Henry Ford was one of the most influential businessmen in history. Henry Ford was both an inventor and businessman who started the Ford Motor Company in 1903. Although he didn’t invent the car, he played an important role in making it affordable for everyone. The Model T and his moving assembly line changed manufacturing processes worldwide. Fortune magazine named Ford one of the most influential people of the past century. His story is, however, complicated because, while he was a remarkable builder and generous employer, he also fought against unions. Through this blog, let’s take a closer look at his life’s journey in detail.
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Henry Ford Quick Facts
- Full name: Henry Ford
- Born: July 30, 1863, on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan, USA
- Died: April 7, 1947, at age 83, in Dearborn
- Company: Ford Motor Company, incorporated June 16, 1903
- Famous for: The Model T and the moving assembly line
- Wife: Clara Jane Bryant (married 1888)
- Child: Edsel Ford
- Patents: 161 U.S. patents
Early Life: A Farm Boy Who Loved Machines
Henry was born into a family of farmers in Michigan. His father, William, immigrated from Ireland while his mother, Mary, was born in Michigan. Henry studied and completed his eighth grade in a classroom without walls and never attended high school after that.
Henry hated working on the farm. He was fascinated by machines. At the age of 12, he received a pocket watch as a gift, and by the time he was 15, he gained recognition as a watch repairer. When he turned 15, Henry made his first steam engine. In 1875, he saw a road vehicle running on an engine instead of being pulled by horses and kept the memory in mind. In 1879, he left his family to work as a machinist’s apprentice in Detroit.
Learning the Trade and Meeting Edison
Henry wed Clara Bryant on April 11, 1888. In 1891, he began his position as an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. The following year, he was promoted to chief engineer. This job provided him with a steady salary and enough free time to experiment with engines at home. In November 1893, his son Edsel was born.
In 1896, Henry completed work on his first vehicle, Quadricycle, which he took out for a test drive on June 4 of that year. That same year, he met Thomas Edison, who encouraged him in his efforts to build automobiles and remained a close friend thereafter.
First Companies: Two Failures Before Success
August 1899, Henry departed Edison’s firm for the purpose of becoming fully devoted to engineering automobiles.
- Detroit Automobile Company (1899): Investors supported his venture, although it produced expensive and unsatisfactory vehicles. The firm went bankrupt in January 1901.
- Henry Ford Company (1901): After becoming a champion at the race held in October 1901, Henry secured some financial support. He withdrew from the firm in 1902, and it became Cadillac.
In January 1904, Henry’s racing vehicle “999” beat the one-mile world record on a lake covered with ice.
How Ford Motor Company Started
The Ford Motor Company was established on June 16, 1903, when Henry and twelve others contributed a total of $28,000. The first car was sold on July 15 of the same year, with Henry owning 25.5% of the shares. In 1906, he became president of the company, and in 1919 Henry, Clara, and Edsel bought out other shareholders for almost $105 million, which means that the family acquired full control of the company.
The Model T: The Car for Everyone
The Model T became available for sale on October 1, 1908, with a price of $825. It was strong, easy to manufacture, and repair. As time went by, Ford reduced the price, and sales shot up. When production of the Model T was completed, 15 million Model T cars were manufactured.
The Moving Assembly Line
The moving assembly belt was first implemented by Ford in 1913 so that workers would no longer need to go to the cars, but rather the car would come to them. This meant that each worker performed the same small task repeatedly. Clarence Avery, Peter Martin, Charles Sorensen, and C. Harold Wills helped in developing this method. Because cars could now be produced faster than before, their price decreased as well. This method is commonly known as “Fordism”.
The $5 Workday
Ford declared his lowest wage of $5 per day on January 5, 1914, more than what a large number of workers earned. In 1926, he arranged the working hours of factory workers according to a five-day, 40-hour workweek. The improved salary enabled workers to afford the kinds of cars they manufactured and made Ford famous all over the world.
Ford in War and Peace
- Peace Ship (1915): In 1915, during WWI, Ford sent a ship with peace advocates to Europe. It received no support from the government and was the subject of a joke. Ford abandoned the ship upon reaching Sweden.
- Model A (1927): In December 1927, Ford introduced Model A as a successor to the Model T, until which more than four million models were manufactured by 1931.
- Willow Run (World War II): The Ford factory located in the proximity of Detroit produced approximately 9000 units of the B-24 bomber aircraft, which represented about half of the total production of these bombers by the United States.
- River Rouge Plant: A huge automobile manufacturing facility designed to produce nearly everything organically, from raw materials to finished products, by Ford, as well as investigate the ability to produce plastic from soybeans.
Final Years and Death
Ford’s health deteriorated after he suffered a number of strokes in the late 1930s. His son, Edsel, died in 1943, causing Henry to step back in as president. He gave control to his grandson, Henry Ford II, in 1945. Henry died on April 7, 1947, leaving mainly his fortune to the Ford Foundation. He had also established the Edison Institute in Dearborn, which is now known as the Henry Ford Museum.
Lessons From Henry Ford’s Business Journey
Here are some key lessons one can learn from Henry’s business journey:
- Focus On Simplicity and Affordability. The Model T was successful because it was accessible to the masses, easy to operate, and easy to fix.
- Improvement: Focus on process improvement in addition to producing more advanced products.
- Pay Good Salaries: Higher salaries lead to less staff turnover and a more loyal group of clients.
- Open to Learning: He was known to say that anyone who stops learning is considered old. So, make sure to always keep learning throughout your lives.
Conclusion
The journey of Henry Ford shows a child’s enthusiasm for machines that blossomed into an organization that disrupted the modes of transportation, industry, and living in the cities. The man succeeded in many endeavors but failed too. However, one who never gives up on their passion to built something is the one who succeed.
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