bridgestone

100 Years of Firestone.

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey S. Firestone were not only some of the century's greatest inventors, they were also friends. (Bridgestone/Firestone Collection)

It started with fire. It was a time when a national passion burned for invention, for doing a better job, for creating a better world. One of the foremost keepers of that new industrial flame, ironically, was an Ohio farm boy. Even his name, Firestone, evoked the burning spirit of the new age.

Harvey S. Firestone was one of three men who epitomized the spirit of a nation awakening to its potential and who changed America. Firestone, along with friends Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, took annual camping trips where ideas were shared to pull the world out of its horse-and-buggy pace and thrust it into an era of speed.

As the new century arrived, Firestone was convinced automobiles were the future. In 1900, he moved to Akron, Ohio, which was soon to become the rubber capital of the world, and began manufacturing his own tires in a small old foundry. In just six years, sales of Firestone tires surpassed $1 million.

Harvey S. Firestone makes a tire in Akron, Ohio tire plant. (Bridgestone/Firestone Collection)

As the demand for tires grew, Firestone set the pace with innovations that included the pneumatic tire, an improvement over the difficult-to-mount clinchers then in use; the demountable rim, which for the first time made it easy for drivers to change their own tires; the first angular non-skid tread, which made automobiles easier to control; the gum-dipping process, which guarded against heat build-up; and the first successful set of low-pressure balloon tires that allowed cars to travel at faster speeds with greater safety and comfort.

In 1911, the first Indy 500® was held and Firestone tires were on the winning car. Since then, Firestone-equipped racers have maintained a strong presence in the Sunday races. From 1920 through 1966, every winner at the Indy 500® had one thing in common - Firestone tires.

Firestone became a household name as the company continued to grow and make its mark on the country. People began shopping at Firestone one-stop service centers that sold not only tires, but car service and batteries. Within 13 years of opening the first store, the Firestone network of stores grew to 575 and offered 2,200 different items. In homes across America, people tuned in each week to hear the "Voice of Firestone" radio program that started in 1928 and ran for the next 36 years. And, Americans followed the footsteps of Harvey Firestone as he championed the drive to improve the infrastructure of the country with modern highways and better roads.

Firestone advertisement featuring messages of appreciation to Firestone from winner Jules Goux and runner-up Spencer Wishart. (Bridgestone/Firestone Collection)

As the century began to draw to a close, the company, which had long held a strong international presence, began looking for an international partner to help it compete more effectively on a global scale. In 1988, the Bridgestone Corporation of Japan purchased the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. It was the largest investment ever of a Japanese company in an American company.

At first glance, it might appear the two companies sprang from divergent roots, but in more ways than one, they are remarkably similar.

At the same time Firestone was becoming established in America in the early 1900s, a young man named Shojiro Ishibashi purchased a Studebaker in 1912, using it in his family business.

Ishibashi later became president of Nihon Tabi Company, and purchased the development of a tire manufacturing operation--the first successful tire was finished April 9, 1930. The following year, Ishibashi founded the Bridgestone Tire Company, Ltd.

Since there was a strong preference at the time for imported products, Ishibashi took the direct English translation of his family name (which means "stone bridge"), and reversed it to form the name "Bridgestone." The resulting name had an English sound that might appeal more to the Japanese public. Ishibashi instilled in his employees a relentless insistence on superior products which echoed the philosophy of Firestone.

The merger created a truly new global company that brought Firestone's manufacturing capabilities and production operations to Bridgestone. The merger positioned the company to sell tires internationally and leveraged technological advances that included UNI-T®, which improves tire traction on wet surfaces, and UNI-T AQ™, which keeps performance at optimum levels even as tires wear.

In 1995, the Firestone name returned to Indy racing after an absence of more than two decades and soon reclaimed some familiar territory - the winner's circle.

A decade after the two companies merged, sales and net earnings of Bridgestone/Firestone have reached all-time highs.

Bridgestone/Firestone has entered the new century just as it began - with fire: to continually innovate, to offer the best, to win the race and to make the lives of people safer and easier. Harvey S. Firestone would have been proud.