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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October i, 1903. 



THE RUBBER TRADE AT AKRON. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



TO the Editor of The India Rubber World: The man- 

 ufacturers of automobile tires have long felt that, as long 

 as they furnish guarantees regarding quality and workmanship, 

 there should be certain rules as to their application to various 

 rims and differenf weights of vehicles. Not only will guaran- 

 teed tires under such rules give better service but they will in 

 the long run drive out the cheap unguaranteed tires. The 

 meeting of tire manufacturers in New York a few days ago was 

 attended by representatives of several Akron concerns, who 

 apparently believe that the result will be a better condition 

 both for the manufacturers and the users of tires. Among the 

 Akron men at the conference were Colonel George T. Perkins, 

 president of The B. F. Goodrich Co. ; F. A. Seiberling, manager 

 of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. ; A. H. Marks, vice presi- 

 dent of The Diamond Rubber Co. ; and H. E. Raymond, gen- 

 eral sales manager of the Goodrich company. 



" The manufacturers of rubber tires," said an official of a lo- 

 cal rubber company, " have long viewed with concern the ten- 

 dency toward cheaper tires, and it has been felt for some time 

 that eventually the manufacturers would have to get together 

 on some such plan as has now been agreed upon. Automo- 

 bile makers have used tires in many instances of too light con- 

 struction for the weight of the machine, and both the manufac- 

 turer and the user have suffered in consequence. Naturally 

 tire makers have to guarantee their tires, and it has been found 

 that by reason of the carelessness in fitting light tires to heavy 

 machines we have suffered, while the users have not been sat- 

 isfied. Tires have been fitted to rims that were not at all suit- 

 able, and the conditions in a number of particulars have not 

 been such as to give satisfaction. Together with this state of 

 affairs has come the tendency toward making cheap tires. Au- 

 tomobile makers have tried to get them as cheaply as possible, 

 from motives of economy, and have thus created a demand for 

 a grade of tires which has been very unsatisfactory. Had this 

 tendency died out, there would have been no reason for an 

 agreement among the manufacturers, but it has been growing 

 worse, and we were confronted with a serious problem which 

 could be successfully solved only by an agreement to make au- 

 tomobile makers conform to certain conditions which were 

 determined upon at our meeting last week. One of these con- 

 ditions was that our guarantees on tires would not be oinding 

 unless the tires are fitted to certain rims approved by us and 

 that only tires of certain weights shall be used on machines of 

 certain weights. We hope by this method to be able to pro- 

 duce a grade of tires which will give the user better satisfac- 

 tion. It is to be a fight between quality and price, and we 

 expect quality to win." 



The tire makers are of the opinion that the agreement enter- 

 ed into will be the means of making conditions better all round. 

 No man wants to buy a tire unless it is guaranteed, and this 

 fact, it is calculated, will cause the makers of automobiles to be 

 more careful in the selection and fitting o( tires to their ma- 

 chines. A scale of sizes for " axle weights " has been adopted, 

 this term being used by automobile makers to indicate the bur 

 den borne by each axle, which is approximately half the car, 

 though not uniformly so. By making the schedule according 

 to "axle weights," the tire agreement permits tires of different 

 sizes to be used on front and rear wheels of the same automobile. 



A certain group of rim makers have agreed to make their 

 rims exactly according to specifications furnished by the tire 

 makers and to allow the tire men to keep inspectors in the rim 

 factories to mark O. K. all rims approved. Tires not on rims 



so marked and on any cars not in accordance with the weight 

 schedule have not the makers' guarantee. This is a check cal- 

 culated to keep the automobile men in line, for no man wants 

 to buy tires not guaranteed. 



Regarding prices a prominent tire man says : " Any tire maker 

 can furnish tires at any price demanded. We have done this, 

 and the result has been great dissatisfaction. Now we are 

 going to determine for ourselves what grades to make and fix 

 our own prices, and the vehicle people can take them or leave 

 them. Buyers of automobiles will be willing enough to pay 

 more for tires if they give better service." 



The tire makers have withdrawn all former quotations on 

 tires, calling attention in their circulars to the increased cost of 

 rubber and of Sea-Island fabric. 



* * * 



When the tire season of 1903 is over it will be found to have 

 been the best in the history of the trade. Early in the season 

 the rubber manufacturers here foresaw that the trade this year 

 would be a large one, and made extensive preparations to take 

 care of it. As a result they have been able to turn out large 

 numbers of tires, and to keep abreast of the demand. The ex- 

 perience of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. is only one of 

 the many which might be cited. When this company was or- 

 ganized it was the intention to have its tires manufactured by 

 other companies. After a brief experience of this sort it was 

 found that the demand for tires was so great that the company 

 was warranted in erecting a plant. Since the plant was placed 

 in operation it has not been idle a day, and it is the largest 

 plant in the world devoted entirely to the manufacture of solid 

 rubber tires. Other local companies which manufacture tires 

 have been busy all season, some of them not being able to 

 accumulate a stock. Local manufacturers have tried hard to 

 keep up the standard ol quality of their tires, in spite of de- 

 mands for low priced goods, and jobbers are beginning to real- 

 ize that the cheap tire is not the one to push. The demand for 

 heavy tires for trucks, fire engines, and other heavy vehicles has 

 been brisk and some of the local factories have enjoyed a good 

 business in this line. The demand lor bicycle tires has not 

 been as large as in former years, but still the trade has been 

 active enough to keep the machines in local plants pretty busy. 



The bicycle tire contracts will open "with October and present 

 activity in the market make it evident that the coming season 

 will be a busy one, probably surpassing the present season, 

 An active campaign is also promised in the garden hose busi- 

 ness. Contracts will be let during the next two months, and from 

 present indications great activity in this trade is anticipated. 



* * « 



Arrangements are being made by local manufacturers for 

 the big automobile shows, and they will show some first class 

 goods, heavier in proportion to the weight of the machines 

 than ever before. The detachable or clincher tire has appar- 

 ently almost supplanted the single tube tire, and well posted 

 tire men are of the opinion that the coming shows will demon- 

 strate this fact. The B. F. Goodrich Co., the Diamond Rubber 

 Co., and the Firestone company will have exhibits at all the 

 principal shows. 



Local tire manufacturers will probably fight shy of the 

 carriage and automobile shows which are not promoted by 

 some recognized association. In the past it has been custom- 

 ary for them to allow themselves to be "held up " for large 

 sums for space in which to make a display ol their goods, at 

 almost any show. Many of these shows have been promoted 

 by private individuals for the money there is in it, and the 

 Akron manufacturers cannot see where they can make the dis- 

 plays they have been in the habit of doing with advantage to 



