General Tire

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC.
General Tire
FormerlyThe General Tire & Rubber Company (1915–1984)
General Tire, Inc. (1984–1987)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryManufacturing
PredecessorThe Western Rubber & Supply Company
(1909–1911)
The Western Tire & Rubber Company (1911–1915)
FoundedSeptember 29, 1915; 109 years ago (1915-09-29)
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
FoundersWilliam Francis O'Neil
(General Manager General Tire & Rubber Co.)
Winfred E. Fouse
(Director, General Tire & Rubber Co.)
Charles J. Jahant
(Vice President, General Tire & Rubber Co.)
Robert Iredell
(Director, General Tire & Rubber Co.)
H.B. Pushee
(Chief Chemist, General Tire & Rubber Co.)[1]
Headquarters
Akron, Ohio (1915–1984)
Fairlawn, Ohio (1985–1987)
Charlotte, North Carolina (1987–2008)
Fort Mill, South Carolina (2008–Present)
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsTires
ParentContinental AG
Websitegeneraltire.com

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles, and semi trucks. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, and H.B. Pushee as The General Tire & Rubber Company using funding from Michael O'Neil, William Francis O'Neills' father, who owned Akron's O'Neil's Department Store. The company later diversified by 1984 into a conglomerate (GenCorp, Inc.) with holdings in tire manufacturing (General Tire, Inc.), rubber compounds (DiversiTech General), rocketry and aeronautics (Aerojet), and broadcasting (RKO General).

The company's tire division was sold to Germany's Continental AG in 1987, becoming Continental General Tire Corp. before its re–incorporation again to its current name. The compounds division was spun off & became OMNOVA Solutions Inc. The rocketry and aeronautics business was kept and expanded, and after a couple company name changes, the parent company eventually became Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.

  1. ^ Western Trucking and Motor Transportation. Motor Transportation, inc. 1950.