Tyres Goodyear

The company Goodyear Tire & Rubber owes its name not to Frank Seiberling, who founded it in 1898, but to Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization. He is also the author of the familiar logo, which features a winged sandal, still used by the North American manufacturer today.

With money borrowed from his brother-in-law, Frank Seiberling founded the company with a staff of 13 people, which in its early years produced bicycle tires, carriage tires, and a range of other related products, from horseshoes to poker chips.

Everything changed in 1901, when the then-young Henry Ford was offered pneumatic tires from Goodyear to start his racing career. The result of this cooperation was a series of victories in races, which gave Henry Ford the opportunity to start producing cars. In 1903, tires from this already well-known brand began to be installed on the Ford T – the first mass-produced passenger car produced on a conveyor belt.

Five years later, the company began producing pneumatic aircraft tires, replacing skis and bicycle tires. In 1911, this tire product was installed on an airplane that made the first transcontinental flight in the world.

Currently, the company uses these airships exclusively for advertising purposes. In the early 1910s, airplanes had a very limited range, so airships were better suited for long-distance flights. The North American company, which was producing various tire and rubber products in 1911, decided to explore a new area of activity. It presented its debut airship, which proved to be successful enough to continue working in this area. In 1917, the company built several such airships for the US Navy.

Cooperation with the military in this area continued for several more decades. In 1924, the company acquired a license for a rigid airship from Zeppelin, and five years later, the largest dock in the world was built for them.

In addition to airships, the company was actively engaged in the development of the tire business, which it did quite successfully. In 1921, its engineers completed the development of the world's first off-road tire, Rut-Proof, and five years later, a passenger tire with a tread pattern featuring longitudinal ribs.

The 1930s were marked by tires developed specifically for earthmoving equipment. However, a much more important milestone in the company's development is the production of synthetic rubber, which is virtually identical to natural rubber. This made it possible to manufacture the first American tire with a tread made from a synthetic rubber mixture in 1937. Ten years later, another important event occurred in the history of the North American manufacturer – the start of production of tire products with nylon cord.

The 1960s and 1970s were marked by a series of record-breaking achievements made possible with the help of tires from this renowned brand. First and foremost, this is the speed record of 600 miles per hour, set on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1964. Another unique event took place in 1970, when the Apollo 14 lunar module, "shod" in an XLT tire, visited the Moon. A year later, the company introduced the largest tires in the world at the time, the Goodyear tires, designed for giant mining excavators. And in 1977, the Tiempo – the first all-season tire with a radial tread – was introduced.

As for the 1980s, it was during this time that technologies were developed that ensure the company's technological leadership today. In particular, in 1987, the development of synthetic rubber SIBR was completed, which first debuted on high-speed tires of the Eagle line, and then on models of a more mass category.

Today, the company is one of the leaders of the global tire industry. And it occupies leading positions not only due to the huge volume of tires produced but also due to technological developments that ensure their excellent operational and consumer qualities.