On August 3, 1900, the Firestone Company started its full operation in Akron, Ohio. With assets of $20,000 and a patent for tire mounting surely helped Mr. Firestone’s great company succeed. Mr. Firestone watched his company steadily grow into a great manufacture and business that he created to help motorist throughout the automotive tire world. In 1901, after the first year of business, sales amounted to $110,000 equaling a great year for this giant leader within the tire business.
Automobile tires have always constituted Firestone's principal product. In 1909, the company opened a rim manufacturing division and soon became the nation's largest producer for the consumer market. During 1912, machines were used for the first time by the company in the building of automotive tires. Automobiles were becoming a great need for everyday transportation, at the time, which many vehicles had Firestone tires.
Mr. Firestone was very involved with employees, for example, he supported educational and recreational undertakings for his workers along with medical attention, improved housing, saving plans, and many other enterprises that would further help his employees. During the war of 1917, Mr. Firestone started to help many war efforts by organizing the Rubber division of the war industries Board and making available one large plant for the manufacture of balloons. After the war, Mr. Harvey Firestone assisted the railroad system since many became disorganized and still operated under government supervision.
At the time, the motor truck was very new to the consumer market but it could perform the task and provided effectively transportation. Mr. Firestone organized the ship by truck movement which started to help the country with its transportation crisis. For the first time in history the shipper and the truck man were brought together to help resolved the railroad problem which worked by movement of goods by trucks for business and consumer markets. Mr. Firestone felt that selling tires was a mighty difficult undertaking at that particular time when the business became very slow.
Despite the trend of events, tire prices had remained where they were in sales. Mr. Firestone spent $100,000 for advertising within the first week using banners appearing in windows of dealer and garage walls announcing that Firestone prices had been reduced and now was the time to purchase. The public caught on and Firestone tires began to move increasing sales. Week after week, the campaign gained increasing results. Within two months, sales amounted to $18,000,000 creating a positive movement within the Firestone company.
From 1919-21, construction started on a plant at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and in Singapore rubber preparation and a shipping plant was created for overseas markets. Other pioneering achievements included the mechanically fastened straight-side tire, non-skid treads, low pressure balloon tires, gum- dipping to insulate tire cords against internal heat, truck and farm tractor tires were also produced for the consumer market.
The Firestone history is a memorable story of tradition, quality, and progress. Mr. Harvey S. Firestone received the honorary degree of doctor of laws at the 106th commencement from Dr. William Foster Pierce, President of Kenyon College. On February 7, 1938, Mr. Firestone passed away at 69 years old. The farmhouse where Firestone was born is now located in Greenfield Village, a historical site founded by Mr. Henry Ford, located in Dearborn, Michigan. The company started because of Mr. Firestone’s determination to build a genuinely product and now it is a worldwide organization that has helped employ millions of workers to put America on wheels. Harvey Firestone once said, “The whole structure of business is making and doing useful things for others. The great needs of this world of ours are faith and more real service on the part of each of us".
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A special thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for donating the story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program. Photographs courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection (Bibliography: Lief, Alfred . Harvey Firestone Free man of Enterprise McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc 1951) Firestone Advertising courtesy of Pete Hoylt advertising collector.
Please do not republish the story and/or photographs without permission of MotorCities National Heritage Area. For further information contact Robert Tate at btate@motorcities.org. If you have a story that you would like to donate to be featured as a MotorCities Story of the Week, email Lisa Ambriez at lambriez@motorcities.org.
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