October i, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



2y 



THE RUBBER TRADE AT AKRON. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



AGENER.'\L tendency is apparent among the rubber manu- 

 facturers in Akron to expand their producing facihties. 

 There is hardly a firm in this industry in the city that is not plan- 

 ning e.xtensive building operations. If the program mapped out 

 by each concern is carried to completion, the production of rub- 

 ber goods in Akron should be increased more than 25 per cent., 

 by a conservative estimate. The sudden expansion is noted, es- 

 pecially among the companies making automobile tires, and it 

 is undoubtedly due to the increased 'demand for this motor 

 accessory that the building has been brought about. 



* * * 



The B. F. Goodrich Co., within the last month, have started 

 on the construction of a new factory building at the front of 

 their plant, which will be six stories high and will measure 

 102 X 95 feet. It will be used for the automobile tire manufacture 

 exclusively, and is to be completed by the middle of December. 

 Plans arc also being drawn for a still larger factor)' building, to 

 be constructed at the rear of the plant. It will be 220 x 60 feet 

 and six stories high. The rapid increase in the size of the 

 factory building adjoining their present plant on September 

 will be built to the power house, one 50 x 82 feet, and the other 

 40 x 65 feet. All of these structures are of reenforced concrete 



and fireproof throughout. 



* * * 



The Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., by reason of a recent 

 decision of the stockholders to increase their manufacturing 

 facilities, have begun the construction of an addition to the 

 plant, 125 X 40 feet. The new building will be four stories 

 high and will be used for the manufacture of tires. About 100 

 more men will be employed. It will enable the company to 

 increase the output by 25 per cent. President H. S. Firestone 

 says it is expected to have the addition ready for occupancy in 

 60 days. The company are also building an addition to the 

 office, 20 X so feet. 



* * * 



The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. broke ground for a new 

 factory building adjoining their present plant on September 

 21. It will be five stories high, 80 x 300 feet. The addition 

 was made necessary by the increase of business. It will mean 

 the employment of 300 more men. It is expected to have the 

 building completed by January i. 



* * * 



A GENERAL decrease of consumers' prices for automobile tires 

 went into effect among the Akron manufacturers on September i. 

 This reduction varied from 15 to 25 per cent, among different 

 companies. The step was taken in a measure to overcome the 

 tendency among retail dealers to cut prices. .According to the 

 new scale the consumers' listed price is very much lower, while 

 the profit for the dealer is cut down. The manufacturers are 

 enabled to reduce prices for several reasons : First, because the 

 price of crude rubber is lower than formerly; second, because a 

 system of standardization of tires has become almost perfected. 

 A few years ago, the number of sizes a manufacturer had to be 

 ready to make was almost unlimited. Now standard sizes have 

 been adopted by automobile manufacturers, so that the total 

 number is reduced almost to 100. This greatly cheapens and 

 simplifies manufacture; third, facilities of manufacturing have 

 been greatly improved. Not only have new methods been dis- 

 covered and applied but the increased demand has Correspond- 

 ingly increased the output, reducing the cost of production per 

 piece. 



Rubber companies in Akron report unexpectedly large sales in 

 the better grade of bicycle tires during the season just closing. 

 This fact is taken as an indication that the bicycle is regaining 

 a measure of its former popularity. In this connection, it is a 



piece of news that the bureau of publicity for the sport of bicy- 

 cling, established in Toledo by the Cycle Parts and Accessories 

 Association, was discontinued on September i. The reason was 

 the fact that the bicycle manufacturers withdrew their share 

 of the support of the bureau. 



* * ♦ 



After a year's experimenting with a new type of solid tire with 

 a hard rubber base, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. are pre- 

 paring to put this product on the market. The Goodyear com- 

 pany claim to be the first rubber company in America to suc- 

 ceed in vulcanizing soft and hard rubber together for this pur- 

 pose. The new tire is for motor trucks and is designed after 

 a tire in use in Europe for some time. The manufacturers' 

 principal claim for superiority of the new tire is that the hard 

 rubber base will last longer than the ordinary fastening and will 

 enable the user to wear his tire completely out. Mr. P. W. Litch- 

 field, superintendent of the Goodyear factory, is credited with 



the invention. 



* * * 



Officials of the Goodrich and Diamond Rubber companies 

 united in entertaining the delegates of the Society of American 

 Automobile Engineers, who visited the plants of those companies 

 on Saturday, September 19. They spent the morning going 

 through the factories and took lunch at the Portage Country 

 Club. The visit was made at the close of the quarterly meeting 

 hold in Cleveland. 



* * * 



Mr. J. A. SwiNEHART, of the Swinehart Clincher, Tire & Rub- 

 ber Co., reports a large business for his company. A night force 

 has been put on at the factory to increase the output. Several 

 pieces of new machinery have also been installed. The New 

 York branch of the Swinehart company was moved recently to 

 No. 875 Seventh avenue, where a building has been leased for 

 ten years. 



* * * 



The local manufacturers are preparing to be extensively rep- 

 resented at the annual carriage shows, to be held in New York 

 (October 5-12), and in Chicago (October 12-19). They will 

 take an especial interest in these shows this year on account of 

 the fact that an automobile department will be introduced for 

 the first time. The Diamond Rubber Co. will show tires for 

 high wheeled automobiles, which are growing in popularity, es- 

 pecially in rural communities. 



Mr. E. P. Weber, has been transferred from the position of 

 salesman in the Philadelphia branch of the Diamond Rubber 

 Co. to the management of the Boston branch to succeed W. P. 

 Cronin, who becomes special salesman of the company, travel- 

 ing out of the home oflice. 



The annual conference of branch managers of the Diamond 

 Rubber Co. was held in Akron, on September 14-17. Among 

 those present was C. E. Matthewson, manager of the Pacific 

 coast branch, San Francisco. There were altogether 15 men 

 in the conference. All reported an improvement in business 

 conditions, and trade is active in tires and regular lines. 



The B. F. Goodrich Co. opened a new branch in Kansas City 

 during the latter part of September, at No. 1728 Grand avenue. 



The Diamond Rubber company has coined a new phrase to 

 describe one of their treads — "the well-balanced tire." As de- 

 scribed by the company, it is a tire in which the wear is so dis- 

 tributed that the mileage possibilities of the principal parts ap- 

 proach the point where they balance each other. The argument 

 is that the ideal tire should wear so long that before retreading 

 should become necessary, the tie would be past further service 

 through old age alone. 



In the automobile endurance contest held out of Toledo early 

 in September, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. furnished gratis 

 to the contestants the Goodyear air bottles. The drivers at the 

 end of the tour joined in extending a vote of thanks to the com- 

 pany. 



