July 20, 1903 CE – Ford Motor Company Ships its First Car
Having successfully launched a company once already, Henry Ford opened a new factory on July 20, 1903 using $28,000 in cash from a dozen investors. At the end of the day, the assembly house on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan had produced the first of Ford Motor Company’s many cars – a development that would go on to revolutionize manufacturing in the decades to come. The Henry Ford Company had come into existence almost two years before in November 1901, succeeded quickly at manufacturing cars and, after a dispute with his fellow owners, became Cadillac Motor Company when Ford left the following August. Determined to build something to match his vision, he cobbled together the resources to start the new organization with the help of John and Horace Dodge, who would go on to found their own car company in the years that followed. On that first July day, teams of two to three men worked to piece together an automobile. Using parts from contractors elsewhere in the area, Ford decided to force the assembly line to evolve in the coming decade. The concept the company would become famous for, the owner ended up deciding the cars could be made faster and at lower cost by moving almost all of the parts manufacturing under one roof.