What’s in a name? Plenty, as it turns out. Romeo and Juliet may not have believed so, but nowadays, many of the tyre companies that have made it big internationally have made sales based on their names alone.
Where, though, do these names come from? What meanings did they have before they were affiliated with big league tyre manufacturers? The history may not explain why the companies have grown as large as they have, but they do tell a story that set each manufacturer up for success.
Laying the foundation
The now-famous musical about Alexander Hamilton states, “Legacy. What is legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”
There are a lot of families that know all about legacy making waves in the tyre industry today. More often than not, a tyre manufacturer will be named for its original founder. Take, for example, Michelin, Pirelli, and Bridgestone. All three of these manufacturers were named for the families that helped them rise to prominence.
In the case of Michelin, drivers can look to the French brothers, Andrew and Edouard. In the case of Pirelli, car manufacturers have Giovanni Battista Pirelli to thank. Bridgestone is a more unique case – it is a Japanese company originally founded by Shojiro Ishibashi. Ishibashi translated his name into English so as to appeal to a universal audience, resulting in the now-famous Bridgestone tyre.
Other tyre manufacturers that were named after their founders include:
It just goes to show that if you do great deeds, your name will long outlast you – to the point where it’s more often affiliated with your product than it is with you, yourself!
Honouring a legacy
Sometimes, though, it’s not a single family that puts a manufacturer on the map. Instead, the innovative founder can take another person’s reputation and twist it – just a little – to give their newfound company a bit of extra clout.
This is what happened with companies like Goodyear, Kleber, and Barum.
You might assume that Goodyear was founded by Charles Goodyear, the man who invented the processes through which rubber is vulcanized. This, however, isn’t the case. Instead, Goodyear’s success stemmed from the efforts of Frank Seiberling and his team. Seiberling named the company after the famous Goodyear out of respect for his contributions to the automotive industry.
Kleber also came about its name through a military association. The original road on which the tyre manufacturer was located was named Kleber Avenue, after the influential French general. Because the general was alive at the time of the company’s founding, he became one of the larger names to be affiliated with its eventual success.
Barum, finally, was founded through the union of three other organizations. The original companies, Bata, Rubena, and Mitas, opted to each keep the first few letters of their names and bring them together under the new company’s helm. And thus, Barum was born.
The power of myths and legends
Who doesn’t want to borrow inspiration from the heroes of myth and legend? If tyre manufacturers don’t want to take their names from founders or influential figures of the modern age, they can instead borrow for mythological history.
Take, for example:
- Achilles, an Indonesian tyre company that shares its name with the Greek hero whose only flaws were his weak ankles
- Fenix, another brand with an Indonesian plant, named after a variation of the legendary Phoenix
- Atlas, named for the Greek Titan who is said to hold up the sky
- Hercules, named for the Greek demi-god who, while also serving as a Disney hero, completed twelve impossible feats to enter Olympus
- Fortuna, a manufacturer named after the goddess of the same name
- Minerva, seeking inspiration from the goddess of intelligence and craftmanship
- Mitas (not affiliated with the manufacturer that eventually formed Barum), named for the king who turned everything he touched into gold
Location, location, location
Finally, some tyre companies simply named themselves after their locations. You could argue that Kleber was one of the first companies to do just this, but its affiliation with the French general disqualifies it from this category.
Instead, some of the tyre manufacturers best known for their location-based names include:
- Avon was named for the Avon River, which was also the home of Avon Mill
- Dębica was named for the Polish town in which it was based
- Fulda, a German manufacturer, was also named for the town that its plant eventually overtook
- Westlake, named for the lake the company is near
- Maloya, named for the Alpine pass the original company was near
- Vredestein, located near the renamed farm of Loosduinen
- Sava, named for the Solvenian river
- Hankook, which, when translated, literally means “South Korea”
As you can see, then, tyre companies around a world have built their brands on locations, heroes, and legacies. What sets these companies apart from the competition is not their names but rather the quality of the tyres they produce.
If you’re looking for quality car tyres, why not search some of the options here? You’ll be inviting more than just a name back into your garage – you’ll be inviting the history of quality that comes with it.