone.
The All Terrain T/X has an eg-
gressive tread pattern for use in
mud and snow and on or off the
road. It joins Firestone’s family of
off-road light truck tires, suc
ceeding the All Terrain Town &
County tire as the company’s most
aggressive traction bias light truck
tire.