Bio of Henry Ford Founder of Ford Motor Company

 

Henry Ford was not the inventor of the automobile (actually, no one single person was), but his innovations in assembly line technique and the introduction of standardized interchangeable parts produced the first mass-production vehicle manufacturing plant, paving the way for the cheap automobiles that turned the United States into a nation of motorists.

The first years were born on July 30, 1863, the first of the six children to farmers prospered in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford made several attempts to found his company. In 1903, with $28,000, eleven men, and Ford as vice president and chief engineer, the Ford Motor Company was formed.

They only produced three cars a day and had up to three men working on each. In 1908 the company produced the famous Model T, a reliable and affordable vehicle for the mass market. Ford has driven and competed with this vehicle at every opportunity to prove its reliability. In 1918, half of all cars in the United States were Model Ts. Assembly line innovation In response to growing demand, Ford built a new factory using standardized interchangeable parts and an assembly line based on conveyors.

The factory was able to build a car in just 93 minutes, producing around 1 million vehicles per year (one every 24 seconds). With this advancement in production, Ford was able to market to the public. The factory had everything it needed to construct the vehicles, including a steel mill, glass factory, and the first automobile assembly line. Management Style Ford had a complex, conflicting and strongly opinionated personality. Most of the company's struggles were linked to his stubborn management style. He refused to unionize with the United Automobile Workers, and to prevent his employees from doing so, he hired spies and company police to check in on his workers. When work on the assembly line proved overly monotonous and sent employee turnover rates to over 50%, he doubled the going wage to $5, buying back their loyalty and upping productivity.

Other Innovations and Inventions Ford was responsible for cutting the workday from nine hours to eight hours so that the factory could convert to a three shift workday and operate 24 hours a day. He also continued his engineering innovations, patenting a transmission mechanism in 1911 and a plastic bodied car in 1942. He also invented the first one-piece engine, the V8. Ford fought and won a patent battle with George B. Seen, to whom every American automaker had paid royalties for his "road engine" patent. Losing the top spot In the 1920s, General Motors and others began offering cars in a variety of colors with added features, giving credit, so consumers could afford them. Ford insisted on cutting costs by offering limited features and a single color (black).

But after losing the market to GM, the company shut down for several months to switch to the redesigned Model A. After that, Ford came out with the "V8". The vehicles were both successful, but the company remained overtaken by General Motors. Henry Ford died on April 7, 1947, and his chairmanship was sent to his Nephew Henry Ford II. Today Ford Motor Company is one of the world's leading consumer businesses for automotive products, including a widely recognized family of brands:"Failure is simply an opportunity to start over, this time in a smarter way.

" There is a rule for the industrialist, and it is: to make possible the best quality of goods at the lowest possible cost, by paying the highest possible wages. "Business is never as sound as when,

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