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Brand Profile: BF Goodrich Tires

July 30th, 2009

In the late 1800s, Akron, Ohio was the Rubber Capital of the World. The foundation of the American tire industry was formed in Akron with brands like Goodyear, Firestone and BF Goodrich.

In 1870, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich formed Goodrich, Tew & Co., which became the BF Goodrich Tire Company. BF Goodrich tires has been a popular tire brand in the U.S. for over a century.

BF Goodrich grew substantially following the development of the automobile and the pneumatic car tire. In the first half of the 20th Century, BF Goodrich was extremely profitable due to improved sales from expansion in employment and product development. BF Goodrich was also responsible for several important innovations in the tire and rubber industry. BF Goodrich scientists invented vinyl in 1926 and synthetic rubber in 1937. Synthetic rubber was crucial to the United State’s victory in World War II because it allowed us to make rubber products domestically instead of relying on foreign rubber trees. In 1946, BF Goodrich also developed the first tubeless tire.

By 1986, BF Goodrich became one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers when it purchased competitor Uniroyal Tire, forming the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company. The company was initially successful. However by 1988, BF Goodrich sold 50% of its stock in Uniroyal, which amounted in a tremendous amount of publicly held debt. As a result, Michelin began acquiring the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company in 1988. By 1991, Michelin officially gained control over BF Goodirch and Uniroyal.

Following Michelin’s take over, BF Goodrich exited the tire industry entirely. Tires are still available under the BF Goodrich label but are manufactured as a subsidiary of Michelin. Current BF Goodrich tires still deliver the excellent quality associated with the BFG name. BF Goodrich tires are sold as original equipment and replacement tires available in a wide variety of vehicle fitments. After more than a century in the marketplace, BF Goodrich remains one of the best brands in the industry. The Goodrich Corporation continues to exist, but now focuses on aerospace, performance materials and engineered industrial products.

For more information about BF Goodrich, visit BFGoodrichTires.com

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Brand Profile: BF Goodrich Tires was written by of TireTeam
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