Henry Ford - Manufacturing Pioneer

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Early Life

Henry was born on a farm in Springwells Township, Michigan on July 30, 1863.

Though he finished eighth grade at a one-room school called Springwells Middle School, he never attended high school.

Significant events

Henry stated that two significant events took place when he was twelve that helped to turn his life around.

The first one was when Henry received a pocket watch from his father, sparking his interest in mechanics. 

The second event was the fact that Henry witnessed the operation of a Nichols and Shepard road engine. 

One year later from becoming intrigued by mechanics, Henry's mother died and he was expected to eventually take over the family farm.

Henry despised farm work, later stating that "I never had any particular love for the farm...it was the mother on the farm that I loved."

When Henry was sixteen years old, he left the farm at home to work his first job as an apprentice machinist in Detroit. 

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Talent awakened 

After returning to the family farm in 1882, Henry became skilled at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. 

He then built his own steam wagon and steam car in the farm's workshop.

Henry eventually completed his first motor-car powered by a two-cylinder four horsepower engine. 

Between 1895 and 1896, Henry successfully drove that machine approximately 1000 miles and was called the Ford Quadricycle.

Career development

Henry's first company, the Detroit Automobile Company, was founded on August 5, 1899.

Henry wasn't pleased with the quality and price of the cars, and eventually the company was dissolved in January 1901 due to low sales. 

This didn't stop him from his dream of building an affordable car that would change the automotive world.

In October 1901 Henry successfully designed, built and raced a 26-horsepower automobile.
Through this success and with the help of multiple investors, the Henry Ford Company was founded on November 30, 1901.

Ford left the company in 1902 and it got renamed to the Cadillac Automobile Company. 

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Ford Motor Company 

Henry teamed up with a former racing cyclist called Tom Cooper to produce an 80+ horsepower race car called 999. 

This car drove Barney Oldfield to a well deserved victory in a race in October 1902. 

Through these events, Henry got the backing of an old acquaintance, Alexander Y. Malcomson, and formed Ford & Malcomson, Ltd. to manufacture automobiles. 

Henry focused on designing inexpensive automobiles. The company had low sales, which resulted in the need to bring in new investors in 1903. 

Ford & Malcomson, Ltd. was re-incorporated as the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903. 

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Five-dollar wage

Henry surprised the world once more in 1914 because he offered a five-dollar wage, doubling the rate of many workers at his factory. 

This move by Henry proved to be very profitable, reducing employee turnover and attracting the best mechanics in Detroit. 

Henry's underlying vision was that employees would be able to afford the cars they produced, thus raising the production rate and local economy. 

Five-day work week

Henry also envisioned boosting productivity by introducing a five-day work week. 

Henry always believed that workers would put more effort into their work because of raised leisure time. 
More leisure time would result in more purchases and consumption of goods, which turned out to be correct. 

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Fordism 

The major success Henry had during his career resulted in the manufacturing system called Fordism. 

This method is used to improve productivity, mainly in the automotive industry, but can also be applied to all kinds of manufacturing processes. 

Fordism consists of the following three principles:

• Standardization of the product
• Employment of assembly lines 
• Higher wages 

Notable achievements  

In 1908 Henry created the first nationwide affordable automobile named Ford Model T 

In 1913 Henry introduced world's first moving assembly line, reducing production time from 12 hours to approximately 90 minutes.

During 1908 and 1927 more than 15 million model T's were sold globally 

By 1932 one-third of the world's automobiles were manufactured by Ford

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Henry Ford died on April 7, 1947, at the age of 83 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Henry Ford has left a lasting impact on the automobile and manufacturing industries. 

After his death, most of his wealth transferred to the Ford Foundation and left Ford Motor Company under control of his family.