Here at Flex Technologies, we manufacture silicone tubes and hoses for a wide range of industries. All of our silicone products are subject to the strict standards of ISO 9001:2008, TS-16949, as well as internal company requirements. We are proud of the quality of our work, and the fact that our products help many productive industries function on a day to day basis.  To honor all of your producers out there, we thought we would go over a quick history of industry here for your educational entertainment.

Industrial Revolution

Industry itself is thousands of years old, probably as old as human civilization. However, before the Industrial Revolution, it mostly existed as "cottage industries" (or Domestic Systems), where primary manufacturing was done in a home (or a home converted into a work space, or a work space where the workers lived). The Industrial Revolution, however, sparked the type of industry that we all know today, and it started with a major shift in focus from hand made production methods to machine production methods. 

The Industrial Revolution started in Britain around 1760, and ended around the 1820s. It was marked by advances in chemical manufacturing, iron production, steam power, machine tools, and factory production. Of all the industries that took off during the Industrial Revolution, none saw as much success as the textile industry, which dominated every metric including employment levels, capital invested, and value of output.

Technological Innovations

Many technological innovations allowed for the switch to a factory system, wherein machinery and the division of labor (which allows for unskilled workers) is used in place of specialized experts to greatly increase efficiency and scalability. Some of these advancements by industry include.

• Textiles -- Some innovations in the textile industry included mechanized cotton spinning machines, which were powered either by steam or water. These devices increased production by a factor of about 500. The power loom is another invention that increased production, this time by a factor of 40, as well as the cotton gin, which de-seeded cotton at a rate 50 times faster than previous methods. While all textile production increased during this time, no material saw a spike in production as much as cotton. 
• Steam Power -- The first ever steam engine was invented by Thomas Savery in 1698. However, it wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that they became powerful enough for industrial use. In fact, newer steam engines from this time could produce the same amount of power by the Industrial Revolution on 1/10th of the fuel that they could prior to it. By the 1800s, steam power made transportation by train viable all over the world.
• Iron Production -- Iron production saw a rise in growth after charcoal was replaced with coke (a type of fuel made from coal) in wrought and pig iron production, which greatly lowered their cost to create. Switching to coke also allowed for much bigger blast furnaces, which increased the economy of scale. Other notable advances in iron production included the puddling process (lowered the cost of structural grade iron production), the rolling mill (hammered out wrought iron more efficiently), and the hot blast (increased fuel efficiency during iron production).
• Machine Tools -- Machine tools are made for shaping/machining rigid materials like metal. Nowadays, machine tools are usually powered by electricity, a line shaft, or hydraulics, but back then they were operated by manpower. Machine tools at the time like the screw cutting lathe, the milling machine, and the cylinder boring machine were absolutely necessary for the production boom in the Industrial Revolution.

These were far from the only industrial technological innovations made, just maybe some of the most influential for the time. Other industries that saw major production improvements included gas lighting, glass making, cement production, chemical production, paper production, agriculture, mining, architecture, and transportation.

Social Consequences

When production increases, there are often major consequences socially. According to Robert E. Lucas (economist), new production levels after the Industrial Revolution allowed for the proletariat to see sustained growth and living standards for the first time in human history. However, many economists argue that while overall production levels did rise, living standards for the majority of the population did not rise until centuries later (likely due to government regulation). For instance, while wages did generally increase, living conditions were drastically lowered due to a variety of factors (one being the movement from rural to metropolitan areas). Neither living standards nor life expectancy (another metric for standard of living) saw an increase in the majority of the population until the period between 1813 and 1913, when huge worker movements demanded an increase to their wages. 

Of course, with mass migrations to cities, urban life exploded during this time. Societies at the time were ill equipped with so many human beings in close quarters, as most newcomers were squeezed into crowded slums for rent. Even America, which had the highest life expectancy at the time, only averaged 45-50 years. Because agricultural advances came at a slower rate than other new production techniques, the nutrition of the average person during the Industrial Revolution did improve because the costs of food remained the same. Even though some places, like the Netherlands, had overall improvement in agricultural production, the overall population boom created a Malthusian trap that agriculture production could not keep up with.

Speaking of the population boom, the Industrial Revolution allowed for a bigger expansion of population than any time previously in history. According to Robert Hughes, the population of England doubled in the span of 50 years between 1800 and 1850, then doubled again by 1901. While infant mortality rates decreased hugely during the Industrial Revolution, childhood survival rates remained the same (likely largely due to child labor practices, although these were just as if not more prevalent before the Industrial Revolution). The average work day throughout the Industrial Revolution, up to the 1900s in America, was 12 hours.

We hope you found this quick industry historical overview entertaining. Of course, it is only a snapshot, and doesn't fully capture industry at the time. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to all of the business successes that make our lives easier today. For all you future leaders of industry, good luck on your endeavors. If you are looking for industry silicone products, our silicone hoses and tubes are available online today. We have custom design and wholesale options as well. For more information, please do not hesitate to give us a call. One of our friendly and knowledgeable representatives will be happy to answer any questions you may have.