Francis Breese Jr. Davis

Background

Francis Breese Davis was born on September 16, 1883 at Fort Edward, New York. He was the son of Francis Breese Davis, a farmer, and of Julia Underwood.

Education

Davis graduated from the Academy of Glens Falls (N. Y. ) and then worked his way through the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University by selling supplies to incoming engineering students.  He graduated in 1906 with a Ph. B.  in engineering.

Career

Davis worked briefly in the office of the New Haven, Connecticut,  city engineerat $40 per month and next was employed by the Empire Engineering Corporation on the construction of a portion of the Erie Barge Canal near Fort Edward.  In 1907 Davis joined the maintenance-of-way department of the Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad (controlled by the Pennsylvania Central Railroad).  His first job, in Washington, D. C. , involved the removal of the old tracks at the Broad Street Station and the transfer of passenger activities to Union Station.  Later he was assigned to do sketches of locations where accidents had occurred.  

Davis joined the construction engineering department of E. I du Pont de Nemours and Company in 1909 at its Belin black powder plant near Noosic, Pa. Two years later he was transferred to Du Pont's Wilmington, Del. , headquarters as a division engineer in charge of black powder engineering.  He also played a role in the construction of plants at Du Pont, Wash. , and Augusta, Colo.  

In 1913 he was appointed superintendent of the sporting powder division of the black powder operating department.  With the outbreak of World War I, Davis directed the building of a guncotton plant at Hopewell, N. J. , and for several months was in charge of its operations.  He next operated a smokeless powder factory at Carney's Point, N. J. Later he was an assistant to the engineer in charge of the construction of a munitions plant at Old Hickory, Tenn.  

After the war Davis was promoted to vice-president of the Du Pont Chemical Company and put in charge of the disposal of surplus materials and factories that had been built during the war to meet specific militaryrequirements.  In 1920 he served briefly with the plastics manufacturing Pyralin division.  In 1918 the Du Ponts acquired a controlling interest in the General Motors Corporation (GM), and Pierre S. du Pont became its president in 1920.  The following year Davis was made assistant general manager in charge of manufacture and sales of products at the GM Saginaw, Mich. , plant.  In 1923 he returned to the Pyralin division as general manager, and in 1925 was named president of the recently acquired Viscoloid Company (now Du Pont Viscoloid Company).  While continuing as president of this subsidiary, Davis also served as president of Celastic Corporation, another Du Pont subsidiary.  

In 1928, under Davis' direction, Du Pont Viscoloid joined with Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company to form Pittsburgh Safety Glass Corporation, which manufactured safety glass for automobile windows.  Davis was the first chairman of the board of directors of the new company.  It was common for well-regarded Du Pont executives to be moved to companies in which Du Pont had investments.  

In January 1929, Davis was elected president and chairman of the board of United States Rubber Company, controlled since 1927 by Du Pont.  The company was on the verge of bankruptcy when Davis took the helm.  He immediately installed the Du Pont form of decentralized operating structure and Du Pont-like centralized financial and statistical control.  He disposed of unprofitable plants and product lines, increased productivity, and modernized operating techniques.  Despite the Great Depression, in three years he reduced the company's funded debt from $130 million to $90 million.  By 1935 the company showed a profit, the first in seven years.  Davis placed a high priority on the development of new products.  He authorized a sizable increase in research expenditures that resulted in the development of foam rubber cushioning material in 1934, the manufacture of elastic fiber (with the trade name Lastex), and the development of rayon cord used to manufacture stronger and more durable tires in 1938.  

Experimentation with synthetic rubber enabled the company to begin construction of synthetic rubber plants immediately after the Japanese invasion of Indonesia cut off America's primary source of natural rubber.  Soon U. S. Rubber had three synthetic rubber plants in operation.  

In 1942 Davis resigned as president but remained chairman of the board and chief executive officer. By 1949, when he retired as chairman, net sales topped $500 million and the company was manufacturing more than 30, 000 products ranging from automobile tires to footwear, golf balls, yarns, conveyor belts, hoses, adhesives, and myriad specialized chemicals, rubbers, plastics, and resins.  

In his retirement years he raised cattle and ponies in South Carolina and owned three GM automobile dealerships in that state.  

Davis continued to serve on the finance committee of the board of directors until 1959, and thereafter was an advisory director until his death.

Achievements

• Davis placed a high priority on the development of new products, he also played a role in the construction of plants.

Connections

Davis married Jean Reybold on April 16, 1913; they had one daughter.

Father:

Francis Breese Davis

Mother:

Julia Underwood

Wife:

Jean Reybold