Thousands of years later, the wheel has come a long way. For one thing it is no longer made of wood and it is guaranteed that the ride is much smoother. What hasn't changed is the fact that it is still one of man's greatest inventions. Could you imagine where we would be today without it?
The early wheel was very simple: a solid curved piece of wood. Later, leather was added to soften the ride. As time progressed it became solid rubber which led to today's tire--the pneumatic, or air inflated, radial tire.
The first wheels made of metal or wood were very durable but did not provide a very comfortable ride. The nearest thing to the first tire was a metal hoop. There were many individuals that made contributions in creating the tire as we think of it today.
Rubber was not always as useful as it is today. Early rubber did not hold shape; it would be sticky in hot weather and become inflexible in the cold.
In 1839 Charles Goodyear was credited with the discovery of the vulcanization process. Vulcanization is the process of heating rubber with sulfur. This transforms sticky raw rubber to firm pliable material which makes rubber a perfect material for tires.
The story of Charles Goodyear is a sad one. Although he dedicated his entire life to making rubber a better form, he would never profit from all his work. Charles Goodyear died bankrupt.
Forty years later, a rubber company would honor his hard work by using his name for their new tire company.
Soon after the discovery of vulcanization, tires were made out of solid rubber. These tires were strong, absorbed shocks and resisted cuts and abrasions. Although they were a vast improvement, these tires were very heavy and did not provide a smooth ride.
Today there are still types of tires made of solid rubber.
The pneumatic tire uses rubber and enclosed air to reduce vibration and improve traction. Robert W. Thomson, a Scottish engineer, first patented the air-filled tire. Unfortunately the idea was too early for its time and was not a commercial success.
In 1888 John Boyd Dunlop of Belfast, Ireland, became the second inventor of the pneumatic tire. Dunlop claimed to have no knowledge of Thomson's earlier invention.
The second time around, the pneumatic tire caught the public's attention. The timing was perfect because bicycles were becoming extremely popular and the lighter tire provided a much better ride.
For the next fifty years, vehicle tires were made up of an inner tube that contained compressed air and an outer casing. This casing protected the inner tube and provided the tire with traction.
Layers called plies reinforced the casing. The plies were made of rubberized fabric cords that were embedded in the rubber. These tires were known as bias ply tires. They were named bias ply because the cords in a single ply run diagonally from the beads on one inner rim to the beads on the other. However, the orientation of the cords is reversed from ply to ply so that the cords crisscross each other.
Today you can still find bias-ply tires as authentic equipment for antique and collector cars, as well as for certain type of off-the-road tractor tires.
The first introduced steel-belted radial tires appeared in Europe in 1948. Radial tires are so named because the ply cords radiate at a 90 degree angle from the wheel rim, and the casing is strengthened by a belt of steel fabric that runs around the circumference of the tire.
Radial tire ply cords are made of nylon, rayon, or polyester. The advantages of radial tires include longer tread life, better steering and less rolling resistance, which increases gas mileage. On the other hand, radials have a harder riding quality, and are about twice as expensive to make.
Continental Tire North America, Inc. (CTNA), based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a group company of the Germany-based Continental Corporation, a leading systems supplier to the automotive industry.
CTNA employees approximately 6,500 employees. CTNA is a major supplier to the original equipment and replacement tire markets, selling Continental, General Tire, Euzkadi, Semperit and private brands.
CTNA operates two tire manufacturing plants in North America: Mt. Vernon, IL and San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Continental's passenger & light truck division develops and manufactures tires for:
- Compact, medium-size and full-size cars
- SUVs and Light Trucks
- Vans and RVs
In these segments CTNA supplies a wide range of tires for various applications such as:
- Ultra high performance
- Winter
- All-terrain
Apart from the Continental brand, General Tire and private brands are also marketed.
In both the original equipment and replacement sectors, it is our goal to meet the changing needs of consumers and vehicle manufacturers.
The commercial vehicle tires division delivers product to Caterpillar, John Deere, Freightliner, Mack and Volvo.
Continental Worldwide
Continental is the #2 automotive supplier in Europe and #4 in the world. In 21 plants around the globe, more than 90 million passenger car tires and more than 6 million commercial vehicle and two-wheel tires are produced each year.
Continental AG
Continental-Caoutchouc-und Gutta-Percha Compagnie was founded in Hanover, Germany in 1871. Manufacturing included soft rubber products, rubberized fabrics, solid tires for carriages and bicycles.
General Tire was purchased by Continental Corporation in 1987. TEVES was purchased by Continental Corporation in 1998.
Continental has nearly 81,000 employees and 100 manufacturing facilities, research centers and test tracks. The Continental Corporation is one of the world‘s leading suppliers to the automotive industry with extensive know-how in tire and brake technology, vehicle dynamics control, as well as electronic and sensor systems.
The General Tire and Rubber Company was founded on September 29th , 1915 by William F. O’Neil and his partner, Winfred E. Fouse. General Tire was an outgrowth of the Western Tire & Rubber company. O’Neil and Fouse were convinced that, with a quality product, there was a place for them in the big league tire manufacturing field.
More than 300 companies were making tire when General Tire entered the business. “W.O.” decided to pass up the original equipment market and to produce a premium replacement tire, the oversized General Jumbo, an industry original, and pneumatic truck tire which cost more and were worth more than those of the competition.
The establishment of a nationwide team of fiercely loyal, aggressive, competent independent dealers enabled General Tire to meet the challenge of making it the unquestioned premium tire producer in the field.
In the mid-1920s, General Tire’s engineers invented the low-pressure General Balloon Jumbos. Requiring only 12 pounds of air pressure, the Balloon Jumbos revolutionized all tire manufacturing concepts. It was the first of many “new ideas” tires-the blowout-proof Dual Balloon, the Dual 8 and Dual 10, the Squeegee, the Dual 90—which extended the company’s position through the years as the industry’s premium tire producer.
Two significant developments by General Tire’s engineers—the origination of rubber flaps for truck tires in 1928 and the creation in 1931 of complete line of low pressure truck tire balloons—positioned the company firmly as a major truck tire manufacturer.
An important boost for the company’s growing truck tire business came in 1934 when an agreement placed General Tire on International Harvester’s approved original equipment list. And by 1937, General Tire was on the OE list of all major truck manufacturers, providing an entrée by General Tire dealers for replacement and rethreading sales.
In its 15th year, 1930, the company added an international page to its ledger, incorporating in Mexico a wholly owned subsidiary, The General Tire & Rubber Company, S.A., of Mexico. Out of this came the company’s distinctive international business philosophy—minority investment plus management fees based on sales. By 1933, General Tire acquired a minority interest in the reorganized CIA Hulera “El Popo,” S.A., of Mexico City with a management fee to operate the company and with its tires to be known as “General Popo.” The company has developed other international relationships through the years, and it operates a tire manufacturing facility in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
The 1931 acquisition of a 50-percent interest in a tire fabric manufacturing operation, Aldora Mills, Barnesville, Ga., and the purchase by 1937 of full ownership, signaled the expansion of General Tire’s domestic tire investment, necessitated by an almost incredible upsurge in vehicle registration across the nation.
In the mid-1940’s, the U.S. government faced a critical World War II-related tire shortage. More plants were needed and General Tire-like other companies-agreed to help. It selected a Waco, Texas, site for its second U.S. facility. Tire production began there in November 1944. What was the industry’s most modern plant is now obsolete, and tire production was phased out in 1986.
General Tire’s 1955 entry into the passenger car tier original equipment market, first General Motors supplier and later for the other major auto producer, brought on an urgent need for expansion in more modern, efficient plants.
General Tire put its third domestic plant into production in 1960 at Mayfield, KY and added in 1967 its fourth plant, a giant tire facility at Bryan, Ohio, as well as an automobile and truck tire facility in Charlotte, NC. The sixth plant, equipped for full radial tire production, went into operation in 1973 at Mt. Vernon, Ill. And for quality assurance, the world’s largest tire test track was put into operation at Uvalde, Texas in 1959.
In many important ways, General Tire scientist enlarged the state of the art in the rubber industry. They solved a 40-year industry problem with the 1943 discovery of the carbon black latex-mixing masterbatch principle, and the 1949 invention of oil-extended rubber-a synthetic rubber ten-strike which was patented in 1960. Their Gen-Tac adhesive was the answer for tire cord, and they were awarded patents for Nygen tire fabric, radial tire building machines, and a method (and machine) for improving performance characteristics of pneumatic tires. Along with its growth in the tire business, General Tire also branched into business areas beyond tires, including aerospace and defense, entertainment and broadcasting, chemicals/plastics, and industrial products.
GenCorp came into being on March 29, 1984, when the shareholders of The General Tire & Rubber Company approved the company’s proposal for a change of names and the establishment of GenCorp Inc. as the parent holding company overseeing its investment and particularly the operations of its four major businesses, which under the plan, would be separately incorporated subsidiary companies of GenCorp.
All the subsidiaries were established as incorporated companies in December 1984: DiversiTech General, Inc., combined the company’s industrial products, chemicals and plastics operations; RKO General was restructured with RKO General continuing to direct the broadcasting activities, while the non-broadcasting activities—RKO pictures, RKO Bottlers, RKO Hotels, and stock in Frontier Airlines—were placed with the newly formed RKO subsidiary.
The Aerojet General subsidiary continued to be GenCorp’s aerospace and defense arm with major involvement in three areas of high technology—rocket propulsion, electronics, and ordnance. And General Tire, Inc. was established as a separate subsidiary to encompass worldwide tire operations.
On March 19,1987, a hostile takeover attempt was mounted against GenCorp by General Acquisition, Inc., an affiliate of Wagener & Brown and glass products manufacturer AFG Industries. GenCorp’s board of directors urged shareholders to reject General Acquisition’s offer. To fend off the raider, GenCorp’s board of directors urged shareholders to reject general Acquisition’s offer. To fend off the raiders, GenCorp launched a massive restructuring program on April 6, which included the sale of General Tire. The move was part of a program designed to maximize potential growth in GenCorp’s core business, Aerojet and DiversiTech. GenCorp also continued a previous plan to sell RKO’s broadcasting assets and announced a decision to sell RKO’s bottling operations.
On April 23, Continental AG of Hannover, West Germany, expressed an interest in General Tire and began to visit company facilities. On June 29, GenCorp and Continental signed and agreement for the sale of General Tire. Continental acquired General Tire, including related domestic and foreign operations, from GenCorp for $628 million in cash. The sale was finalized October 30, 1987. According to then-Continental chairman Helmust Werner, “The acquisition will provide us with a sound and strong presence in the world’s largest tire market. This step of vital strategic importance to us and will provide Continental with worldwide operations.”
Continental is the second largest European tire producer. In recent years it has recorded substantial gains in both sales and earnings. For 1989, Continental reported US dollar equivalent sales of $4.9 billion. Today General Tire is a leader in the development, production, and marketing of quality tires for automotive applications.
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