Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886 in New Jersey, offering innovation in medical, pharmaceutical and consumer goods. In 1914 the company repurposed its production lines to create an antiseptic wound treatment for World War I soldiers called the Carrel-Dakin system. The company continued to produce dressings and bandages to aid the allies in addition to making new medication. In World War II it retooled its business again, inventing duct tape (also known as duck tape) and manufacturing gas masks, planes and military products.
DuPont changed its production lines from hosiery to shoelaces, tire cords, ropes, aircraft fuel tanks and parachutes to help the Allies' fight in World War II. In 1939 it also invented nylon and sold out of the first 300 pairs of stockings in hours. By 1941 it had sold $25 million-worth of tights, around $440 million (£350) today.
The British motoring industry began building military vehicles, helmets and armoury to aid the World War II efforts in 1942. Ford Motors in Dagenham in East London produced cargo and staff cars for the army, while Austin Motors invented 'Tilly', an ambulance that could hold a heavy load. Guy Motors in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands produced artillery tractors and armoured vehicles.
General Motors (GM) paused its consumer vehicle production during World War II to aid the allies’ effort. William Knudsen, president of GM, told a gathering of the most powerful Motor City executives: "Gentlemen, we must out-build Hitler." And they, along with their competitors, did just that. GM built vehicle and aircraft engines, tanks and, perhaps most famously, its DUKW, or Duck, amphibious vehicles.
British company AW Hawksley manufactured aircraft during the inter-war period and during World War II. In December 1946 the government called upon its services, along with those of other aircraft manufacturers, to buid non-traditional aluminium houses to aid the post-war housing crisis following heavy German bombing. The company produced a house every 15 minutes and temporarily housed 17,000 families.
The automotive industry changed the production of vehicles after the 1973 oil crisis to be significantly more economical. Japanese car manufacturer Toyota was at the vanguard of the development of smaller cars and engines. In 1974 Toyota increased production with a new engine and streamlined Corolla model, which changed the industry forever.