Big dreams can have big repercussions. Even when you’re smart. To make a long story short, Henry Ford was a hard charger with big plans. In the march to better processes and bigger profits, Ford wanted both. But, in the late 1920’s, Ford realised that one rather large problem was delaying his aspirations – tires for his cars. They were hard to make and hard to get, as there were supply-chain problems in getting the rubber for the tires.
Ford had what appeared to be a stroke of genius when he discovered that Brazil was the promised land of rubber . . and cheap labour. So, he immediately embarked on creating a new facility there to harvest the bountiful rubber. He built factories, homes for the workers and even a railroad in the thick forest. But it was a clash of cultures, as the workers were not accustomed to the North American way of working.
But, probably the biggest problem – and what likely scuppered the whole enterprise – was that the rubber itself wouldn’t cooperate. The whole effort ground to a halt . . and that was that. Ford and his US workers left, never to return. Read the full story here and watch the video, below.
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