Search results
Aug 3, 2021 · On this day in 1900 Harvey Firestone founded Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. The company’s original mission was to supply pneumatic tires for wagons and buggies, but the emerging automobile market soon altered the course.
People also ask
Who founded Firestone Tire & Rubber Company?
Where did Firestone Tire come from?
Why did Firestone make tires?
Who is Firestone Tire Company?
When our founder, Harvey Firestone, worked as a salesman for the Columbus Buggy Company, his was the first vehicle to be equipped with pneumatic tires. Being first would become synonymous with the name Firestone, as the company has continued to lead the competition for more than 115 years.
Harvey S. Firestone, a fourth-generation farmer from Columbiana, Ohio, founded the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in 1900, in Akron, Ohio – a city that would later become known as “Rubber City.”
1903. Firestone begins producing its own tires. By 1906, sales pass the million-dollar mark and the brand is on its way to becoming a household name. 1908. We release the first tires to feature non-skid tread designs. All highway tires produced after this product will use tread patterns for traction. 1911.
- History
- Racing
- Corporate Troubles
- Television Advertisement Jingle
- Related Pages
- Other Websites
Early/Mid 20th century
Firestone was originally based in Akron, Ohio. That was also the home of its rival, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The company initiated operations in 1900 with 12 employees. Together, Firestone and Goodyear were the largest suppliers of automotive tires in North America for over three-quarters of a century. In 1906 Firestone was chosen by Henry Ford for the Model T. At one point, the company had a rubber plantation in Liberiathat covered more than 4,000 square kilometers (1 million acres)...
Restructuring and sale to Bridgestone
In late 1979, Firestone brought in John Nevin as president. He was the former head of Zenith Electronics. Firestone was more than a billion dollars in debt at the time, and losing 250 million dollars a year. Nevin closed nine of the company's seventeen manufacturing plants. He moved the company from Akron to Chicago. He split the non-tire related businesses from the main company. In 1988 Nevin negotiated the sale of the company to the Japanese company Bridgestone. Bridgestone Corporation Japa...
Formula One
Firestone has been a major tire supplier for Formula One teams. From 1950 to 1975 they supplied tires to a number of teams, including Ferrari, Team Lotus, and Honda. They had 121 cars start the race on their tires, winning 49 of those races. They were on the winning car of every Indianapolis 500 race from 1950 to 1960. These years, the Indy 500 was part of the Formula One world championship series. Their last win came in the 1972 Italian Grand Prix. Firestone has four Drivers World Championsh...
Great American streetcar scandal
In 1950, Firestone along with General Motors and Standard Oil were charged and convicted of criminal conspiracy for their part in the Great American streetcar scandal. The scandal included buying streetcar systems all across the United States. They would shut them down, and replacing them with buses.
Firestone 500 tread separation problem
Radial tires were introduced to the US market by rivals Goodrich and Michelinin the late 1960s. Firestone lacked a radial. The first radial tire design and built by Firestone was the Firestone 500 Radial. Manufacturing of the new tire was done on equipment designed to build bias-ply tires. During the 1970s, Firestone had major problems with the Firestone 500 radial. At high speeds, the steel-belted radials started showing signs that the tread was coming apart from the tire. The National Highw...
Liberian rubber plant
In 1926, Firestone opened one of the world's biggest rubber plantations in Liberia, West Africa. The International Labor Rights Fund said about Firestone, Firestone's management denied these claims. They said the corporation provided employment, pensions, and health care to thousands of Liberians. The company also provides education and training opportunities to employees and their children. In May 2006, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) released a report on the state of human rig...
Where the Rubber Meets the Roadis an advertisement jingle (short song) that was frequently used in the 1960s and 1970s, especially on televised sporting events. 1. Wherever wheels are rolling, 2. No matter what the load, 3. The name that's known is Firestone 4. Where the rubber meets the road
Jun 11, 2018 · The American industrialist Harvey Samuel Firestone (1868-1938) organized the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, a leading firm in the rubber industry. Harvey Firestone was born at Columbiana, Ohio, on Dec. 20, 1868, the son of a prosperous farmer.
When Harvey Firestone began manufacturing rubber tires in the 1890s, they were used chiefly on carriages and bicycles. By later catering to the booming automotive industry, however, Firestone developed his company into one of the country’s largest industries.
