1898
Goodyear is founded by Frank A. Seiberling and enters its first home: a strawboard factory on the banks
of the Little Cuyahoga River in East Akron, Ohio. The company makes horseshoe pads, bicycle and
carriage tyres, sealing rings for canning, fire hoses and even rubber poker chips.
1904
Introducing world’s first detachable tyre soon after P.W. Litchfield earns patent in 1903
1908 Henry Ford decided to equip the first mass manufactured car, Model T, with Goodyear tyres.
1917 Cross-country trucking’s feasibility is proven when Goodyear sends the Wingfoot Express on a trucking
expedition from Akron to Boston, the first trip of its kind.
1921 Goodyear produces the first off-the-road tyre: the Rut-Proof Tyre.
1934 Goodyear launches Lifeguard – the first tyre to provide extra stability in the event of a blowout.
1937 Goodyear builds and tests the first American-made synthetic rubber tire. As part of the war effort,
company researchers will perfect the synthetic material, making it virtually identical to natural rubber.
1941 Orders pour in for rubber rafts, flotation vests and tires from Goodyear to support the war effort.
1948 Goodyear first uses television to advertise products that now include vinyl flooring. Musician Paul
Whiteman hosts the weekly “Goodyear Review”.
1954 The world’s first commercial passenger conveyor belt is built by Goodyear for Manhattan Railroad.