Where Tire Manufacturers Got Their Names

For a company, a name can be pretty important. It become synonymous with their products. I mean, think about it: when you hear Goodyear, you think tires (or the blimp). You know the companies, you know the products, but have you ever wondered where the name came from? Is it a founder? Is there a meaning behind it? Or did it just sound good? Just for fun, let’s take a look at some tire companies and discover (as Juliet famously pondered) what’s in a name...

Bridgestone

Bridgestone was founded back in 1931 by Shojiro Ibashi in his hometown of Kurume, Japan, so it makes sense the company would take his name. Right about now, you’re probably wondering how “Bridgestone” has anything to do with his name. Well, as I mentioned, its founder is Japanese and “Bridgestone” is actually what his surname translates to. Specifically “Ishi” means stone in Japanese, and “bashi” (or “hashi”) means bridge. Why he turned it around is anybody’s guess, but I think it’s a pretty clever way to give a company your name!

Cooper Tires

Cooper Tires was founded in Ohio in 1914 by two brothers-in-law, John F. Schaefer and Claude E. Hart, and it started out rebuilding tires. However, the company doesn’t actually get its name from the original founders. Instead, it comes from Ira J. Cooper, who founded a new tire manufacturing company that merged with them in 1919. In the 1920s he came up with his “Cooper Creed,” which is still the company’s objective today: “good merchandise, fair play, and a square deal.”

Goodyear

Goodyear (of blimp and tire fame) is another company that began in Ohio. Specifically in Akron, in 1898. They started out making bicycle and carriage tires, and then got in the on the ground floor when the car caught on. Their name is actually a tribute to the person who made their business possible at all: Charles Goodyear. No, he wasn’t the founder, that was Frank Seiberling. You see, 60 years or so before the Goodyear company was founded, Charles Goodyear invented something no modern tires would exist without: vulcanized rubber.

Vogue Tyre

Vogue Tyre was started in 1914 by a chauffeur named Harry Hower. They started off producing carriage tires, and are credited with inventing the whitewall tire. They even patented the gold stripe in the 1960s. Since they’re known for luxury tires, and have been a favorite of the rich and famous since the 1920s, it’s pretty easy to see why they chose their name. “Vogue” is defined as “fashionable and popular” and they were definitely en vogue.

Nokian Tyres

Nokian Tyres gets its name from its headquarters: Nokia, Finland. Yes, that is the same as the phone company, and surprisingly they are related! Both Nokia and Nokian branched off from a paper mill that was established there in the 1800s. Aside from sharing an origin with a phone company, they also invented the winter tire, and operate the only permanent winter tire testing facility in the world.

Firestone

Firestone was founded in 1900 by Harvey Firestone. Obviously you can see where it got its name. What’s really interesting about the Firestone company, and what makes it so recognizable a name, is that they were a part of the beginnings of the automobile industry. You see, Harvey was friends with Henry Ford, and he also pioneered the mass production of tires. So, when Henry Ford needed someone to supply tires to his new vehicles, who do you think he chose?

Hankook

Based in Seoul, South Korea, the Hankook Tire Group is the seventh largest manufacturer in the world. Founded in 1941 as Chosun Tire Group, they changed their name to Hankook which, in the Korean language, literally means “Korea.” Even their original name paid homage to their country, as Chosun (or Joseon) was an early kingdom that lasted 500 years.

Unhappy with using street tires for racing, which was the only option at the time, racer Robert Newton set out to develop tires specifically for the race track. Operating out of a barn in Lakeville, Indiana, he and his wife retreaded regular tires with a softer compound to sell to fellow racers (and use himself). Now they’re the largest racing tire manufacturer in the world. As with many Indiana businesses, he took the company name from the term for the state’s residents, and he used the color of his first race car for their logo.

Nexen

Nexen was founded in South Korea in 1942 under the name Heung-A Tire Company. In 2000, to represent their “dedication to quality and continued leadership,” they decided to change the company name to Nexen, a combination of the words “Next” and “Century.” After the name change, they went on to develop several innovations, including patenting a new rubber compound and developing new UHP and Winter tread patterns. It’s pretty obvious they really took their new name to heart.

As you can see, brand names can be used to pay tribute to founders, hometowns, or even the values of the company itself. So next time you see them in a store, or garage, or on a car, you’ll know what their name is all about.