Starting With A Spark

Ford Motor Company has a reputation for disruptive innovation unlike any other company in modern American history.

A lesser-known tangent of Henry Ford’s legacy is another brand you’ll find in American homes from coast to coast: Kingsford Charcoal.

Early “motor coaches” were primarily made of wood, and as part of his expansion plan, Ford set out to vertically integrate his wood supply chain.

This involved huge swaths of forest land, sawmill operations, and chemical treatment facilities.

A massive byproduct of a sawmill is wood chips.

Ford saw an opportunity to “waste not,” and his team developed a method for turning those chips into fuel. They would be dried, baked, mixed with starch, and pressed into bricks for portability.

These charcoal bricks were used in Ford operations, but the production volume was way more than Ford could use. Plus the commercial opportunity became evident in the coming years, first with restaurants and eventually in retail stores.

So, Henry Ford (being Henry Ford) set out to create an entirely different business that is now nearly as well-known as his cars.

The next time you fill your charcoal chimney and get out the burgers and franks, remember that your perfectly cooked goodness is thanks in part to a genius business move over 100 years ago.

This story is from Trail 3 of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.