Goodyear is the last one standing — when it comes to being a tire company headquartered in Akron.
On Thursday, Goodyear reaffirmed its commitment to the city when it dedicated its new $160 million headquarters in East Akron.
At one time, four major tire companies were based in town, earning the city the title of Rubber Capital of the World.
Here’s a snapshot of how Akron became Rubber City and the exits of all the headquarters but Goodyear’s.
For decades, four major tire companies were based in town, earning the city the title of Rubber Capital of the World.
Here’s a look at how Akron became known as the Rubber City and the exits of all the headquarters but Goodyear’s.
The timeline begins in 1870, when Benjamin Franklin Goodrich moved his small rubber business from near Jamestown, N.Y., to Akron.
And then:
• 1898: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was established by F.A. Seiberling and C.W. Seiberling near the Little Cuyahoga River in East Akron.
• 1900: Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. was founded at Sweitzer Street and Miller Avenue in South Akron by Harvey S. Firestone.
• 1915: General Tire & Rubber Co. was incorporated in Akron by William F. O’Neil, becoming at that time the 358th rubber company in the industry.
• 1920: Akron was called the fastest-growing city in the nation as its population swelled to 208,000, up from 69,000 in 1910.
• 1930: Nearly two-thirds of all tires produced in the nation were made in Akron, but the deepening Great Depression cut car and tire purchases.
• 1935: The United Rubber Workers of America union held its founding convention at the former Portage Hotel in Akron.
• 1941: The United States entered World War II. Rubber companies converted factories to wartime production, with tens of thousands employed in Akron. In addition to tires for military equipment, workers made ammunition, anti-tank guns, fighter jets and parts for tanks.
As time went by, worldwide competition grew in the industry, with European and Asian companies wanting to sell their products in big markets in North America.
Akron’s factories grew older, and technology changed the demand for different, more modern tire products.
That led to in 1975, B.F. Goodrich deciding to eliminate its Akron passenger tire production.
And then:
• 1976: The URW staged its last big national labor strike against Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone and Uniroyal Inc., the other large tire maker based in New York. Eleven thousand Akron workers — part of 60,000 nationwide — went on strike. Another 13,000 Akron rubber workers were not legally eligible to join the strike. Also, General Tire was not part of the strike.
• 1978: Goodyear shut down tire production in Akron, a loss of nearly 1,400 jobs, reducing its area employment to 9,850. The company did announce it would open a technical center on Martha Avenue in the former Plant 2, eventually creating hundreds of jobs.
• 1980: Firestone announced the closing of its last Akron tire plant, Plant 1. Also, Seiberling Tire & Rubber Co. in Barberton closed.
• 1981: General Tire moved its corporate headquarters from One General Street in East Akron to Ghent Road in Fairlawn. The tire operations remained based in East Akron. Goodyear announced the closing of the Martha Avenue industrial products plant, idling 500.
• 1982: General Tire stopped tire production in Akron. Akron area employment at rubber company headquarters and shops was estimated to be 17,366, down more than 11,000 from the post-1976 strike total of 28,453.
• 1986: Uniroyal and B.F. Goodrich formed a privately owned joint tire venture, based in Akron, called Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. Goodrich announced a move of its headquarters from South Main Street in downtown Akron to Bath Township. The new joint tire venture leased the Akron building from Goodrich.
• 1986: British financier Sir James Goldsmith launched an unsuccessful hostile raid on Goodyear. Goodyear responded by selling off non-tire units, including Goodyear Aerospace, and incurred $2.6 billion in debt to fend off Goldsmith.
• 1987: General Tire parent company GenCorp sold the company’s tire unit to Germany’s Continental AG, which kept General Tire offices on General Street.
• 1987: B.F. Goodrich halted production of aircraft tires and other products in Akron, eliminating nearly 800 jobs. Goodrich sold its share of Uniroyal Goodrich to an investment firm, Clayton & Dubilier, completing its exit from the tire business.
• 1987: Firestone moved its headquarters from South Main Street in South Akron to Chicago, affecting 400 jobs. The company’s research and technical center remained.
• 1988: Firestone was sold to Bridgestone Corp. of Tokyo, Japan. Meanwhile, Goodrich announced plans to sell its 27-building complex in downtown Akron to a group of New York developers. The complex — dubbed Canal Place — is home to offices, small manufacturers and a locally and state-supported business incubator, Akron Global Business Accelerator.
• 1989: French tire giant Michelin bought Uniroyal Goodrich from Clayton & Dubilier.
• 1989: Bridgestone moved Firestone headquarters back to Akron.
• 1992: Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. moved its corporate headquarters from Akron to Nashville, Tenn. Research and technical workers remained in South Akron, along with IndyCar racing tire manufacturing.
• 1994: With Akron employment down to 400, Michelin announced plans to leave the city and transfer 190 jobs to a site near its U.S. headquarters in Greenville, S.C. Goodrich began to look for a tenant, or buyer, for its old headquarters on South Main. Soap and Purell maker and distributor GOJO Industries Inc. moved into the building in 2000.
• 1994-1995: German-based Continental moved General Tire offices from East Akron to Charlotte, N.C., affecting 500 Akron jobs.
• 1999: After a few years of trying to sell the former General Tire building in East Akron, Continental decided to have it demolished, selling the property to the city of Akron for $1.5 million for industrial redevelopment. For six decades, the five-story brick building was the world headquarters for General Tire.
• 2004: Goodyear, the only Big Four company still headquartered in Akron, now employed about 3,000 in the city.
• February 2010: Bridgestone broke ground for its new $100 million Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations technical center on South Main and Wilbeth Road in Akron. The deal included a $68 million public financing package offered by the state, county and city.
• April 2012: Bridgestone dedicated its new 260,000-square-foot technical center. (Amerimar Realty, a Philadelphia real estate company/developer, has expressed interest in buying the old yellow brick Firestone headquarters and adjoining property on South Main — encompassing 30 acres — and transforming it into office space.)
• May 9, 2013: Goodyear dedicated its new world headquarters on Innovation Way, the former Martha Avenue.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.