A tire is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which the wheel travels. Most tires, such as those for automobiles and bicycles, are pneumatically inflated structures, providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock as the tire rolls over rough features on the surface. Tires provide a footprint, called a contact patch, designed to match the vehicle's weight and the bearing on the surface that it rolls over by exerting a pressure that will avoid deforming the surface.
Michelin, in full Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA, is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larger than both Goodyear and Continental. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the Kléber tyres company, Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Company, SASCAR, Bookatable and Camso brands. Michelin is also notable for its Red and Green travel guides, its roadmaps, the Michelin stars that the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, and for its company mascot Bibendum, colloquially known as the Michelin Man, who is a humanoid consisting of tyres.
Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi (石橋), meaning 'stone bridge' in Japanese. It primarily manufactures tires, as well as golf equipment.
John Boyd Dunlop was a Scottish inventor and veterinary surgeon who spent most of his career in Ireland. Familiar with making rubber devices, he invented the first practical pneumatic tyres for his child's tricycle and developed them for use in cycle racing. He sold his rights to the pneumatic tyres to company he formed with the president of the Irish Cyclists' Association, Harvey du Cros, for a small cash sum and a small shareholding in their pneumatic tyre business. Dunlop withdrew in 1896. The company that bore his name, Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company, was not incorporated until later and, despite its name, was Du Cros's creation.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for passenger vehicles, aviation, commercial trucks, military and police vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, race cars, and heavy off-road machinery. It also licenses the Goodyear brand to bicycle tire manufacturers, returning from a break in production between 1976 and 2015. As of 2017, Goodyear is one of the top four tire manufacturers along with Bridgestone (Japan), Michelin (France), and Continental (Germany).
Apollo Tyres Limited is an Indian multinational tyre manufacturing company headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. It was incorporated in 1972, and its first plant was commissioned in Perambra in Thrissur, Kerala. The company now has five manufacturing units in India, one in the Netherlands and one in Hungary. The company generates 69% of its revenues from India, 26% from Europe and 5% from other countries. Apollo announced its entry into the two-wheeler tyre segment with contract manufacturing in March 2016.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sales of replacement automobile and truck tires, and has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle, and racing tires. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has 60 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical, and design facilities within its worldwide family of subsidiary companies, including the UK-based Avon Tyres brand, which produces tires for motorcycles, road cars, and race cars.
Nokian Tyres plc, headquartered in Nokia, Finland, produces tyres for cars, trucks, buses, and heavy-duty equipment. Known for its winter tyres, Nokian is the only tyre manufacturer in the world with its own permanent winter tyre testing facility. The company's Hakkapeliitta brand name is recognised in Finland as a trademark.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is a global tire and rubber company based in Japan. It is part of the Sumitomo Group. The company makes a wide range of rubber based products, including automobile tires, golf balls and tennis balls. Sumitomo tire brands include Dunlop, Falken and Ohtsu. Sumitomo also manufactures and sells the sport equipments under the Dunlop Sport brand.
Fort Dunlop, is the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917, and by 1954 the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers. At one time it was the world's largest factory, when it employed 3,200 workers.
Dunlop Sport is a British sports equipment manufacturing company established in 1910 that focuses on racquets and water sports, more specifically tennis, swimming, squash, padel and badminton. Products by Dunlop Sport include racquets, strings, balls, shuttlecocks, and bags. Sportswear and clothing line includes t-shirts, shorts, skirts, jackets, pants, socks, caps, sneakers, and wristbands.
Dunlop Ltd. was a British multinational company involved in the manufacture of various natural rubber goods. Its business was founded in 1889 by Harvey du Cros and he involved John Boyd Dunlop who had re-invented and developed the first pneumatic tyre. It was one of the first multinationals, and under du Cros and, after him, under Eric Geddes, grew to be one of the largest British industrial companies. J. B. Dunlop had dropped any ties to it well before his name was used for any part of the business. The business and manufactory was founded in Upper Stephen Street, Dublin. A plaque marks the site, which is now part of the head office of the Irish multinational departments store brand, Dunnes Stores.
Falken is a brand of passenger car, light truck, and medium truck tires owned by the Japanese company Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI). It was launched in its native country of Japan in 1983, and was introduced to the North American market two years later and in Europe in 1988. Falken has now become a stand-alone brand that focuses on UHP products while utilizing professional motorsports to further develop and improve products for worldwide distribution.
Dunlop is a brand of tyre originally produced by the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company from the end of the 19th century, taking its name from John Boyd Dunlop. The brand is used for many other products made from rubber or with rubber components and some with a looser connection to rubber.
Federal Corporation is a Taiwan-based tire manufacturer, headquartered in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City Taiwan. Today, it operates under the name of Federal Group which includes marketing, real estate divisions, and two tire manufacturing plants: original plant in Zhongli, Taiwan and 100% owned plant in China, Jiangxi, Nanchang.
Pacific Dunlop was a highly diversified Australian conglomerate company that operated in, among other things, the Automotive, textile, electronics and biotechnology industries. Products commercialised included tires, car batteries, cables, clothing, electronics, bedding, condoms.
Sava Tires is a Slovenian tyre and other rubber related products' manufacturer, it is now a subsidiary of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. It is located in Kranj, Slovenia. The company was formed in 1998 under the name Sava Tyres d.o.o., although tyre manufacturing had started in 1920.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to tires:
In motorsports, a tire war occurs when more than one manufacturer provides tires for a motorsports series. Historically, tire wars have occurred in many high-level series, such as Formula One, NASCAR, Super GT, and MotoGP.
