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Ford

Country of Origin : USA

Established : 1903

In 1891, Henry Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. 
This event signified a conscious decision on Henry's part to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits. His promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893 gave him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines.

In 1896 these experiments produced a self-propelled vehicle - the Quadricycle. 
The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had two forward speeds with no reverse. Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle with a petrol engine, he was, however, one of several auto pioneers who helped America become a nation of motorists.

By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. To meet the growing demand for the Model T, the company opened a large factory at Highland Park, Michigan, in 1910. Here Ford combined precision manufacturing, standardised and interchangeable parts, a division of labor, and, in 1913, a continuous moving assembly line. Workers remained in place, adding one component to each car as it moved past them on the line. Delivery of parts by conveyor belt to the workers was carefully timed to keep the assembly line moving smoothly and efficiently. The introduction of the moving assembly line revolutionized automobile production by significantly reducing assembly time per vehicle, and thus lowering costs. Ford's production of Model Ts made his company the largest automobile manufacturer in the world.

After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a company to build cars, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 with Henry Ford as vice-president and chief engineer. The new company produced only a few cars a day at the Ford factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. 
Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies.

Henry Ford realized his dream of producing a car that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. This car initiated a new era in personal transportation. It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads, and immediately became a huge success.

Aerial view of the Rouge Plant in 1930
Number of men on payroll at capacity: 81,000
Total floor space: 6,952,484 sq. ft.
Total cost: $268, 991, 592.07
Dearborn, MI

The company began construction of the world's largest industrial complex along the banks of the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan, during the late 1910s and early 1920s. 
The massive Rouge Plant included all the elements needed for car production: a steel mill, glass factory, and Car assembly line. Iron ore and coal were brought in on Great Lakes steamers and by railroad, and were used to produce both iron and steel. Rolling mills, forges, and assembly shops transformed the steel into springs, axles, and car bodies. Foundries converted iron into engine blocks and cylinder heads that were assembled into engines. By September 1927, all steps in the manufacturing process from refining raw materials to final assembly of the automobile took place at the vast Rouge Plant, characterizing Henry Ford's idea of mass production.