Septkmber I, 1921 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



921 



ager and. with the assistance oi a number of salesmen, is already 

 meeting with considerable success in this new lield. 



A QUARTER-CENTURY WITH U. S. TIRE CO. 



GEORGE S. Shugart. vice president and general sales manager 

 of the United States Tire Co., New York, N. V., celebrated 

 on June 24, the 

 twenty - tlftli anni- 

 versary of his con- 

 nection with that 

 company, culminat- 

 ing a ipiarter-century 

 of notably intensive 

 application to a 

 single line of en- 

 deavor. 



As a youth Mr. 

 Shugart left a good 

 bank position to 

 put on overalls and 

 learn the tire busi- 

 ness in the Morgan 

 & Wright factory, 

 believing it offered 

 a more promising 

 future. This was 

 when liie bicycle 

 was at the height of 

 its popularity. His 

 marked executive 

 ability soon brought 



him mto sales work, and at first, many of his calls were made 

 on a bicycle, covering sections of New York and New Jersey 

 in which scvcnty-nve salesmen now represent the company. 



He soon became a branch manager in important posts, and 

 since Morgan & Wright's amalgamation with the United States 

 Rubber Co., he has continued to advance to his present important 

 position. Mr. Shugart is regarded as one of the best informed 

 and most ellicient men in the tire selling field, and a host of well- 

 wishers trust that many years of health, happiness and success 

 lie before him. 



OeuRGE S. Su LGAKl 



CUTTING OUT NON-ESSENTIAL LINES 



Ml ST rubljer manufacturers make scores of articles because 

 their cotnpetitors make them, because their customers de- 

 mand them, or just because. 



One of the New Jersey companies, the Thermoid Rubber Co., 

 has, however, broken away from the tiitie-honored custoiri, inci- 

 dentally finding it very prolitable, and concentrated its effort 

 mainly upon tires, tubes, brake linings, universal joint disks, 

 clutch rings, and radiator hose. The following is a brief outline 

 of the articles which have been eliminated : 



Air-puni'> hose — several styles 



Brewers' llose 



rjumpcrs 



C. 1. tuliinK 



Ct'rrnp.ited malting 



Fan belts — several styles 



Force cups 



Garrfen hrse 



Gasoline hose 



Hcckcy pucks 



Mallet heads 



AFotorcycle brake lining 



Molded mats 



Packing — all styles 



Patches 

 Pedal itads 

 Pliinibcrs' supplies 

 P'.ire crum tubing — several styU-s 

 Reliners 

 Sheet packing 



Stnall molded goods — about 50 va- 

 rieties 

 Stair treads 

 Steam hose 

 \'aeuum hr.t-e 



\'alve bases for inner tubes 

 Washers — several styles 

 \\'ater hcse 



Comrrenting upon tliis work the sales manager said : 



"\Vc not only standardized production but also simplified the 

 construction of the articles still remaining. For example, we 

 made three grades of radiator hose under two different brands, 

 in 2-3-4 ply. Each of these grades was constructed from a dif- 



ferent gage of rubber and represented about six different grades 

 ol duck and sheeting. On this particular article we reduced the 

 two trade brands to one grade, using rubber of the same gage in 

 both, and standardizing upon three grades of duck rather than 

 six as heretofore. This enabled us to increase our machine out- 

 put 100 per cent and to make better goods at a lesser unit cost. 

 It also materially decreased the storage of raw materials and 

 eliminated about fifteen ingredients. 



"One of the troubles which we experienced prior to standardi- 

 zation was the utter impossibility of scheduling production. We 

 never definitely knew the output of a machine, nor the maximum 

 production ability of a inan under varied working conditions. 

 'Ibis human element of production was particularly baffling dur- 

 nig periods of depression when it was necessary to shift a man 

 from one department to another to keep him busy. Under the 

 standardization plan we are able to schedule properly all of our 

 merchandise and to keep delinite record of labor costs on the 

 l.'asis of actual knowledge of what can be produced by each work- 

 man on any given machine. 



"Standardization also enabled us to sell thousands of dollars' 

 north of old machinery which was working only 10 per cent of 

 the time and which was kept in the factory for no other reason 

 than to produce a few special articles, upon which we thought 

 uc were making money, but which were actually being produced 

 at a loss. The elimination of this machinery released thousands 

 of square feet of fioor space, which also represented an additional 

 saving. 



"Another factor which must not be overlooked is that the con- 

 centration upon fewer articles has enabled our factory heads to • 

 direct all of their efforts to the development of the products 

 which have a greater turnover and which consequently show the 

 greatest net profit. 



"Standardization has taught us that it must be confined within 

 certain limits determined by the by-products of the merchandise 



A Tvpic.M. Group. Br.\ke Lining STAND,\Rmz.\TioN' Committee, 

 Thermoid Rubber Co.. Trenton, New Jersey 



produced. It cannot be carried beyond the point where the by- 

 products of the major articles are not profitably utilized, and this 

 is a point which, if not carefully analyzed, is likely to defeat the 

 major purpose involved." 



UNITED STATES TIRE CO. MAINTAINS TECHNICAL SERVICE 

 DEPARTMENT 



A technical service department, made up of tire engineers, has 

 been recently established by the United States Tire Co., New 

 York, N. Y., to give impartial, disinterested advice to everybody 

 engaged in truck operation. 



"We intend that this technical service department shall be used 

 freely by every per.son who owns a truck," said C. K. Whidden, 

 manager of truck tire sales. "Whether an owner is a patron or 

 iMt makes no difference, all our facilities for correct informatio* 



