He certainly wanted his business to be self contained.
yep
he helped/started Kingsford Charcoal too
using his wood scraps after cutting for his car bodies
wood from his own forest
(Firestone rubber/tires too, to a lesser level IIRC)
he didn't want much waste
or something he could make a $$$ off
he was a tight *** M-fer too, he didn't like changes
unless it was his idea !!!
he resisted going away from the Model T's for too long
his son Edsel was who came up with the Model A, 1928
engineering & design
(Edsel died young from some intestinal stuff IIRC)
It helped/changed the whole industry
(Henry fought it the whole way too)
saw a lot of stuff about him & his industry
on a documentary on History Channel IIRC
also
the Dodge Bros. were a big part of his engineering
& parts designs in the early years
sort of went like this
what later that became Cadilac, was org. Henery Fords
1st automotive endeavor, he lost a law suit & had to sell
he org. refused to pay
any royalties to the (French IIRC)
Automobile Co. Patents, prior patents, he used designs of "sort of"
& eventually, he won a later case, which made it far loser reg.s
on what was determined to be an Automobile, no more 1 party Royalties
everyone else was paying, all along...
just figured I'd throw tha in too