Ford and Henry - History (page 2)
In 1914 Henry Ford gave an enormous shock to the whole world , when he raised the wages for his workers to an unheard of $5.00 a day . This wage increase meant that Henry’s workers could afford to buy the automobiles that they built . These high wages attracted all the very best tradesmen to Henry’s company , looking for jobs . Workers did not want to leave these high paying jobs , so when they stayed longer , the workers gained more experience and so , could do better work and were faster . Training costs were lower because trained and experienced workers were staying at their jobs with Ford , for very long periods of time . Lower training costs were passed on to the customers in the form of lower price tags on Ford automobiles . These events also helped to increase productivity well maintaining the top quality that Henry Ford insisted on and that his vehicles were known for . Henry’s wise moves and dependable automobiles made the sales of Henry’s Model T ’s increase very rapidly . As sales increased along with the high productivity , Henry was able to bring the price of his automobiles down . As the price came down the sales increased even more rapidly . In 1908 a Ford automobile sold for about $850.00 which was very was a very reasonable price for that time . By 1916 Henry had managed to bring the price down to $350.00 for a base model .
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Sales of the model “T” reached 250,000 in 1914 and in 1916 470,000 were sold . By 1918 over ˝ of all the automobiles on the road were Model T Fords . Even the Dodge Brothers drove Model T Ford’s until they began producing their Dodge Brothers automobiles . Model T fords were built from 1908 until 1927 during which time over 15 million were sold . Henry Ford handed the presidents position to his son , Edsel Ford in December of 1918 , but Henry still maintained control of the company and had last say in all maters .
In 1922 Henry Ford introduced the 8 hour work day (in place of twelve) and the five day work week in place of the 6 day week . In 1922 Henry Ford acquired the Lincoln Motor Company from the same , Henry Leland , that had taken over the Henry Ford Company and renamed it Cadillac . Lincoln became Ford Motor Company’s luxury automobile line .
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In 1927 the model T was finally replaced with a New Model “A” the time production of that model ended in 1931 over 4 million Model A’s were sold .
Henry re-assumed the presidents Position of the Ford Motor Company in 1943 , after the death of his son Edsel .
He passed the presidents position to his grandson , Henry Ford II in 1945 when Henry senor retired .
Henry ford acquired over 160 patents to his name , for his inventions and Designs .
In 1925 Henry Ford acquired the Stout Metal Airplane Company and went into the aircraft manufacturing business as well as the automobile business . The Ford Tri-Motor was a very big success of that time . From 1925 to 1933 ford built 199
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Tri-motor Airplanes . It was the first successful passenger aircraft and carried twelve to fifteen passengers and two pilots . The Tri-Motor was used by the US Army Flying Corp. , the US Navy , the Royal Canadian Air Force , and over 100 airlines .
Ford made a very large contribution to the WWII war effort by manufacturing Airplanes , Tank motors , Trucks and Jeeps . When the whole aviation industry could only produce one B24 Bomber per day , Henry ford how to produce them much quicker . Henry began production of B24’s at his Willow Creek Complex at a completion rate of one every hour . Pilots were camped at the door of the plant waiting to fly the planes away . The B24 Bomber was the most used Bomber for the Allied Forces in WWII and the rate that Henry Ford produced them is said to have changed the course of the war in favour of the Allied Forces and eventually to wan the war .
The Jeep that was designed by American Bantam was selected by the US Army and the Allied Forces as a personal transport utility vehicle . Ford was contracted to build the Jeeps , as well as Willys , as American Bantam did not have the facility to build the volume needed . As Ford had the facility to build them , Ford was able to build a large number in a very short time .
Henry Ford left the Ford Motor Company to his family , to operate . The vast personal fortune (billions) went to the Ford Foundation that Henry had founded . The Ford Foundation supplies grants for science and education as well as humanitarian and Charity purposes .
Henry Ford passed away in 1947 .
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The Ford Motor Company is still the largest family controlled company in the world today . They manufacture automobiles on all Continents and sell vehicles in 130 countries through out the world .
During the recession of 2008 and 2009 Ford was the only company to survive with no government assistance . The quality of their vehicles and some re-organization in the last few years is likely why they were in better position to weather that storm .
