Henry Ford

In the field of industry , there have been people of great importance who have managed to create a change of great importance in the area. One of these industrialists who managed to revolutionize factory production thanks to the invention of his assembly line was undoubtedly Henry Ford . A character who with his work, managed to create a powerful industry and that changed the way in which the economic and social character of the United States was perceived .

What did

Henry Ford was the man who managed to revolutionize industry and transportation in an important way . He is considered to be the father of Fordism , a production system that focused on the manufacture of a large number of cars at a very low cost through chain production . He managed to register a total of 161 patents and was also the founder and owner of the Ford Motor company , one of the most famous companies that made him become one of the most famous entrepreneurs and millionaires in the world.

Henry Ford Biography

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 , the son of an English family that had lived for a long time in Ireland , a farm located in the western part of Detroit, United States . His parents, William and Mary Ford , owned a prosperous farm in Dearborn . From a very young age he had a great passion for mechanics and at an early age he had already learned to operate engines. During his teenage years, his mechanical skills increased considerably and he had also gained a reputation by repairing watches. After the death of his mother, he decided to leave the farm and move to Detroit to learn mechanics , where he worked withJames F. Flower & Bros and then Detroit Dry Dock Co.

Contracted marriage in the year 1888 with Clara Bryant and son, had Edsel Ford . In 1891 he moved to Detroit to start working as a mechanic for the Edison Illuminating Company , where he managed to reach the headquarters. Thanks to this, he managed to use his money to do several experiments that led him to invent a self-propelled vehicle, which he called a quadricycle .

After this success, several investors joined him and created the Detroit Automobile Company , however, the company went bankrupt because Ford continued trying to improve its prototype and did not care about sales. This is how he decided to create the Henry Ford Company. In 1902 it affected its new investors due to the same situation and for this reason, they decided to look for someone else to manufacture the cars. Faced with this situation, Ford decided to resign. It was in this way that then, he decided to found his own company.

Death

Henry Ford passed away on April 7, 1947 when he was 83 years old in Fair Lane. The cause of his death was attributed to a brain hemorrhage . His body is found in Detroit’s Ford Cemetery.

Ford Motor Company founded

After several unsuccessful attempts, Ford decided to try to start a factory in a third attempt to move forward, he created the Ford Motor Company which he founded on June 16, 1903 , by his side were eleven investors including the brothers John and Horace Dodge , who were dedicated to the manufacture of engines. However, the differences continued and the Dodge wanted a car model that was luxurious and high in price while Ford was looking for a simpler car and mainly that was cheap . These differences caused Ford to buy half of the shares.

Assembly line

Henry Ford was the one who was in charge of implementing the assembly line system in the United States with the aim of being able to assemble automobiles on a large scale. This made the automotive industry revolutionizes cheapening the cost in manufacturing and allowing the creation of a car that was within the reach of the middle class . The assembly line was invented during the Industrial Revolution and when it was applied for the first time in the North American country by Ford, it became known as Fordism .

Your system is focused on the production line in the reduction of costs that were related to production and the significant reduction in time used for production. The labor was done in small processes which in turn were specific , thus making the time the worker worked more flexible. It was a mechanism by means of which he managed to mechanize work , use assembly, and even unskilled labor.

Model T

The Ford Model T was a car that went on the market on October 1, 1908 after its production began on August 12, 1908 , a car that had a lot of innovations in its manufacture. The steering wheel was placed on the left side , its engine and transmission were closed , it had four cylinders that were located in a solid block and its suspension could work by means of two semi-elliptical springs . He was a very modeleasy to drive and even more to repair, however the most important thing was its price as it was very economical .

It was with this model that Ford managed to build a car that was within the reach of the middle class and also created mass consumption which caused an important change in the cities and in the life of the twentieth century. This car model is considered the first global car in the entire industry and by 1921 , approximately 57% of world car production was in the hands of the Ford T as it was even manufactured in other countries and was sold throughout from all continents.

Marketing

Ford understood an indispensable key to successful marketing : the needs and desires of its target market must determine the products and / or services that are offered and for this reason, it is also considered as the main character in the theory of mass marketing. At that time no one really wanted to buy cars but they did want to travel faster. So Ford made and sold what people already wanted; just in a different way.

Henry Ford inventions

His first invention was the quadricycle in 1898 which he sold to create a new prototype. He created in October of the year 1901 the Sweepstakes , a race car with 26 horsepower. His famous Model 7 was one of his most important inventions, a vehicle that was affordable for the middle class. He was the inventor of Fordism , a manufacturing movement that had a great impact on industry and society. In addition, he created a new form of advertising which helped him profit from marketing.

Studies

He completed his primary and secondary studies in Dearborn and then decided to move to Detroit to start learning mechanics at various companies.

Importance

Henry Ford was an important American automobile manufacturer because he was the one who created the Model T and because he managed to develop the mass production mode , which revolutionized the automobile industry. It was thanks to Ford who managed to build the economy of the United States during the early years of the nation, which were vulnerable and therefore is considered one of the leading businessmen in the United States.

Plays

Some works that were written by Henry Ford were the following:

• The International Jew , 1920.
• My life and work , 1922
• Today and tomorrow , 1926.
• Edison, as I met him , 1930

Phrases

Henry Ford mentioned several phrases throughout his great career that are remembered and applied today. Some of them were:

• The obstacles are the horrible things you observe when you take off your eyes off the goal.
• Thinking is the most difficult job there is, probably because of this, few dedicate themselves to it.
• A business that only makes money is a poor business.
• The secret to a successful life is finding our purpose and then putting it into practice.
• Nothing is difficult if you can divide it into small jobs .
• Don’t look for faults , find a solution .
• You don’t have to hold a position in order to become a leader .
• Quality is doing things correctly even when no one is looking.

Acknowledgments to Henry Ford

Some of his main recognitions were:

• Detroit Free Press printing plate honoring Henry Ford, July 30, 1938.
• Trophy presented to Henry Ford by the Naval Service School on the occasion of his birthday, 1941.
• Medal awarded to Henry Ford by the Illinois Manufacturers Association , 1930.
• Medal awarded to Henry Ford, in recognition of the first Ford car made in France , 1935.
• Distinguished Achievement Medal awarded by the American Petroleum Institute , 1946.
• King Haakon VII Medal of Freedom , awarded to Henry Ford, 1945.
• Henry Ford Medal for the students of the Henry Ford School of Commerce,

Presence in popular culture

Currently, it is possible to know and observe a large part of its history at the Henry Ford History Museum , one of the largest buildings in Dearborn in which the history of this great genius can be observed. In 2019 a film was made entitled Ford V Ferrari by director James Mangold in which Henry Ford is played by Tracy Letts.

Curiosities

Some curiosities of this incredible character were:

• He was the founder of the so-called ” efficiency wages ” to show that if workers received better pay, he could also earn more money.
• His first Ford Mustang was mistakenly sold at a car show. Two years later he managed to get it back, but not before having to exchange it for a copy that had a cost of one million dollars.
• In the beginning he worked with Tomás Edison.
• He never had accountants in his company because for him, it was more money that he stole than what they controlled.