AucL-ST 1, l">-'0.: 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN OHIO. 



By Our R.-tiiihr Cornstoiidctt. 

 AKBON NOTES. 



ONE OF THE LARGEST BiiLDiNC expansions in the rubber indus- 

 try at present is that of The B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co. at 

 Akron. Xew construction is in progress which will increase the 

 size of the plant twenty per cent and cost, with the new equip- 

 ment and machinery, in excess of ten million dollars. 



The new build- 

 ings will provide 

 779,000 square 

 feet additional 

 floor space, mak- 

 ing a total of 

 4,554,304 square 

 feet devoted to 

 the manufacture 

 of tires, hose, 

 boots and shoes, 

 and other rubber 

 goods. Several 

 thousand addi- 

 tional workers 

 will be required 

 next year to turn 

 out the increased 

 production plan- 

 ned. 



The largest of 

 the new build- 

 ings under con- 

 struction is an 

 eight-story ware- 

 house for raw 

 materials with 

 530,000 square 

 feet of floor 

 space. When 

 completed it will 

 be the largest 

 factory building 

 in the city. The 

 second largest 

 building will 

 have nearly 200.- 

 000 square feet 

 and will be used 

 exclusively for 

 tire building. 



Other new 

 buildings being 

 erected include a 

 giant water soft- 

 ening plant, an 

 electric current 

 transformer sta- 

 tion, a large re- 

 frigeration build- 

 ing, and an ex- 

 tension to the boiler house of Mill 2. In spite of annoying delays 

 in securing materials the work is going rapidly ahead, day and 

 night, and it is expected that the program will be nearly com- 

 pleted before winter. 



This new construction emphasizes the steady growth of the 

 Goodrich company since it was organized fifty years ago, many 

 years before any other rubber factory was opened in the "Rubber 

 City." The original plant of the Goodrich company was a build- 

 ing 40 by 100 feet and only 35 employes were on the first pay-roll. 

 To-day this original building could be tucked away and lost in 

 any one of a dozen of the company's buildings. The force of 35 





employes has grown to an army of 28,000 men and women. 

 An opportunity for employes of The B. F. Goodrich Rubber 

 Co. to become holders of the company's common stock and to 

 share in its profits is afforded by an employe's stock subscription 

 plan recently approved by the company's executive cominittee. 

 The stock will be sold to the erhployes for $65 a share on 

 w'eekly payments of 25 cents, each employe being allowed to buy 

 one share for each $300 of his annual earnings. Stock will be 



sold in this way 

 only to employes 

 who have been 

 with the com- 

 pany for three 

 months or long- 

 er. 



In the working 

 out of the com- 

 pany's plan, stock 

 purchased by the 

 employe can be 

 paid for at the 

 end of three 

 years and 24 

 Av e e k s, even 

 though the pay- 

 ments during this 

 period will total 

 only $44.98 per 

 share. Accumu- 

 lated stock divi- 

 dends and ser\-ice 

 credits will make 

 up the difference 

 between this 

 amount and the 

 stock purchase 

 price plus inter- 

 est. 



Every time the 

 company pays a 

 dividend on its 

 common stock it 

 will credit a like 

 amount toward 

 the payment of 

 each share of 

 stock on which 

 employes are 

 making payment. 

 .■\t the present 

 dividend rate, 

 such dividends 

 will amount to 

 $21 per share 

 during the pay- 

 ment period. 



The employe 

 will receive 

 through the serv- 

 ice credit plan an additional credit of $6 on the payment of each 

 share purchased. This service plan provides $1 credit on each 

 share a year from date of first payment, $2 at the end of the sec- 

 ond year, and $3 at the end of the third year. The service credits 

 will be given even after the stock is paid for. At the end of the 

 fourth year, $4 cash will lie given on each share held and at the 

 end of the fifth year, $5 cash. This will reduce the net amount 

 cash paid for the stock of $35.98 per share. 



The .'Xkron Gear & Engineering Co., operating a machine shop 

 at the corner of South and High streets. Akron, is contemplat- 

 ing building a large modern machine shop on its property con- 





