The company Michelin started with
Édouard Michelin and André Michelin, the founders, who in 1889 developed the removable pneumatic tire.

As strange as it may seem, the Michelin company was founded by completely different people with different surnames. The beginning of the great journey can be considered the invention of the Scottish architect, artist, and designer Charles Macintosh. He was actively interested in modern materials and tried to use them in his work. For example, he tried to combine concrete and cobblestone, glass and steel, and also paid great attention to plastic. But the most famous invention was, of course, the famous "Mackintosh" cloak made of rubberized fabric, which became a hit in the mid-19th century.

The fascination with the properties of rubber and the success of his invention did not leave Charles, and therefore, even for the entertainment of children, he made rubber balls. His niece, Elizabeth Pugh-Barker, loved to play with them in her childhood, and more than that, her childhood fascination grew into a business idea when she grew up and married the entrepreneur Edward Daubrée. It was through her that rubber first appeared in the small town of Clermont-Ferrand in France.

The family business gradually developed, Edward produced not only balls but also affordable and affordable billiard balls made of dense rubber, which became a good alternative to expensive ivory balls. Everything changed significantly when Edward Daubrée took his cousin Aristide Barbier as a partner. Together, they opened a small enterprise for the production of agricultural equipment using flexible rubber hoses and other flexible elements. At that time, this was a very innovative approach, and the enterprise began to develop. After the death of Edward and Aristide, the company found it difficult to stay afloat, as no one else could effectively manage the company.

Aristide Barbier's daughter, who was married to Jules Michelin, was convinced that rubber had a great future. Experiencing difficulties with the company's creditors, she turned to her sons André and Édouard for help.

Édouard took over the management of the company, changing its name to "Michelin & Co". Like their predecessors, the brothers had big plans, and they quickly found new applications for rubber. They released a braking pad for horse-drawn carriages called "The Silent", a name that already hinted at their international ambitions, and that's how the history of the world-famous tire manufacturer began.

Read the continuation of the company's history in the "History of the Tire Industry" section here