Word: rayons
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Wherever a Dutchman turns these days, his gaze is apt to fall on a product of a vigorous giant known as A.K.U. (pronounced Ah-coo). For A.K.U. (short for Algemene Kunstzijde Unie, which means Amalgamated Rayon Union) produces half the nylon stockings sold in The Netherlands, as well as fibers used in half the nation's tires and seven out of ten pairs of men's slacks. Even the dikes that help keep The Netherlands above water are built with A.K.U. nylon sandbags...
...Flying Squads. A.K.U. was founded as a rayon company in 1911 by a young Dutch chemist named Jacques Coenraad Hartogs, who had learned the business while working for Courtaulds in England. Hartogs' company, which became publicly owned in 1923, prospered until World War II, which all but destroyed it. At war's end, 40% of A.K.U.'s Dutch plant lay in ruins, five of its factories in Eastern Europe had been taken over by the Communists and two of its U.S. affiliates had been seized because of partial German ownership. (A.K.U. succeeded, however, in hanging onto...
...Minister of War in The Netherlands' first postwar Cabinet. Recruited for A.K.U. in 1946 by fellow Cabinet minister (and A.K.U. director) Theodorus van Schaik, Meynen from the start preached what he called "the two-leg theory," insisted that A.K.U. must find another major product in addition to rayon. As he pushed the company pellmell into the manufacture of nylon, cellophane, viscose sponges, cable and insulation, Meynen's two-leg theory evolved into a "many legs" theory. To broaden its technical knowledge, A.K.U. set up joint ventures with Pittsburgh Plate Glass (fiber glass), B. F. Goodrich (synthetic rubber...
...rebuttal, nylon makers emphasize the tensile strength that gives nylon greater resistance than rayon to severe impacts -especially at the high temperatures generated by turnpike driving. And though independent research seems to suggest that Tyrex is strong enough to withstand any normal driving hazard, the nylon message has reached the motorist's ear. In the first quarter of this year, nylon won more than half (51.9%) of the replacement tire market, though it made only the slightest of inroads (from 1.3% to 1.6%) in the new-car business...
...because the public is willing to pay up to 10% more for nylon tires. They would also like to see an end to the fight so that they will no longer have to stock duplicate sets of tires. Seiberling Rubber Co. has tried to compromise with a combined nylon-rayon tire that, the company insists, has the advantages of both cords and the disadvantages of neither. Ironically, both nylon and rayon may lose out in the end. Experiments by tire-company researchers suggest that Dacron, Fiberglas or steel may eventually prove the most suitable tire cord...