NOVEMBER 1. 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



33 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN AKRON. 



• By Our Regular Correspondent. 



""pill-: output bf the Akron rubber factories for the past month 



*■ is roughly estimated to hav( been about 50 per cent, oi 

 their maximum product. One oi two plants are running on prac 

 tically full time, with a Full quota of nun. while others arc run- 

 ning on only part huh-. 



I his citj has been the centei of reunions arid conventions dur- 

 ing the month. Early in Octobei there was a legislative reunion, 

 when main oi Ohio's legislators and officials interested in safet) 

 measures visiting the city were shown through the factor 

 The B. F. Goodrich Co. in an unoffi ial inspection oi the safet) 

 devices and measures adopted 1>> this companj for the protei 

 tion and welfare of its employes. 



I hen then was the annual sales convention of the Firestone 



in. & Rubber Co., attended by about 250 out-of-town repre 

 sentatives. The branch managers arrived Tuesday, the 13th, and 

 after a <\.i\ spent in planning for the largei convention of the 

 following two days, wen- tendered a banquet at the Poi 

 Country Club. By the morning of the 1 -1th all the regulars had 

 arrived. The day was full) occupied, speeches of welcome be- 

 ing followed by general discussions of such important subjects as 

 carriage, cycle, motor and pneumatic tires and rims, and by a 

 visit through the tire factory. On Thursday, the 15th, a visit 

 was made to the rim plant, and the subjects considered in con- 



outcome upon the rubber trade, on account of'the European 

 war. will be. I am verj optimistic myself, and look forward to 

 an unusually prosperous year oi 1915. 



"The onlj uncertainty now is the sourci oi th< crude rubbei 

 supply We had hoped that the English and French control oi 

 thi sea would hav< cleared this up before now There are two 

 uncertain elements. One is our lark of merchant marine, and 

 the other is the lack of trade between this country and the coun 

 trii uppl ing rubber. 



"As it is now, it is necessarj foi rubbei to come through 

 Europi i i vessels to go emptj to secure the rubber, which 

 makes the freight carrying cost and insuranci er high. U e 

 will gradually shape ourselves to supply the things they want in 

 exchangi Eoi the rubber, which will relieve the situation. 



"It seems like America's opportunity. If ouf manufacturers 

 and business men go about it properly, and seek to securi 

 trade of these Eastern markets, bj furnishing to their peopli 



the things they want and need, in exchange for what we want 

 and not try to establish an unhealthy condition b) forcing upon 

 them something we have a surplus of and the) do not want, we 



will establish a trade relation that will be lasting and beneficial." 



* * * 



The William- Foundr) & Machine Co has been exceptionally 

 bus) ami is adding a one-story building 60 x 1(K) feet in area to 



its plant, at an estimated c iSt of $12,000. 



* * * 



The new addition of the Vdamson Machine i o is nearing com 

 pletion. * * 



The Miller Rubber (. " has recently perfect! <i and patent! < 



Sales Force of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, at Convention. 



vention on this date included credits, export business, branch 

 efficiency, advertising, the European situation and salesmanship. 

 The dinner in the banquet hall of the Portage Hotel, which con- 

 cluded the convention, was attended by about 400 Firestone men. 

 One new feature at this year's convention was the publication 

 by the company of a special newspaper containing the news of the 

 proceedings. This was a paper called "Co-op," in regular news- 

 paper form, two numbers containing four pages each, while a 

 third had eight pages. Another innovation was the taking of 

 motion pictures of the convention, 1,000 feet of film being used 

 in this manner. 



Some interesting figures have been compiled by the rim de- 

 partment of this company, from which we learn that in the past 

 year's production of Firestone rims 12,000 tons of steel was 

 used; that 400 mechanics and 16 electric welders are employed 

 in this production, which requires 150,000 square feet of floor 

 space, with 15,500 square feet of storage for the raw steel stock; 

 that 1,000 box cars are utilized in carrying away a season's out- 

 put of rims, and that from 10.000 to 50.000 rims are always car- 

 ried in stock at the factory for immediate delivery. 



Announcement has been made that the Firestone company 

 will, this winter or in the early spring, build a three-story - office 

 and storage building on the site of the present office. 

 * * * 



\ letter of recent date addressed by Thomas F. Walsh, presi- 

 dent of the Swinehart Tire & Rubber Co., of Akron, to an in- 

 quirer regarding the effect of the war on the rubber trade, con- 

 tains the following interesting paragraphs : 



"It is difficult at this time to state definitely just what the 



valve to he used in toy balloons which permits of inflating and 

 deflating as frequently as desired. By simply pressing thfijjieck 

 of the balloon the air is released and when retained in normal 

 position the balloon remains inflated indefinitely. Composed of 

 a hard circle of rubber, made cup shape in size to fit the neck 

 of the balloon, with a small loose flap at the base, the whole is 

 so simple that chances for it to become ineffective are reduced 

 to a minimum. 



This company advises all car owners who are about to store 

 their cars for the winter to remove all tires from rims not of 

 the quick detachable variety, and after slightly inflating both 

 tire and tube wrap each in cloth and place it in a dry room hav- 

 ing a temperature of about 50 degrees, the exclusion of light 



tending to preserve the life of the tire. 



* * * 



George S. Andrus is acting general manager of the Superior 

 Tire & Rubber Co., which was- lately incorporated under the 

 , laws of Ohio, with a capital stock of $125,000. The company is 

 at the present time having its inner tubes manufactured, but is 

 using its own compounds and has its own sales agency. In tin- 

 near future it expects to have a plant of its own in Akron, when 

 it will take up other lines of rubber production. 



* * * 



Ml Southern branches of the Goodyear-Tire & Rubbei 

 have been instructed to purchase a bale of cotton and to exhibit 



it in their wind* >\\ s. 



* * * 



About 450 members of the Goodyear sales force have just 

 arrived in town on special trains to attend the three-day con- 

 vention which commences October 29. 



