“This remarkable stack rises to a height of 250 feet. The diameter at base is 22 feet and 5 in. with 32 5/8 in. wall. Is 12 feet in diameter at top. 1310 tons of material were required to build it. The stack fans the fires under our boilers and is in a way responsible…
The B.F. Goodrich Company was founded in 1870 by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company began as a manufacturer of rubberized hoses and later began manufacturing pneumatic bicycle tires. In 1896, B.F. Goodrich became the first company in the United States to manufacture pneumatic automobile tires.
On December 31, 1870, Goodrich formed the partnership of Goodrich, Tew & Company with his brother-in-law Harvey W. Tew and a group of Akron investors. After completing the construction of a two-story factory on the banks of the Ohio Canal, Goodrich was in business as the first rubber company west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Built during World War II, the multi-million dollar Research laboratory of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, located on Goodyear Boulevard in Akron.
“The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is one of the largest rubber factories in the United States. Good year produced more than 110,000,000 tires since 1898. It employs thousands of people. The annual Payroll is over $43,000,000. Goodyear is the largest producer of auto tires and rubber heels in the world. 110,000,000 tires linked together would…
Shortly before the Great Depression, Goodrich acquired the Hood Rubber Company of Water-town, Massachusetts, and the Miller Rubber Company of Akron. The Depression reduced rubber demand and affected the company’s labor relations with its 15,000 employees in Akron. The United Rubber Workers union (URW) was formed in 1934, and in 1936 national labor leader John…
One of the largest rubber factories in the United States located in Akron, Ohio, the rubber center of the United States. This view shows plants number one and two and the steel products plant. It covers a great many acres and employs thousands of people.
In 1898, Frank Seiberling established the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. The company was named for Charles Goodyear, the man who developed vulcanized rubber.
Postcard view of the colossus of engineering, the Airdock. The structure was built in 1929 for the building of the U.S. Navy’s rigid airships, the USS Akron (1931) and USS Macon (1933). The buildings eleven steel parabolic arches, cresting at 211 feet, create one of the largest open space interiors in the world and create…
In 1916, Goodyear became the world’s largest tire company. This is also when the company began using the slogan “More people ride on Goodyear tires than on any other kind.”
IN 1889, with just 13 employees, Goodyear production began. The product line included bicycle and carriage tires, horseshoe pads, and poker chips. By 1916, Goodyear had grown into the world’s largest tire company, and by 1926 it was the world’s largest rubber company.
In April 1967 the URW walked off of jobs at Goodrich, Firestone, and Uniroyal, and the resulting strike stalled rubber production in Akron for 86 days.
Goodrich ran television and print ads showing an empty blue sky, to distinguish themselves from the similar-sounding Goodyear tire company. The tagline was, “See that blimp up in the sky? We’re the other guys!”
The Air Dock, as it is known, was constructed in 1929. It was the largest building in the world without interior supports and provided a huge structure in which “lighter-than-air” ships (later known as airships, dirigibles, and blimps) could be constructed. The first two airships to be constructed and launched at the Airdock were USS Akron and its sister ship, USS Macon, built…
Goodyear had its initial public offering and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on On August 5, 1927.
“The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, one of the largest rubber factories in the United States, is located in Akron, the rubber center of the United States. Goodyear produced more than 110,000,000 tires since 1998. It employees thousands of people. The annual payroll is over 43,000,000. Goodyear is the largest producer of auto tires and rubber…
Born in Ripley, New York in 1841, Benjamin Franklin Goodrich pursued an education in medicine and served as an assistant surgeon in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. After the war, Goodrich pursued a career in business and entered into a real estate partnership with John P. Morris of New York City. In 1869…
By 1930 Goodyear had pioneered what would later become known as “tundra tires” for smaller aircraft — the “airwheel” aviation wheel-rim/tire sets were initially available in sizes up to 46 inches in diameter.
USS Akron flys proudly over the Goodyear plant. She was the world’s first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier, carrying F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes which could be launched and recovered while she was in flight. The Goodyear company is named after American Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanized rubber. The first Goodyear factory opened in Akron, Ohio, in…
By 1926 Goodyear was the largest rubber company in the world. Only four years earlier it was forced to temporarily halt production of racing tires due to heavy competition. Nevertheless, the popularity of the Goodyear tire on the racing circuit led to a popular demand for the return of the brand.
Was Goodyear big in Akron? Oh yeah. By the early 1900’s this plant had one million square feet of rubber making floor space and covered 41 acres!
Local residents collected 13,600 dollars to encourage Goodrich to move his plant from New York to Akron. At this time, no other rubber manufacturers existed west of the Appalachian Mountains. Goodrich opened his Akron plant, the Akron Rubber Works, in March 1871. Goodrich first employed twenty workers. The plant made numerous items but focused on…
Built and previously owned by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, later Goodyear Aerospace, the massive Airdock was constructed in 1929.at a cost of $2.2 million.
Firestone had its origins in the rubber city. Founded in1900, the company started operations with just 12 employees. Together, Firestone and Goodyear (also an Akron company) were the largest suppliers of automotive tires in North America for over 75 years. In 1906 Henry Ford chose Firestone for Model T original equipment tires.
In 1912, after several years of success, the Diamond Rubber Company was merged into competitor B. F. Goodrich.