The
United States Rubber Company was founded in
Naugatuck, ConnecticutNaugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 30,989 at the 2000 census. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury, and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, which has...
in 1892. It was one of the original 12 stocks in the
Dow Jones Industrial AverageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average also referred to as the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply as the Dow; is one of several stock market indices, created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
, and became
Uniroyal Inc. in 1961.
In 1990, Uniroyal was acquired by
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
-based tire maker
MichelinMichelin based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer, currently either the world's second-largest or the largest...
.
One of Uniroyal's best known products is the
Tiger Paw tire introduced in the 1960s and included as original equipment for that decade's musclecars such as the
Pontiac GTOThe Pontiac GTO is an automobile built by Pontiac in the United States from 1964 to 1974, and by Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is often considered the first true muscle car. From 1964 until midway through 1973 it was closely related to the Pontiac Tempest and for the 1974 model year it...
, which itself was promoted as The Tiger during its early years. Today, Uniroyal still uses the Tiger Paw brand name in its tire line.
Uniroyal Inc. is not to be confused with Uniroyal, a Belgian tire manufacturer, now subsidiary of
Continental AGContinental AG , internally often called Conti for short, is a worldwide leading manufacturer of tires, brake systems, vehicle stability control systems, engine injection systems, tachographs and other parts for the automotive and transport industries. The Company is based in Hanover, Germany...
.
Origins
The Litchfield Rubber Co. moved to
Naugatuck, ConnecticutNaugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 30,989 at the 2000 census. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury, and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, which has...
in 1847, and the name was changed to Goodyear's India Rubber Glove Mfg. Co., as it began to manufacture rubber gloves for telegraph linemen. It was the only company in which
Charles GoodyearCharles Goodyear was the first American to vulcanize rubber, a process which he discovered in 1839 and patented on June 15, 1844...
, inventor of the rubber vulcanization process, is known to have owned stock. By 1892, there were many rubber manufacturing companies in Naugatuck, as well as elsewhere in Connecticut. Nine companies consolidated their operations in Naugatuck to become the United States Rubber Company. From 1892 to 1913, the rubber footwear divisions of U.S. Rubber were manufacturing their products under 30 different brand names, including the Wales-Goodyear Shoe Co. The company consolidated these brands under one name, Keds, in 1916, and were first mass-marketed as canvas-top "sneakers" in 1917. These were the first sneakers.
On May 26, 1896
Charles DowCharles Henry Dow was an American journalist who co-founded Dow Jones & Company with Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser....
created the Dow Industrial average of twelve industrial manufacturing stocks, which included among them U.S. Rubber Company. In 1916, the Dow-Jones Industrial average expanded to a list of 20 stocks, and continued to include U.S. Rubber Company. In 1928, the Dow-Jones Industrial average expanded to 30 stocks for the first time, but by then U.S. Rubber Company was no longer listed among them.
In 1915, Arthur H. Adams, then president of the United States Rubber Company, died in the sinking of the
RMS LusitaniaRMS Lusitania was an ocean liner owned by the Cunard Line and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland, torpedoed by a German U-boat on 7 May 1915. The ship sank in 18 minutes, eight miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people aboard...
at the age of 46. He was hit by one of the falling masts.
In 1931, U.S. Rubber Company bought a substantial interest in the Gillette Safety Tire Company, founded by Raymond B. Gillette. The rubber tire manufacturing plant was located in
Eau Claire, WisconsinEau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 61,704 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County, although a small portion of the city lies in neighboring Chippewa County...
. The purchase by U.S. Rubber was part of an effort to increase its share of the automobile tire market.
After 1931, the Gillette plant, with its contracts with the
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
Corporation, became one of the world's largest supplier of original equipment tires. It produced Gillete brand tires, along with Ward, Atlas, and U.S. Rubber's brand, U.S. Royal.
In 1940, U.S. Rubber Company fully purchased and took over the Gillette company, and then expanded and modernized the Eau Claire factory, greatly increasing production. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, U.S. Rubber factories were devoted to production of war goods, and produced military truck and airplane tires, as well as the canvas-top, rubber-soled
Jungle bootJungle boots are a type of combat boot designed for use in jungle warfare or in hot, wet and humid environments, where a standard leather combat boot would be uncomfortable or unsuitable to wear...
for soldiers and marines serving in tropical and jungle environments.
In 1942, after the United States government put a freeze on scarce rubber for civilian use, the company sold the Eau Claire plant to the government, which then converted it to make small caliber ammunition, renaming it the Eau Claire Ordnance plant.
On December 31, 1943, U.S. Rubber repurchased the plant from the government for over US$1 million, and converted it back to synthetic rubber tire production. The Eau Claire plant was greatly expanded in later years. The plant was one of the oldest tire plant in the United States and, at one time, the largest private employer in Eau Claire and the second largest in Chippewa Falls before it was closed in 1991.
Uniroyal, Dominion Rubber.
In 1911 , first rubber industry in St-Jerome, shoes production.
In 1926, the industry is rename Dominion Rubber .
In the 50's, 37,000 shoes where produced for all over the world.
In 1966, the compagny is rename UNIROYAL LTD.
In 1968, the compagny change is production for automobile part, crashpad.
In 1981, the compagny was sold to many cies like Woodbridge,Waterville,
In 1994 the building has been demolished.
Uniroyal
In 1961 the company was renamed
Uniroyal Inc.
As Uniroyal, the company became defendant in a landmark gender discrimination case,
Chrapliwy v. UniroyalChrapliwy v. Uniroyal, Inc., 670 F.2d 760 , cert. denied, 461 U.S. 956 , was litigation involving allegedly discriminatory practices under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964....
, under Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places, and employment...
. The case went on for years, ending up in the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...
by 1982.
In 1980 Uniroyal Australia, a subsidiary, was purchased by Bridgestone Australia, which took over the Australian plants operated by the Uniroyal Tyre Company. Bridgestone Australia has three major manufacturing plants in Australia. Bridgestone Australia was traded on the Australian stock exchange, as a majority-owned subsidiary of Japan's tire company,
Bridgestoneis a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
Corporation. On May 11, 2007 Bridgestone Australia Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of
Bridgestoneis a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
Corporation of Japan.
Uniroyal Goodrich Tire
In 1985, Uniroyal was taken private by its management and the New York investment firm of Clayton & Dubilier in order to prevent a hostile takeover by financier
Carl C. IcahnCarl Celian Icahn is an American billionaire financier, corporate raider, and private equity investor. In 2008 his net worth was US$14 billion, putting him in an eight way tie for the 46th richest man in the world...
. At the time, Uniroyal was the fifth-largest tire company in the country. Its Uniroyal Chemical subsidiary, a produce of agricultural chemicals, industrial chemical additives and specialized rubber and plastic products, was sold to Avery Inc. for $760 million in 1986 to help pay the nearly $1 billion in debt incurred in the leveraged buyout.
The remaining tire operation was merged with that of
B.F. Goodrich Company , a
S&P 500The S&P 500 is a market free float-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States...
-listed tire and rubber fabricator, to form a joint venture partnership and became the
Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company. B.F. Goodrich Company held a 50% stake in the new tire company. Goodrich made high-performance replacement tires.
The new Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company headquarters was set up at the former B. F. Goodrich corporate headquarters, within its 27-building downtown complex in
Akron, OhioAkron is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. In 2008, its population was estimated to be 207,510. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland to the north and Canton to the south, approximately 60 miles west of...
which contained Goodrich's original factory. In the fall of 1987 B.F. Goodrich Company shut down several manufacturing operations at the site, and most of the complex remained vacant until February 1988, when B.F. Goodrich announced plans to sell the vacant part of the complex to the Covington Capital Corporation, a group of New York developers.
In 1987, its first full year of operation, the new Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company generated almost US$2 billion in sales revenue, with profit of about US$35 million.
However, the merger soon proved to be difficult. In June 1988 B.F. Goodrich sold its 50% stake for US$225 million. The buyers were a group of investors led by Clayton & Dubilier, Inc. a private New York investment firm. At the same time, B.F. Goodrich also received a warrant to purchase indirectly up to 7% of the equity in Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company.
Also in June 1988 as part of the sale deal, the new privately-held tire company acquired publicly-held debt of $415 million. The Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company offered the debt securities in two parts through underwriters led by
Drexel Burnham LambertDrexel Burnham Lambert was a major Wall Street investment banking firm, which first rose to prominence and then was driven into bankruptcy in February 1990 by its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by Drexel employee Michael Milken. At its height, it was the...
Inc. The two instruments were a US$250 million issue of 14 ⅛% notes due in 1998, and a US$165 million issue of 14 ½% subordinated
debentureIn law, a debenture is a document that either creates a debt or acknowledges it.The term is used in corporate finance for a medium to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money. In some countries the term is used interchangeably with bond, loan stock or note.Debentures are...
s due in 2000.
For the year 1988, Uniroyal Goodrich Tire posted sales revenue of US$2.2 billion, while profit declined to about a third of the prior year, less than US$12 million, which included an extraordinary credit of nearly US$2 million from the purchase of Canadian annuity pension obligations, and also a charge of over US$16 million from the June 1988 recapitalization resulting from the selloff by B.F. Goodrich.
Also in 1988, Michelin Group, a subsidiary of the French tire company
MichelinMichelin based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer, currently either the world's second-largest or the largest...
et Cie proposed to acquire the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company, and began acquiring a stake.
In 1989 Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company posted sales revenue that was up to almost US$2.3 billion, but profit was down by 90% to just over US$1 million, but included over US$9 million extraordinary credit that year for the ongoing Canadian annuity pension obligation purchase. 1989 year-end net income results were also hurt by increased interest expense of nearly US$31 million on the June 1988 debt recapitalization, and a US$29 million charge for deferred employee compensation related to the proposed purchase of the company by Michelin Group.
Michelin Group
By May 1990, Michelin Group had completed its buyout of Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company from Clayton & Dubilier of New York. The deal was valued at about US$1.5 billion. B.F. Goodrich surrendered its 7% warrant to Michelin Group for US$32.5 million.
B.F. Goodrich then exited the tire business entirely, and changed its name to Goodrich Corporation, in line with its plan to build its chemicals and aerospace businesses through reinvestment and acquisitions.
Michelin Group continued to operate the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company as its tire manufacturing unit in the United States and Canada.
In January 1991 Michelin Group cut all 1,350 jobs at the historical Eau Claire, Wisconsin plant, prior to its closure that year. Later in 1991 it also closed three Uniroyal Goodrich Tire plants in Canada. It closed its tire-cord manufacturing plant in
Lindsay, OntarioLindsay is a community on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada, 43 kilometres west of Peterborough...
with 74 workers on August 30, 1991 due to high cost. Two tire factories with 1,000 jobs in
Kitchener, OntarioThe City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
were also closed citing overcapacity.
In mid 1991, the Uniroyal tiger returned to national television after a 10-year hiatus, featured in a new 30-second spot created by Wyse Advertising of
Cleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border...
. The animated Uniroyal tiger had been a television advertising icon for the company up through the 1970s. The new commercial appeared on ESPN and CNN sports-related programming, and also was run by Uniroyal dealers in local markets.
By 1993 Michelin North America employed 28,000 people at 18 plants, in South Carolina, Alabama, Oklahoma, Indiana, Nova Scotia and Ontario. In mid 1993 Michelin North America cut 2,500 of those jobs, which represented about 9% of its work force in the United States and Canada, because of softening demand for tires.
Through at least 2008, the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire unit continued to operate with about 1,000 workers at its tire plant in
Woodburn, IndianaWoodburn is a city in Maumee Township, Allen County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,579 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Woodburn is located at ....
and also with two plants in Alabama (Tuscaloosa and Opelika).
Archival Material
The collection
Uniroyal, Inc Records 1917-1990, Eau Claire MSS CB, is housed in the Special Collections and Archives Department at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. The bulk of the records consist of labor contract negotiation and grievance case files, minutes, memoranda, correspondence, reports, photographs, blueprints, and films. The collection documents collective bargaining and labor relations with Local 19 of the United Rubber Workers of America, tire production, reconversion of the plant from ordnance to synthetic rubber production, and modernization after World War II. Additional newsletters, notices, membership lists, by-laws, correspondence, and photographs from 1948 to 1990 document the fundraising, social, and charitable activities of the Royaleers Club, an organization for female salaried employees. Certain basic documentation of the Eau Claire plant's operation is missing; there are no annual reports, personnel files, advertising, or sales department records in the collection. The collection is 33.2 cubic feet, consisting of 80 archives boxes and 3 flat boxes, 7 reels of film (8mm), and photographs.
The
Uniroyal Collection, circa 1930-1992, UHC 255, is housed in the Special Collections and Archives Department at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. This collection consists largely of articles from local newspapers regarding the closing of the plant in 1991. Other materials include photographs of employees and the plant, fragments of employee records and wage information, and a small collection of correspondence, photographs, and other writings by Sanford Kruger, Factory Manager in the late 1960s and 1970s. The collection is 1.0 linear foot (1 record carton).
The collection
Records, 1933-1991, Eau Claire MSS AA, created by the Uniroyal union of United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum, and Plastic Workers of America, Local 19, is housed in the Special Collections and Archives Department at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. The records consist of arbitration case files, minutes of executive board meetings, general meetings, and conferences. Also included are the union’s 1977 constitution and by-laws, a detailed history of the union from 1917-1938, and URCLPWA reports on the rubber industry in 1948 and 1949. The records document the formation and development of the union, the history of collective bargaining and the settlement of grievances at the Eau Claire plant, and labor relations from 1942 to 1943 when the plant was operated as an ordnance factory by U.S. Rubber on behalf of the government. The collection is 10.8 cubic feet (27 archives boxes).
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