Биография генри форда.

Знаменитый автопроизводитель Генри Форд родился 30 июля 1863, на ферме его семьи в округе Уэйн, под Дирборном, штат Мичиган. Когда Форду было 13 лет, его отец, подарил ему карманные часы, которые маленький мальчик постоянно разбирал и собирал. Друзья и соседи были очень удивлены и часто обращались с просьбами отремонтировать их часы.

Невпечатлившись сельскохозяйственной работой, Форд покинул дом в возрасте 16 лет, для обучения роботе машиниста в Детройте. На протяжении следующих лет он научился умело управлять и обслуживать паровые двигатели, а также изучил бухгалтерское дело.

Ранняя карьера

В 1888 Форд женился на Кларе Але Брайант(Clara Ala Bryant) и временно возвратился к сельскому хозяйству, чтобы прокормить его жену и сына, Эдселя. Но три года спустя, он был нанят в качестве инженера в Edison Illuminating Company. В 1893 его природный таланты позволил ему вырости до главного инженера.

Все время Форд вынашивал свои планы относительно безлошадного экипажа, и в 1896, он построил свою первую модель, Ford Quadricycle. В этом же году он встретился с руководителями Edison Company и представил свои автомобильные наработки лично Томасу Эдисону, который поощрил Форд на строительство второй, улучшенной модели.

Ford Motor Company

После нескольких испытаний конструкции автомобиля, в 1903, Генри Форд учредил Ford Motor Company. Форд представил Model T в октябре 1908, и в течение нескольких последующих лет, компания добилась 100-процентной прибыли.

Еще больше Форд стал известным благодаря своим революционным видением производства недорогого автомобиля, сделанного квалифицированными рабочими, которые зарабатывают устойчивую заработную плату.

В 1914 он спонсировал развитие передвижной ленты сборочного конвейера для массового производства. Одновременно, он вводил заработную плату в размере 5$ в день (эквивалент 110$ в 2011) как в результате чего он стремился сохранить лояльность лучших рабочих к своей компании. Простые в управлении и дешевые в ремонте, именно поэтому половина всех автомобилей в Америке в 1918 была Ford Model T.

Философия, филантропия и антисемитизм

С социальной точки зрения Генри Форд имел, на первый взгляд, противоречащие точки зрения. Форд учредил часть прибыли компании, сотрудникам, проработавшим в компании более шести месяцев и, самое важное тем, кто провел их жизни респектабельным способом.

“Социальный отдел компании” изучал вредные привычки, тягу к азартным играм и другие негативные стороны кандидатов, при вынесении решения относительно приема на работу. Форд был ярым пацифистом и противником Первой мировой войны, даже финансировал мирные судна в Европу. Позже, в 1936, Форд и его семья основывали Ford Foundation, для выделения грантов на исследования, образование и развитие. Но несмотря на эти филантропические склонности, Форд был также преданным антисемитом, всеми способами поддерживающий еженедельную газету The Dearborn Independent, которая придерживалась таких же взглядов.

Генри Форд умер 7 апреля 1947, в возрасте 83 лет от кровоизлияния в мозг, недалеко от его Дирборнского поместья, Фэр-Лейн(Fair Lane). Генри Форд является одним из самых великих бизнесменов Америки. Очень сложно переоценить его вклад в развитие американской экономики в период её становления. Его наследие будет жить еще в течение многих десятилетий.

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Henry Ford (30.07.1863 - 07.04.1947) - American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company.

Henry Ford was born on 30 July 1863 near Detroit. His father, William, was born in Ireland and his mother, Mary, was born in Michigan. Her parents were Belgian immigrants. Mary had adoptive parents because her birth parents died. She was adopted by the O’Herns family. They were the neighbors of Mary. There were five children in the family of William and Mary: Henry, Margaret, Robert, William and Jane.

When Henry was young he received a pocket watch from his father. At the age of fifteen he took to pieces and reassembled the timepieces of his pals many times and they knew him as a watch repairman.

In 1876 Henry’s mother died and he felt low. His father wanted him to go round the farm but Henry abhorred farm work.

Three years later Henry Ford began to work as an apprentice machinist in Detroit. In 1882 he arrived in Dearborn and began to work for Westinghouse company where he maintained steam engines.

In 1888 Ford married Clara Ala Bryant. They had their only son: Edsel Ford.

Three years after marriage Henry became an engineer in the Edison Illuminating Company. In 1893 he became Chief Engineer. Since then Henry Ford started to work on gasoline engine. Consequently in 1896 he developed a self-propelled vehicle which was called the Ford Quadricycle. Afterwards Ford created different improvements for his invention.

In 1896 Henry Ford made the acquaintance of Thomas Edison who endorsed the experiments of Ford. With the assistance of Edison Henry Ford created a new vehicle in 1898. Later he left his job and established the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899. But Henry Ford was not satisfied because the vehicles produced there were of a lower quality and expensive. Eventually the enterprise was not successful and it was abolished in 1901.

Ten months later encouraged by C. Harold Wills Henry Ford developed a 26-horsepower automobile which was successfully tested. As a result stockholders of the Detroit Automobile Company founded the Henry Ford Company in 1901 where Henry Ford was a chief engineer. In 1902 he left the company because a new consultant was hired there. Afterwards the company was renamed. It was called the Cadillac Automobile Company.

Cooperating with Tom Cooper, who was a racing cyclist, Henry Ford created the 80+ horsepower racer “999”. Consequently Henry established contact with his old friend Alexander Y. Malcomson with whom he founded a company “Ford & Malcomson, Ltd.” to produce automobiles.

In 1908 Henry Ford designed a new automobile called Model T. The vehicle was inexpensive and simple to drive. Moreover the steering wheel was on the left. This car was a great success.

In 1926 Henry Ford decided to create a new model because the sales of Model T were slow. He worked on technical improvements and his son designed the body. This model was introduced in 1927. As the Model T, Model A was a great success.

From 1918 to 1943 his son, Edsel, was a president of Ford Motor Company. In 1943 he died of cancer and his father became a president again but his health left much to be desired. Henry Ford was a president of Ford Motor Company until the end of war.

Henry Ford died in 1947 at the age of 83. He was interred in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit.

Топик Генри Форд рассказывает об американском промышленнике, владельце заводов по производству автомобилей по всему миру, изобретателе и авторе 161-го патента США. Его лозунгом были слова: “Автомобиль – для всех”, и завод Форда выпускал наиболее дешевые автомобили в начале эпохи автомобилестроения. Форд известен тем, что впервые стал использовать промышленный конвейер для поточного производства автомобилей. Генри Форд родился в семье эмигрантов из Ирландии, проживавшей на ферме в окрестностях Детройта. Когда ему исполнилось 16 лет, он уехал работать в Детройт, а в 1891-1899 годах уже исполнял обязанности инженера-механика, а позже и главного инженера в “Электрической компании Эдисона”. В 1893 году, в свободное от работы время, сконструировал свой первый автомобиль. С 1899 по 1902 год был совладельцем “Детройтской автомобильной компании”, а в 1903 году основал “Форд Мотор Компани”, существующую по сей день. В 1914 году Форд ввел самую высокую в США минимальную заработную плату – 5 долларов в день, допустил рабочих к участию в прибылях компании, построил образцовый рабочий поселок, но вплоть до 1941 года не разрешал создавать профсоюзы на своих заводах. Форд был одним из первых, кто реализовал на практике идеи “капитализма благосостояния”, направленные на улучшение условий жизни рабочих и на сокращение текучести кадров. Форд оставил личное состояние, которое оценивается в 500 – 700 млн. долларов, завещав большую его часть в “Форд Мотор Компани”, Фонд Форда и другим некоммерческим организациям.

Ford, Henry (1863-1947), American industrialist, best known for his pioneering achievements in the automobile industry.

Ford was born on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan, on July 30, 1863, and educated in district schools. He became a machinist’s apprentice in Detroit at the age of 16. From 1888 to 1899 he was a mechanical engineer, and later chief engineer, with the Edison Illuminating Company. In 1893, after experimenting for several years in his leisure hours, he completed the construction of his first automobile, and in 1903 he founded the Ford Motor Company.

In 1913 Ford began using standardized interchangeable parts and assembly-line techniques in his plant. Although Ford neither originated nor was the first to employ such practices, he was chiefly responsible for their general adoption and for the consequent great expansion of American industry and the raising of the American standard of living.

By early 1914 this innovation, although greatly increasing productivity, had resulted in a monthly labor turnover of 40 to 60 percent in his factory, largely because of the unpleasant monotony of assembly-line work and repeated increases in the production quotas assigned to workers. Ford met this difficulty by doubling the daily wage then standard in the industry, raising it from about $2.50 to $5. The net result was increased stability in his labor force and a substantial reduction in operating costs. These factors, coupled with the enormous increase in output made possible by new technological methods, led to an increase in company profits from $30 million in 1914 to $60 million in 1916.

In 1908 the Ford company initiated production of the celebrated Model T. Until 1927, when the Model T was discontinued in favor of a more up-to-date model, the company produced and sold about 15 million cars. Within the ensuing few years, however, Ford’s preeminence as the largest producer and seller of automobiles in the nation was gradually lost to his competitors, largely because he was slow to adopt the practice of introducing a new model of automobile each year, which had become standard in the industry. During the 1930s Ford adopted the policy of the yearly changeover, but his company was unable to regain the position it had formerly held.

In the period from 1937 to 1941, the Ford company became the only major manufacturer of automobiles in the Detroit area that had not recognized any labor union as the collective bargaining representative of employees. At hearings before the National Labor Relations Board Ford was found guilty of repeated violations of the National Labor Relations Act. The findings against him were upheld on appeal to the federal courts. Ford was constrained to negotiate a standard labor contract after a successful strike by the workers at his main plant at River Rouge, Michigan, in April 1941.

Early in 1941 Ford was granted government contracts whereby he was, at first, to manufacture parts for bombers and, later, the entire airplane. He thereupon launched the construction of a huge plant at Willow Run, Michigan, where production was begun in May 1942. Despite certain technical difficulties, by the end of World War II (1945) this plant had manufactured more than 8000 planes.

Ford was active in several other fields besides those of automobile and airplane manufacturing. In 1915 he chartered a peace ship, which carried him and a number of like-minded individuals to Europe, where they attempted without success to persuade the belligerent governments to end World War I. He was nominated for the office of U. S. senator from Michigan in 1918 but was defeated in the election. In the following year he erected the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit at a cost of $7.5 million. In 1919 he became the publisher of the Dearborn Independent, a weekly journal, which at first published anti-Semitic material. After considerable public protest, Ford directed that publication of such articles be discontinued and that a public apology be made to the Jewish people.

Advancing age obliged Ford to retire from the active direction of his gigantic enterprises in 1945. He died on April 7, 1947, in Dearborn. Ford left a personal fortune estimated at $500 to $700 million, bequeathing the largest share of his holdings in the Ford Motor Company to the Ford Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

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Henry Ford was a genius in many aspects of our everyday life. He changed industry, production, and everybody"s lifestyle. Many people know about him inventing some of the first automobiles, but what came out of it for America was a new encouragement for technology and an easier lifestyle for the average American.

Also Henry Ford has changed the perspective of industries around the world. His invention of the assembly line and his five-dollar a day wage for the average worker brought about a total new change in factories. Ford"s style and ingenuity helped America to be more prosperous and created a large amount of opulence for America in the early 1900"s, all because of one man"s creativity and determination to achieve a dream that would help out the common man and the entire world.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863, on a farm a few miles from Detroit. As a boy Henry was very creative and liked to work with tools. However, he hated doing chores and he always wanted to make things easier to do in life. This would be Henry"s motto in life, always wanted to make things easier to do in life, at home or work. Ford was so creative that in 1893, he built his first engine and in 1896, he completed what he called the quadricycle, which ran for several years and sold it for $200. Ford had his second car finished in 1898 which was lighter and stronger than most cars around then. Soon enough many automobile companies were looking for somebody like Ford to help get their company going.

However, Ford would go into automobile racing and then build his own car company. Ford"s years in automobile racing was his way to improve the car and a chance to test it under competition. Soon though, he would get out of racing by a tough minded and ambitious James Couzens, who developed plans for a car company.

Couzens was able to start out the company with $28,000 in cash, and $21,000 in notes. The Ford Motor Company came out with the model A, the model B, and the model K in their beginning years. However, most of these cars were too expensive for the common man. So Ford decided that he would make a car that was affordable to the ordinary worker. For a few years, Ford and his technicians began building their next and most important car in history. In 1908, Ford brought out for the first time the Model T. It was an ugly car, seven feet high with false doors and a crank. Even though it was ugly and simple, it was modern and affordable.

Actually, it was ahead of it"s time. The car could generate it"s own electricity for ignition and it had a planetary transmission which allowed women and children to drive it. It was easy to operate and had the most efficient gasoline gauge of it"s time. The greatest thing that came out from the Model T, was it"s influence in all of America. Since the Model T was the first affordable car, which reached a low of only $260 in 1925, it allowed the average American to own a car now. One thing the Model T helped in was the improvement of the roads. With more people out on the roads, many roads were now being paved, and highways and bridges were being built for cars. Also farmers saw the Model T effective, soon the rural population was brought into the mainstream of technology. It was such a popular car, that over fifteen million were sold all over the world. However, the most important thing the Model T did, was it"s impact on connecting the people of America.

Bridges, roads, and highways were starting to be built for automobiles. Women were starting to leave the house now more because the Model T was easy to drive. Families could now go on trips and see America. Access to places was easier now, which led to the building of more stores, restaurants, and companies. This car was such a great impact, that the lifestyle we know today was created a lot by one automobile. The Model T, was the most affordable car of it"s time, but how Ford was able to make it so affordable was by his production ingenuity. The one greatest invention in industry is the assembly line. Henry Ford had a theory that if cars were manufactured all alike, they could be turned out in larger numbers at a lesser cost. That is why the Model T came only in black and they were all built the same way. Ford had the whole thing figured out. If they produced cars more inexpensively this would make them available to other people, which would lead to more cars bought. This would require better roads and create more customers which would lead to more cars bought and more reduced prices for cars.

However, Ford had to figure out a way to produce cars more inexpensively and quickly. Ford decided to install the moving belt. This allowed more than one man to try to put together a part for the car. As the belt moved along one man would have a certain job to do for that part, then it would move on to the next person. For example, the magneto would take one man twenty minutes to assemble it, but with the moving belt the process took only five minutes. Their first attempt to assemble an entire car by the assembly line was done by putting the frame on skids and pulling it from one of the building by a rope. As the frame moved along a group of workers walked by installing parts into the frame. Soon the number of man hours was reduced from 15 1/2 to 1 /2 hours. This fascinating process in industry led to the affordability of the Model T and the process in almost every industry, to produce their products quicker and easier. Ford"s ingenuity in industry was greater than just his inventions, but also his business-type approach to the workers. Ford knew that in 1913, there was growing tension from the 13,000 employees at Detroit.

Ford figured out a way to win their affection, he would buy it. On January 5, 1914, Ford announced his five-dollar a day wage for the workers, also he reduced the workday to eight hours. The average worker then in the U.S. made less than two-dollars a day. Many big industrialists thought he was dangerous and crazy. The publisher of the New York Times said " He"s crazy, isn"t he? Don"t you think he"s crazy?" Ford argued that good pay makes good workers, and well paid workers could buy more cars. Soon millions of men poured into Detroit to try to get a job.

Ford had the most effective way to keep his workers happy and still keep his company prosperous. He showed many industries how to run their company in a new style without losing any profits and the ability of increasing production also. Henry Ford was one of the most creative and determined people in the world. He had an attraction for the common people, to make their life easier and more simple. Ford did all this by the invention of the Model T.

Even tough, this was not the first car, this was the first affordable car. Also, without the assembly line and the five-dollar a day wage, the affordability of the Model T would not be accomplished. Many of Ford"s great accomplishments had changed the whole entire lifestyle of America and made it into what we know today.

The History Of The Ford Motor Company Essay, Research Paper

The History of The

Ford Motor Company

It all started with a dream, a dream for all families to own a car, a dream

man, Henry Ford.

Henry Ford was one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs in creating Ford

and the assembly line at the same time, it was his controversial

characteristics and unorthodox approach towards administrating the Ford Motor

Company which resulted

in the formation of one of the most successful corporations in the world. At

the turn of the century everything was booming, the growth of the economy and

stock market increased

the job opportunities as well as morals. As a result of this industrial

revolution, out of the woodwork came a humble yet driven man, Henry Ford.

Between the five dollar a day

plan, his policies on administrating the company, and his relations with his

Ford was often presented as a suspicious character. This controversial

behavior characterized the success of the company, it did not lead to his own

downfall as many suspect. The Anti-Semitic accusations, and the belief that Ford

was taking advantage of

his customers, were by far overshadowed by his brilliance and strong hand in

Of course, there were not always supporters of Henry Ford. If fact, there

many people who believed that Henry Ford was so controversial that it

prevented the potential of Fords from becoming greater than it is today. By the

mid twenties Ford was already the worlds most successful automobile company in

the world, but their great reputation would soon decline. Ford?s five dollars

a day pay plan for all employees signified the overwhelming success of the

company. Many believed this success was short-lived

with the new policies dealing with the workers which soon followed. With the

need to increase production and lower costs, in the mid 1930’s Ford cut all Ford

worker s wages in half, workers were expected to work faster, and harder,

department heads were ordered to ban all talking and whistling while work was in

progress. All of this was a plan by Ford

to make sure he knew every move of his workers, he was very possessive. Also,

began to fire older workers and hire younger ones, his ideology was that the

younger workers could work more productively and more efficiently, which in turn

would send more money flowing into his pockets. What resulted was quite humorous

in fact. Black hair

dye became a hot seller in the Detroit area. Older workers tried to disguise

their age by dying their hair black. Ford?s manipulation of his workers was

immoral and unjust.

There was no industrial democracy, workers were forced to do what they were

would be out of a job.

Henry Ford s controversial behavior reflected badly on himself and on the

Ford Motor Company. The Anti-Semitic views expressed by Henry Ford could never

be denied, it was common knowledge in fact that Henry Ford was prejudice, he

even wrote an article

in the Dearborn Independent expressing his ideas that Jews were the cause of

many peoples problems. Henry Ford was sued by a man by the name Aaron Sapiro in

the early 1930’s. Sapiro had evidence that Ford threatened himself with

Anti-Semitic sentiments. Ford was recorded as saying, ?Sapiro is a shrewd

little Jew, the bible says Jews will return to

Palestine, but they want to get all the money out of America first. Sapiro

should be kicked out because he is trash.? The result of the trial was

humiliation for the Ford company

and Henry Ford himself. After a hung jury in the first trial, the case was

dropped when Ford

wrote a lengthy retraction and apologized for his statements. Ford s was

profits and production among the worlds best, all as a result of Henry Ford s

ego. Therefore, by 1931 Ford lowered in the ranks, controlling only 28% of the

market 2nd to General Motors

Henry Ford was the godfather of the automobile industry in the early 1900 s.

The development of his River Rouge plant was considered a industrial cathedral,

hundreds waited month after month in front of the employment building hoping to

foreign immigrants it meant hope and a successful future. The River Rouge

over 50,000 employees, Pols, Lithuanians, Germans, almost every western

Europe country could be represented at the Ford Plant. Like a father Henry Ford

began educational programs, teaching his illiterate employees how to read

English, company picnics, and dinners were all part of Ford s policies that were

so unusual, yet so brilliant at that time.

Of the most controversial actions of Ford was his hiring of criminals, in

fact it was said that thousands of former criminals were taken on the Fords

payroll over the course

of the years, all at Mr. Fords Requests. Not only was this a highly

questionable decision, but it startled everyone. It was odd, especially when

there was such a demand to work

at Fords. Why would Henry Ford want to take the risk of hiring potentially

dangerous felons? Nobody would be able to answer this question better than Ford

s right hand man Harry Bennett. Bennett has said that Henry Ford was very

sympathetic towards criminals,

even that he would try and, in a sense, rehabilitate them. Not only did the

new workers please Henry Ford, but they also helped the company itself. Ford s

controversial new

policy of hiring criminals not only surprised the River Rouge workers, but it

swept across the nation. Many news articles were printed concerning Ford s

policies. In effect Ford

was receiving free advertising. Whether it was his intent or not, Ford s

ideas, sometimes eccentric helped market the company for the good. In 1914 Henry

Ford hired John R. Lee to update the companies labor policies. Five dollars a

day was to be split into half wages

and half profits. Ford employees would only receive profits when they met

specific standards of efficiency and were cleared by the sociology department.

On January 5, 1914 Henry Ford?s announcement of the incredible five dollar a

day plan swept the newspapers across the nation. The Detroit Journal announced,

The surprise of the labor leaders and

the consternation of manufacturers, Henry Ford announced on Jan 5, 1914 that

a minimum wage of five dollars a day would be instituted immediately in the Ford

plants, along with a profit sharing plan for all male employees.

Not only did Henry Ford?s new deal shock the nation, it sent a tremendous

of workers to Detroit. For the next ten years people would do anything to

become a worker of one of Henry Ford?s plants. It was unheard of to be offered

five dollars a day by any automobile company. In fact the average salary for

most was a mere two fifty a day at GM and Chrysler?s. But Henry Ford?s five

dollars a day plan was truly an illusion, it allowed for greater control of his

workers. It was said that The five dollar a day plan was an important early

attempt at implementing a corporate welfare program. Ford wanted to

see his company prosper, his employees were a part of this company. The

of the Sociology department would allow Henry Ford to exploit his employees

private lives. Employees were advised by investigators on how to live in order

to receive his/hers share of the profits. The result of this was a tight knit

community with no corruption. This department also monitored the daily

happenings in the plant. In fact, the department had over 1000 informers who

would notify the department if any stealing or illegal plans were taking place.

Social workers conducted extensive interviews on subjects ranging from household

finances to sexual patterns. It was stated at that time that, the intrusion into

workers lives, in the minds of Ford officials, was a small price to pay for

increased wages, efficiency, production, and in the end profits for the Ford

Many felt that this socialist system was infringing upon the democratic

the workers specifically the right to privacy. Observers claimed that workers

were forced to act like robots in order to keep their jobs, but this was not the

case. Henry Ford created the

stability and order that any corporation needed to succeed in the early 20th

century. Some may say that Ford was a sort of father to the workers he employed.

After all, a father is always harshest to the ones he cares for most. And that

was what Henry Ford was.

The financial success was extraordinary. By 1914 Ford s had over 600 cars

daily rolling off the assembly line. Between 1914 and 1921 earnings soared from

25 million to 78 million.

All of Ford?s effort s and expectations came to a pinnacle when, at the

close of 1923 there were 6,221 passengers cars in the city of Detroit, one for

every 6.1 persons. Of these 6,221 cars, 41% were Fords.

Henry Ford was not a greedy man, his sometimes unorthodox behavior and

policies epitomized the success of the company. Throughout the depression he

offered a sense of hope for his

employees. By offering jobs to outcasts he became very controversial, but he

had reasons. Ford wanted his workers to be moral citizens, people that could

offer The Ford Motor Company loyalty, leadership, and trust. A result of this

was the financial success of the company. Henry Ford knew what he had to do in

order to accomplish his goals. Ford knew he might not always be accepted in the

community, he also knew that this was the risk he had to take. It was all clear

when he said, ?We re going to expand this company, and you will see it grow by

leaps and bounds.?

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company entered the business world without fanfare on June 17,

1903, when Henry Ford and 11 associates filed incorporation papers in the state

of Michigan. With an abundance of faith but only $28,000 in cash, the pioneering

industrialists gave birth to what was to become one of the world’s largest

corporations. Few companies are as closely identified with the history and

development of America throughout the 20th century as Ford Motor Company, and

perhaps no other American firm is as well known around the globe.

At the time of its incorporation, Ford Motor Company was a tiny operation in

a converted Detroit wagon shop staffed with about 10 people. By the end of 1913,

just 10 years later, the company was producing half the cars in the United

States. Paralleling Ford Motor Company’s domestic growth was a foreign expansion

program that began just one year after the company was formed. On August 17,

1904, the first foreign branch, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd., was

incorporated in Walkerville, Ontario. Production at this modest new plant began

>From this small beginning grew a global network of manufacturing and

assembly plants, sales operations, parts depots and dealers, with Ford Motor

Company represented in more than 200 nations and territories spanning six

Today, Ford Motor Company is the world’s largest producer of trucks and the

second-largest producer of cars. The company has operations in more than 30

countries, and employs more than 340,000 men and women at its factories,

laboratories and offices around the world. Additionally, about 60,000 companies

worldwide supply Ford Motor Company with goods and services. The company’s

annual sales exceed the gross national products of many industrialized nations.

In 1998, Ford Motor Company sold more than 6.8 million vehicles worldwide. In

As with most great enterprises, Ford Motor Company’s beginnings were modest.

The company had anxious moments in its infancy, balancing precariously on the

brink of bankruptcy until cash inflows from sales began. The earliest record of

a shipment is July 20, 1903, approximately one month after incorporation, to a

Detroit physician. With the company’s first sale came hope. A worried group of

stockholders, warily eyeing a bank balance that had dwindled to $223.65,

breathed more easily, and a young Ford Motor Company had taken its first sure

steps. During the next five years, Henry Ford, as chief engineer and later as

president, directed a development and production program that started in a

converted wagon shop on Mack Avenue in Detroit and later moved to a larger

building at Piquette and Beaubien streets. In the company’s first 15 months,

1,700 Model A cars chugged out of the old wagon shop.

In 1988, Ford Motor Company made a strategic decision to develop a new global

car. Engineers in Europe, the United States, and other design and development

centers were already increasingly combining their resources on existing programs

with significant results. The similarities between the various world markets

also were growing, as legislation reached new levels of harmony and car buyers

on different continents found their product tastes and motoring needs were less

different than they had been in the past. And so, the mid-size family car

program known as CDW27 was developed for many countries. It was named Mondeo in

Europe, Taiwan, and the Middle East. Slightly modified, it went on sale in North

America as Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique. The Model T was designed for

simplicity. The Ford CDW27, on the other hand, was a highly sophisticated car

with two all-new, state-of-the-art, high-output engines; a new electronically

controlled transmission; new electronic traction control; air bags; anti-lock

brakes and other technological refinements desired by customers. CDW27 became

the prototype for a new approach to product development that is both highly

efficient and customer-driven a global «platform strategy» that uses

many common components to produce vehicles that are widely differentiated to

meet the varying needs of different regions. This program proved that true

globalization was possible, and that customer-focused teams were the way of the

competitive future.

Currently Ford Motor Company is ranked second on the Fortune 500 list of the

largest U.S. industrial corporations, based on sales. In 1998, worldwide sales

and revenues totaled $142.6 billion. Net income, excluding one-time items, was

$6.5 billion. Although Ford Motor Company is best known as a manufacturer of

cars and trucks, it produces other products, including industrial engines,

glass, plastics, and a wide range of automotive components. Ford also is

established in many other businesses-including financial services, automotive

replacement parts, and electronics. In 1997, the company created Visteon, a

wholly owned enterprise of Ford Motor Company, to explore and expand the market

for components around the world.

On November 1, 1993, Alex Trotman became chairman and chief executive officer

of Ford Motor Company. Born and raised in England and educated in Scotland,

Trotman had a world view. He spent the first half of his Ford career in product

planning in Europe, where he played a key role in establishing Ford of Europe.

Within three weeks of his appointment as Ford Motor Company chairman and CEO,

Trotman initiated a year long series of studies and development efforts to

further globalize the company. The results of this effort led to Ford 2000. Ford

2000 is an initiative that became effective on January 1, 1995, and began with

the consolidation of Ford’s North American and European operations. It continues

with a commitment to bring the entire Ford worldwide organization into a single

operation by the year 2000.

Ford 2000 created a global management team. This has allowed the company to

eliminate duplication, initiate best practices, use common components and

designs for the advantage of scale, and allocate resources wherever they are

needed to best serve market needs. Ford 2000 combines the power, resources, and

reach of a world company with the immediacy, intimacy, agility, and spirit of a

small one. In October 1999, the company announced plans to take Ford 2000 to the

next level by creating strategic business units that complement its global scale

and structure. These new units add a brand and regional influence that will

allow the company to better connect with consumers.

As Ford Motor Company approaches its second century and the new millennium, a

member of the Ford family again holds a top leadership position. William Clay

Ford, Jr., a great-grandson of Henry Ford, was elected chairman by the board of

directors, effective January 1, 1999. The board elected Ford Automotive

Operations President Jacques Nasser as president and chief executive officer,

also effective January 1, 1999. The changes coincided with the retirement of

Trotman, who had served as chairman, CEO and president during his 43 years of

service to Ford. Ford Motor Company is committed to fully utilizing the rich

diversity of its human resources. Company leadership believes that diversity

will be the engine that powers the creative energy of corporations of the 21st

century. Successful companies will be those that are able to draw on the diverse

talents of their people to stay on the innovative and competitive edges of their

Ford Motor Company started this century, with a single man envisioning

products that would meet the needs of people in a world on the verge of

high-gear industrialization. The company is ending the century with a worldwide

organization that retains and expands Henry Ford’s heritage by developing

products that serve the varying and ever-changing needs of people in the global