|
The founding of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in 1898 seems especially remarkable, for the beginning was anything but auspicious. The 38-year-old founder, Frank Seiberling, purchased the company's first plant with a $3,500 down payment - using money he borrowed from a brother-in-law. The rubber and cotton that were the lifeblood of the industry had to be transported from halfway around the world, to a landlocked town that had only limited rail transportation. Even the man the company's name memorialized, Charles Goodyear, had died penniless 30 years earlier despite his discovery of vulcanization after a long and courageous search. Goodyear manufacturers and markets tires, several lines of belts, hose and other engineered rubber products for the transportation industry and various industrial and consumer markets, as well as rubber-related chemicals for various applications.
|
