The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-12-10
RADICAL CHANGES
PLANNED BY FORD
New Sort Of Cotton Mill
ArouSeS Manufacturers
Interest

interest
Southern textile manufacturers are
Henry Ford for the establishment
of cotton mill at Detroit for the
manufacture of fabrics that go into
the building of automobiles.
The main problems of the engi-
neers who are to build the Ford
plant. it Is said, is the reduction of
labor, power and waste and better
utilization of floor space.
| An article in the current issue of
Builders the house journal of
| Lockwood, Greene & Co., construc-
| tion engineers, who have the contract
for the new Ford plant, discusses the
subject in detail. In an editorial
note accompanying the article, Ken
meth Moller, director of the COM
pany, says:
There is no question that the cot
ton manufacturing process readily
lends itself to- the Ford methods. 1t
| is impossible for US to say, yet, ex-
actly how Mr.. Ford will be manu-
featuring cotton goods after the ex-
perinaents we are now conducting for
him have been completed. Already
one experiment has led to another
and the new mill, as laid out today,
| is SO radically unlike any other
that any manufacturer, with the ex-
ception of Mr.. Ford, doubtless would
hesitate to attempt to make In 1t
the intended product.
Much can be done toward stand
ardizing cotton manufacturing pro-
cesses Much can be done toward
making those processes continuous,
| and toward reducing the waste maze.
| the power and labor consumed, ana
| the floor space utilized.
New England especially should be
| interested in such developments, as
| on their successful outcome prob
ably depends the salvation of the
textile industry there. New England,
admittedly, can compete in every
phase of cotton manufacturing ex-
cept as to labor costs. Our main OBJ
| jective in this Ford cotton mill is the
elimination of labor. 1 can conceive
! of no more interesting problems In
textile manufacturing than this one;
nor can / conceive of any Whlch
| holds in it greater possibilities for
constructive work.
The Plans.
"Briefly. the Ford Motor company
has commissioned Lockwood, Greene
| e. Co. to lay out, in building known
as the Aviation building, which has
been set aside for the purpose In
| Detroit the first unit of a mill which
will make the cloth that Is used as
the backing for the artificial
leather for both seats and tops In
Ford cars. About $4,000 square feet
of space in this building will be de-
voted to the process, which includes
carding, spinning, weaving and dye
| ing.
"The completed mill will contain.
roughly, 1900 spinning spindles and
l
with all the necessary preparatory
and finishing machinery and a dye
house. The capacity of the plant on
| a day run of As hours a week Will
be approximately $4,000 pounds. Kun
ming three shifts, the mill vii! pro-
duce approximately $1,000 pounds per
| week.
1The cloth to be manufactured is a
53-inch sateen, running LOS yards to
| the pound and made of lbs warp and
9s filling yarns.
"a large amount of experimental
work already has been undertaken
| and much more Is yet to be done pc
fore final methods and machinery
| are decided upon, definitely LOCK
| wood, Greene 6, Co.'S problem from
| the start has been to make the pro-
cess at the Ford plant as nearly con-
| tinuous and as automatic as possible,
1 provided, of course that all De
| partures from established practlces
| and all changes in equipment snoulo
| result In the conservation OF labor
| and a reduction in the cost of manu-
! facture. Everything now points 70
a process which will be substantially
| as follows:
The Process.
"The raw cotton will go first to
| bale breaker, next through two YER
| teal openers, set in tandem, and then
| directly to the cards. Each of these
| machines will be fed automatically
from the preceding machine and the
cards will deliver the stock directly
| to the back of the drawing frames
| and thence to the slubbers.
s.Those who are familiar with the
I cotton manufacturing process VIII
| observe two radical departures from
| common practice, up to this point
! first. the marked abbreviation Of the
| process by the elimination of picking
! and second, the avoidance Of the
| handling of the cotton by human
| hands from the time 1t enters the
| bale breaker until 1t Is delivered TO
| the backs Of the slubbers.
! After one process of drawing the
| cotton will pass through the follow
| ing machines: A slubber, one process
| of rowing, spinning, spooling, warp
| ing, slashing and weaving. the
! weaving Will De uOno On au.oiio -
| looms. -,
"The cloth taken off the looms will
| be inspected and will then pass d.
rectly to a department adjacent 70
| the weaving room where 1t VIII pe
| singed de-sized, washed, dried, dyed
dried again and tentered. The clotr
| will then be ready for the coating.
4. Automatic convsyors will be used
! throughout the plant. Wherever 1t is
! possible to couple two processes to-
! gether, that will sbe done; for In
! stance, the smuggling and the de-siz'
| ing processes will be SO coupled
| also, the washing and the first dry
! ing processes.
$50 much for the facts of the situa-
| ton To anyone at all familiar with
| cotton manufacturing the revolution
j ary character of the Ford process Is
apparent. =.
| Co. who have had a hand In this
| work for the Ford Motor company
look upon it as q singular opportun-
| ity to render a distinct contribution
| to the advancement of the textile in
! dustry. To be able to join Mr.. Ford
| in this, his most recent courageous
experiment looking toward the build
| ing up of etter production methods
| and the breaking down of barriers
| to progress in industrial life, Is to
| put it mildly a great opportunity.
"If the Ford Motor company to-
| gether with Lockwood, Greene d Co
| can produce cloth more efficiently
| and more economically than that
| same cloth has been produced in the
| past they will have rendered a gen
~ n