Henry Ford Biography (Founder Of Ford)

Henry Ford Biography :

Henry                    Ford      (1863–1947)     was               an industrialist  who   changed     the     face        of automobile          manufacture        in      America, becoming     the    epitome              of         American Capitalism. He lent his  name to ‘Fordism – efficient mass production.

Henry Ford Early Life

henry-fordHenry  Ford   was born     in   1863 on a farm in rural Michigan,  near  Detroit. From    an      early             age,  he     expressed   an interest in  mechanical   devices.  He      was given   a   pocket  watch     at   the   age   of 15, and   he  developed a   reputation for  being an experienced watchmaker.

Shortly after      his mother     passed       away, Henry          left       the          family         farm to       seek employment  in    Detroit.     He    worked       his way    up  to      becoming   an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company. By 1893 he had      become   chief   engineer  and gained the     recognition and   encouragement        of Thomas      Edison.  Henry      Ford  retained a deep          affection      for                  Thomas    Edison throughout his life.

It            was      working           as   chief   engineer at Edisons    that   he   was  able  to    work on    a petrol   drive quadricycle.  His   testing was successful,                 and    this     enabled    him  to develop  the   quadricycle into a  small car; this       proved         the   basis for    the     famous Model    T     motor     car introduced  in  1908. The  Ford Motor Company was formed  in 1903 with       the  backing of   $28,000   from various investors.

Working Practices of Henry Ford

Henry     Ford          astonished         the  industrial world   by  offering        a  daily   wage  of    $5  a day.   Even  by       todays  prices    that  was     a very  good         salary.      This wage    was         far above   what anywhere   else   offered. At  a stroke,     it solved   the   problem    of      labour turnover            and                  encouraged   the      best workers   to       come         and  work    for       Ford. Through  paying high  wages,     Ford         was able         to  encourage    the    highest  level   of labour               productivity. Although                 many criticised   his     seemingly       over-generous pay, he also          pointed          out,  that the high wage  helped   the   workers to  be    able       to afford the cars they were making.

However, Henry Ford  was   hostile     to   the role of trades unions.  For  a long time,  he battled           against    the             trades             unions, refusing        to     have   anything     to  do them. However,  by   1941,        with   the  workers on strike,     his    wife               encouraged              him   to capitulate   to          the   United   Auto    Workers (UAW).

It                     was            Henry                        Ford            who    also revolutionised                            the         production    line processes.   He        helped        to      develop   the assembly  line  method of  production and was  always         seeking     to             cut               costs. Although he  did not  ‘invent the assembly line,    he    did     make     one      of                  the    most successful   commercial   applications      of its      potential. This   led   to his     decision to give    customers    any  colour they   choose so long as it was black.

“Any       customer    can   have  a    car painted any color       that he wants  so long  as it      is black.” – My Life and Work (1922) 

The  motive          for   insisting  on black      was because black was the quickest colour to dry and therefore the cheapest.

The   impact  of the   assembly    line was to help            reduce   the cost       of   the      Model   T motor       car.     It     helped   Ford    become  the dominant  firm    in the   motor car industry. An estimation from 1932 suggested Ford was     producing     33%                  of the              worlds automobile production.

Henry          Ford       had     a    dislike   of    war.    He helped to fund  a   peace ship to Europe  in 1915  and        spoke  out against the   ‘vague financiers  who  encourage  war. He  never really     got involved    in the      Second  World War    effort,   though     he            allowed         other officials      in                             the  Ford           company   to transform Ford    into   one   of       the  biggest military plane builders in the war.

Henry    Ford  also subscribed    to        various anti-semitic pamphlets. Although he later apologised      for some   of  his  anti-semitic views,   Adolf  Hitler    admired  Henry   Ford. Ford    is    the    only foreigner  mentioned   in Mein      Kampf. Hitler wanted   Volkswagen to mirror   the  production techniques   and philosophy of Ford Motor company.

Henry  Ford  was  also   noted  for   some  of his                     inspirational               self-improvement quotes  –    emphasising  hard             work  and self-sufficiency.

“You will find men who want to be carried on      the  shoulders          of  others,   who  think that the world  owes   them      a  living. They dont   seem  to  see      that  we  must       all   lift together and pull together.”

As quoted in  Wisdom and Inspiration   for the   Spirit       and  Soul           (2004)   by         Nancy Toussaint

Towards            the    end  of  his      life,  he   spent considerable time with his friend Thomas Edison,    who   moved        into      West Orange, New Jersey.