View source for General Tire

{{short description|American tire manufacturer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{technical reasons|General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200|the race|General Tire AnywhereIsPossible 200}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Continental Tire the Americas, LLC.
| logo = General Tire logo.svg
| logo_size = 255px
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| trading_name = General Tire
| former_name = The General Tire & Rubber Company (1915{{En dash}}1984) <br> General Tire, Inc. (1984{{En dash}}1987)
| industry = [[Manufacturing]]
| predecessor = The Western Rubber & Supply Company <br> (1909{{En dash}}1911)<br> The Western Tire & Rubber Company (1911{{En dash}}1915)
| founded = {{start date and age|1915|09|29}}, in [[Akron, Ohio]], U.S.
| location_city = [[Akron, Ohio]] (1915{{En dash}}1984) <br> [[Fairlawn, Ohio]] (1985{{En dash}}1987) <br> [[Charlotte, North Carolina]] (1987{{En dash}}2008) <br> [[Fort Mill, South Carolina]] (2008{{En dash}}Present)
| area_served = Worldwide
| founders = William Francis O'Neil<br />([[General Manager]] General Tire & Rubber Co.)<br />Winfred E. Fouse<br />([[Director general|Director]], General Tire & Rubber Co.)<br />Charles J. Jahant<br />([[Vice president#In_business|vice president]], General Tire & Rubber Co.)<br />Robert Iredell<br />([[Director general|Director]], General Tire & Rubber Co.)<br />H.B. Pushee<br /> ([[Chemist|Chief Chemist]], General Tire & Rubber Co.)<ref>{{cite book |title=Western Trucking and Motor Transportation |date=1950 |publisher=Motor Transportation, inc. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bvEhAAAAMAAJ&q=five+founders+general+tire |language=en}}</ref>
| products = [[Tires]]
| parent = [[Continental AG]]
| website = {{URL|GeneralTire.com}}
}}

'''Continental Tire the Americas, LLC''', [[trade name|d.b.a.]] '''General Tire''', is an American manufacturer of [[tire]]s 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'Neils' father, who owned Akron's [[O'Neil's|O'Neil's Department Store]]. The company later diversified by 1984 into a conglomerate ([[Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings|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{{En dash}}incorporation again to its current name. The compounds division was spun off & became [[OMNOVA Solutions|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|Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.]]

==History==
[[File:General Tire logo 1962.svg|thumb|right|General Tire logo {{c.|1962}}]]

=== Early{{En dash}}to{{En dash}}mid{{En dash}}20th century ===
===Tire division===
William Francis O'Neil owned a [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]] franchise in [[Kansas City, Missouri]]. He started a small manufacturing facility for tire repair products, and called it The Western Rubber & Supply Company initially, then The Western Tire & Rubber Company.<ref name="generaltirerubberpredecessor">{{cite web |title=History of General Tire, Inc. – FundingUniverse |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/general-tire-inc-history/ |website=www.fundinguniverse.com |quote=In early 1909 O'Neil and Fouse pooled their capital and established the Western Rubber & Supply Company (renamed the Western Tire & Rubber Company in 1911), which only sold already made tires.}}</ref>
[[File:General Tire ad 1919.png|thumb|right|A Little Falls Herald newspaper ad for General Tire c. 1919]]
As Firestone grew, it sold additional franchises, reducing the territories of its earlier franchisees. Dissatisfied, O'Neil decided to compete with Firestone instead, using the expertise he had gained with Western Tire and Rubber. He went into partnership with four other men, using funding gained from his father, and formed The General Tire & Rubber Company on September 29, 1915 using $200,000 USD in capital borrowed from the store. O'Neil & his associates hired away some Firestone managers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = https://sites.google.com/site/playingwithfirememoirs/Playing-With-Fire/contents/missileers-1940-1960/aerojet/the-aerojet-general|title = The Aerojet 'General'|archive-url = https://archive.today/20131008042345/https://sites.google.com/site/playingwithfirememoirs/Playing-With-Fire/contents/missileers-1940-1960/aerojet/the-aerojet-general|archive-date = October 8, 2013|access-date = October 7, 2013|website = Playing with Fire|last = Jones|first = Edward|url-status = live}}</ref>

Initially, they focused on repair materials, as with Western Tire & Rubber Company, but in 1916 they expanded into tire manufacturing, focusing on high{{En dash}}end products.

<ref name=":0" /> Early products included:<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/ca/en/generaltire/automobile/themes/generaluniversity/history/general_history/general_history1_en.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723115055/http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/ca/en/generaltire/automobile/themes/generaluniversity/history/general_history/general_history1_en.html|archive-date=July 23, 2012|website=General Tire Canada|title=Corporate history, 1915–1937|access-date=August 20, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{div col}}
* ''General Jumbo'', a premium replacement tire for [[Ford Model T]]s.
* Low{{En dash}}pressure ''General Balloon Jumbo tire.''
* ''Dual 90 tires''.
{{div col end}}

Despite the difficult business climate of [[World War I]], in 1917, O'Neil established a dealership network and began an advertising campaign. By 1930, the company had 14 retail stores and about 1.8% of the tire market. During the depression, as competitors failed, The General Tire & Rubber Company bought out Yale Tire and Rubber Company, and India Tire and Rubber Company. By 1933, it had increased market share to 2.7%. This was a relatively large number, considering that the company limited its product line.<ref name=":0" />

In the post{{En dash}}war years, The General Tire & Rubber Company gradually ceased to be exclusively a tire manufacturer and marketer. It entered the entertainment business, followed by tennis ball, wrought iron, and soft drink production, as well as chemicals and plastics manufacturing; in the early 1980s General Tire even began motion picture and video production.

==Conglomeration==

===Radio, television, and film division===
Because the Depression was particularly hard on manufacturing, The General Tire & Rubber Company bought several Ohio radio stations on which it advertised. In 1943, it diversified the core business strategy, purchasing the [[Yankee Network]] and the radio stations it owned from [[Boston]]'s Shepard Stores, Inc. [[Thomas F. O'Neil]], son of the founder William F. O'Neil, served as [[New York Yankees]] chairman with Shepard's [[John Shepard III]] serving as president.

The company continued its move into broadcasting by acquiring the [[Don Lee Network|Don Lee Broadcasting System]], a well{{En dash}}respected regional radio network on the West Coast, in 1950.  Among other stations, it added [[KHJ (AM)|KHJ-AM]]{{En dash}}[[KRTH|FM]] in [[Los Angeles, California]] and [[KFRC (defunct)|KFRC-AM-FM]] in [[San Francisco, California]] to its stable from the New York Yankees acquisition. In 1952, it bought [[WOR (AM)|WOR]]/[[WRKS|WOR-FM]]/[[WWOR-TV|WOR-TV]] in [[New York City]] and merged its broadcasting interests into a new division, '''General Teleradio''' (purchased from [[R. H. Macy & Company]] alongside WOR & Bamberger Broadcasting; named as a result of The General Tire & Rubber Company's increased investment in WOR). RKO/General also added Canadian 50,000 watt power house CKLW in [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] to the family. The "Big 8" was No. 1 in the [[Detroit]] market.

The company's final move into entertainment was the acquisition of [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]] from [[Howard Hughes]] in 1955 for $25 million. The General Tire & Rubber Company was interested mainly in using the RKO film library to program its television stations, so it sold the RKO lot at Sunset and Gower in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood, California]] to [[Lucille Ball]] and [[Desi Arnaz]]'s [[Desilu Productions]] in 1956 for $6 million. The remaining assets of RKO were merged with General Teleradio, and the new company became known initially as '''RKO Teleradio Pictures''', then '''RKO Teleradio''', before eventually becoming '''[[RKO General]]'''.  The radio stations became some of the leading broadcasters in the world, but the division was dragged down by unethical conduct at its television stations.  This culminated in the [[RKO General#The licensing saga|longest licensing dispute]] in television history, eventually forcing RKO General out of the broadcasting business by 1991.

====Rocketry and aeronautics division====
{{Main|Aerojet Rocketdyne}}
In the late 1930s, the [[United States Army]] became interested in rockets. A group of [[California Institute of Technology]] engineers won a contract to produce rocket engines to speed airplane liftoff, and formed a company named [[Aerojet]]. The group succeeded with liquid{{En dash}}fuel rockets, but needed additional materials science and manufacturing expertise to create more sophisticated solid{{En dash}}fuel rockets. Aerojet went into partnership with The General Tire & Rubber Company, using their capitalization, expertise with rubber binders, and chemical manufacturing facilities. The partnership was renamed Aerojet General.

==Re{{En dash}}incorporation and sale to Continental AG==
General Tire's restructuring plan went forward; General Tire and its industrial products, and chemicals, and plastics divisions, along with Aerojet General and RKO General, Inc., became subsidiaries of the holding company [[GenCorp|GenCorp, Inc.]] in 1984.

In 1987, GenCorp, Inc. underwent large{{En dash}}scale restructuring, in part to ward off a hostile takeover attempt by General Acquisition, Inc.

GenCorp, Inc. sold its flagship tire division General Tire to [[Germany|German]] tire manufacturer [[Continental AG]] in 1987. General Tire still exists today as part of Continental Tire of North America.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://generaltire.com/about-us |website=General Tire |access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref>

==Sponsorships==

General Tire is a sponsor of the following: 

{{div col}}
* [[Major League Fishing]] {{En dash}} Official Partner of Major League Fishing.<ref name=gofish>{{cite web|url=https://majorleaguefishing.com/press-releases/2017-03-29-general-tire-renews-official-tire-sponsorship-of-fishing-league-worldwide/|title=General Tire Renews Official Tire Sponsorship of Fishing League Worldwide|publisher=MajorLeagueFishing.com|date=March 29, 2017 |access-date=February 19, 2022|author=Press Release - FLW Communications}}</ref>
* [[ARCA Menards Series]] {{En dash}} Official tire supplier of the ARCA Menards Series.
* [[NASCAR Canada Series]] {{En dash}} Official tire supplier the NASCAR Canada Series.
* Jeep Jamboree USA {{En dash}} Official Partner of Jeep Jamboree USA.
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.generaltire.com/ General Tire U.S. Website]
* [https://www.generaltire-tyres.com/ General Tire International Website]
* [https://www.general-tire.md/ General Tire Moldova]
* [http://www.gt-club.fr/ General Tire Club]

{{GenCorp}}
{{Continental AG}}
{{Automotive industry in the United States}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Continental AG]]
[[Category:Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings]]
[[Category:Tire manufacturers of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct automotive companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Akron, Ohio]]
[[Category:Defunct manufacturing companies based in Ohio]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1915]]
[[Category:Automotive companies established in 1915]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1987]]
[[Category:1915 establishments in Ohio]]
[[Category:1987 disestablishments in Ohio]]
[[Category:1987 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:American subsidiaries of foreign companies]]
[[Category:American brands]]
[[Category: Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]