Imperial Valley press., 1914-04-18
$40, ,OCO, 100000 YEARLY IN
AUTOMOBILE TIRES
Is the Yearly Tire Bill According to
w. c. Hendrie, President Of the w.
c. Hendrie Rubber Company, Of
Torrance, California.

G. Hendrie Rubber Company, Of
Torrance, California.
The yearly tire consumption Of the
Pacific Coast is S2O,O0O,O00.OO OF
this immense amount California fur
nishes the largest proportion and
Southern California is the big mar
ket of the state. Los Angeles Coun-
ty in turn is by far the biggest tire
user in Southern California and. Los
Angeles City is naturally the largest
consumer.
!. Thus Los Angeles j. the center Of
one of the greatest tire fields OF the
entire world. This is whs this section
is entering into the production Of
tires with such energy. w. c. Hen
drie, head of the w. C. Hendrie Rub
ber Company, recently reviewed the
tire situation Of the Pacific Coast and
told why Torrance was selected as
the site for the factory which now
has capacity of hundred and fifty
tires daily.
"Given the best market in the world
there's only one thing that bothers
/ me and that is why other manufac-
turers have not already located here
especially with the Panama Canal
ready to be opened, with the following
cheap water freight for rubber and
duck westbound and for manufactur-
ed tires that, through the Mississippi
and the waterways Of the East, can
reach practically every market with
out the payment Of heavy freight
rates." Hendrie said.
"When the rubber reaches our fac
tory it comes in crude form in what
I is known as Para rubber. It comes
to Los Angeles in $4,000 to $4,000
lots. We buy our duck in the same
large lots"
In the factory the rubber is put
through a mill and is thoroughly
ground In order to remove all forms
Of impurity that may have entered
the rubber in the crude form. A.
soon as the rubber is milled and wash
ed in the mechanical laundry it is
sent to the mixing room where it
goes through the only secret process
in the factory, for this is where the
chemicals necessary to harden it and
prevent the oil from cutting it are
added"
"The rubber is then dried in huge
steam -jacketed ovens and is prepared
for the web.
"The next stage in the manufacture
Of the Hndrie tire comes when the
rubber is run through the press with
the duck.
Eve use the largest press in the
world for this process. In order that
the extra heavy pressure given may
force the rubber into the duck and
not simply allow it to be daubed
over the surface. This makes the
tire one mass Of rubber and duck.
"rrom press the web goes to tire
making machines where the tires are
built up, layer by layer, and when the
treads are put on the finished tire is
wrapped in heavy canvas and put
in huge baking vault, the steam il
turned on and the materials are
cooked and melted into solil tire
mass under heavy pres .uys.
"When the tire is taken out the
mold is knocked off the finished tire
and it is ready for the market"
"When we began less than six
months ago we were equipped for fif-
ty tires day and were turning out
about forty. We are now equipped
for one hundred and fifty tires day
and working over time in order to
stretch this output to meet the de-
mand until we can get the necessary
equipment to increase the output. Our
payroll will be doubled or trebled
within the next year"
The w. C. Hendrie Rubber Company
opened its Imperial Valley branch a.
449 Main street last week with Roy
Norman as manager, and owing to
the increase in business at this branch
and at the branches in Denver, Colo
RADIO Springs, Salt Lake, San Francis
co and Los Angeles, it is necessary
for the factory to put on a twenty
four hour shift as soon as is possi-
bic. sas