560 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



IJu.NK 1, 1930. 



Java and Sumatra now — will prevail unless Philippine productinn 

 is protected by United States import taxes on foreign raw or 

 finished raw commodities. 



The end of 1918 showed over 400,000 commodities of rubber in 

 different conditions, while the end of 1919 showed an increase 

 to 500,000 commodities with new uses developing daily, as llu- 

 rise in price of wood, iron and steel permit the rubber substi- 

 tute at a lesser cost. 



Because of the tremendous initial and carrying cost of de- 

 velopment, rubber is primarily a development for a large indus- 

 trial consumer. The small planter will never be a source of 

 supply for this commodity like the cotton raiser, nor can it be 

 produced on the popular sugar central basis. 



The Philippine Government has under serious consideration 

 the necessary law changes to permit large responsible industrials 

 to operate. Understanding the present situation as outlined 

 above, it is believed that capital with faith and courage in the 

 Philippine Government may take the maximum land area al- 

 lowed by present laws and develop, using Filipino labor, with an 

 that amended laws will soon permit this operation 

 cpand on as favorable a business basis as now pertains to 



llritish Colonies 



A Layout of a Scientific Rubber Footwear Factory 



A comparison of the plant lay-outs of the leading rubber 

 footwear factories in this country reveals differences in 

 plant arrangement which are easily explained. Many of 

 these factories have been in operation for forty years or more, 

 and frequent additions to meet the demands of increased pro- 

 duction have assumed such proportions that the original lay-outs 

 have been lost sight of entirely. There are cases, too, of exactly 

 "the reverse nature where in the centralization of certain classes 

 of the product in separate plants, some factories for the time 

 being find themselves utilizing more production space than effi- 

 cient management would require. 



SEQUENTIAL AND PARALLEL PROCESSES. 

 Rubber footwear manufacturing involves both sequential and 

 parallel processes by which the raw material undergoes chemical 

 and physical changes before it finally reaches the finished state. 

 A light rubber, for example, has the following parts : upper, 

 outsole, toe cap, heel foxing— known as the "gum work" ; insole, 

 lining, junior, cloth heel, joining strip, rough back, filler— grouped 

 together, known as "inside work." The "gum work" and the 

 "inside work" are prepared for making in parallel processes 

 which are in themselves sequential. Thus the linings have to 

 be coated, laid in tables of forty ply for cutting; cut, counted, 

 cemented and joined before they reach the makers' table. Sim- 

 ilarly the outsoles have to be calendered and cut before they 

 are ready for making. It is necessary that all parts be prepared 

 and ready for making before the shoe is assembled or made. 

 After the assembly, the process becomes purely sequential, var- 

 nishing, curing, stripping, trimming, and packing being the final 

 operations. 



The use of conveyors, which have speeded up production in 

 tire manufacturing, is not suited to the production of footwear 

 on account of the number and tackiness of the small parts used. 

 Thus w^e find the hand truck still largely used in footwear fac- 

 tories. 



INTERDEPARTMENTAL BALANCE. 

 Balance between the departments is most importaul, and the 

 first step toward balance is an adequate lay-out. The chain of 

 operations is only as strong as the weakest unit. The arrow 

 which points to the direction of the productive flow, then, must 

 keep as nearly as possible to a continuous course. Operations 



must be grouped in departments according to their order, and 

 the routing facilities must be adequate to keep tin- u.ilinished 

 material in its continued progress through the plant. 



Manufacturing can l)e classified, generally speaking, as either 

 manufacturing to order or manufacturing to stock. Rubber 

 shoes come under the latter class ; that is, they are manufactured 

 according to a stock design on orders or anticipated orders. 

 This insures standard, permanent equipment and operations 

 which are practically unaffected by changes in styles from year 

 to year. Lasts change, liut most factories have shops where they 

 fashion their own, either of metal or wood. Metal lasts of alum- 

 inum have the advantage that they ca-n be melted up a;id recast. 

 Similarly, new styles call for changes in patterns and dies, but 

 this is taken care of by the pattern department, a necessity in 

 every shoe factory. 



THE IDEAL BUILDING. 



Owing to the large number and the comparatively skilled class 

 of workers required for the industry, most of the plants are 

 located in cities where land is at a premium. For this reason 

 floor-space has increased in value and the tendency is toward 

 high buildings. This simplifies the problem of expansion, how- 

 ever, as the addition of a night shift in the mill room can 

 double the stock output, while the addition of anoiher story to 

 the making room will take care of the increased production. 



The U-type of building, four stories high, has lieen chosen as 

 best suited for manufacturing rubber footwear. The r-j Iroad 

 siding runs parallel to the U, permitting the entrance of the 

 raw materials at one end and the exit of the finished product at 

 the other. The raw materials used are crude and reclaimed 

 rubber, compounding ingrcdieiUs. and cotton fabric. 

 STORAGE OF RAW MATERIALS. 



Rubber should be stored in a cool, dry place sf.ch as is 

 provided in the basement under the stores department A. Cot- 

 ton cloth can be stored in room .\, while compounding ingredi- 

 ents such as whiting, litharge, lithopone and sulphur are kept on 

 the second floor H, adjacent to the compound room I, where 

 they are kept in drying bini ready for use. Storage spaces M 

 and R on the third and fourth floors are for a reserve supply 

 of materials necessary in these times of uncertain markets and 

 transportation. 



