A Brief History of Yokohama Tires

Yokohama tires are manufactured by the Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd., with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Unlike other rubber tire manufacturers, the company's operations are primarily about tires. Yokohama Rubber Co. was the result of a partnership between the American tire company BF Goodrich and Yokohama Cable Manufacturing, now known as the Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. The company first began operations in October 1917.

In 1919, the Hiranuma plant was built in Hiranu, also in Yokohama. The location was perfect for the rubber tire plant because Yokohama was strategically located on the western part of Tokyo Bay. It was also near Tokyo City and the harbor facilities in Yokohama were advantageous in the transport of raw and finished products. Yokohama is also an industrial center in Honshu Island, home to numerous factories, shipyards and oil refineries.

Yokohama expanded quickly and steadily, following up with two more plants in Tsurumi Ward in 1929 and in Mie in 1944. In 1950, Yokohama tires bought the Meiji Rubber Mfg. Co., Ltd. In 1955, it was granted its first sales contract with Aeroquip Corporation, a U.S.-based company.

In 1969, spurred by their success and the opening of new demands for tire use, Yokohama began their operations in the United States, naming their company the Yokohama Tire Company. Starting in the 70s and on to the 80s, Yokohama Tires continued to expand, building plants and starting operations not only in the U.S. but also in Australia, Canada and in Europe.

In 1988, Yokohama began manufacturing tires for heavy trucks through a partnership with Toyo Tire and General Tire. The company is called GTY Tire and is based in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. In 1989, it acquired the Mohawk Rubber Company, an American rubber manufacturer. This was an important manufacturing strategy for Yokohama since the plant provided immediate access to materials.

The 1990s saw Yokohama's focus shift toward creating tires that were environment-safe and action standards were formulated in 1993. That same year, the company came up with environment-friendly tire systems that were unveiled in the 30th Motor Show in Tokyo. In 1996, Yokohama built the Yokohama Rubber (Thailand) Co., Ltd. specifically to produce sealants for windshields and assemble hydraulic hoses. Another plant manufacturing windshield sealants was also built in the U.S. one year later.

In 1998, after its Mishima Plant acquired an ISO 14001 certification, Yokohama began efforts to ensure that other plants receive the same international quality standardization. By 1999, the ISO 14001 certification was received for all of Yokohama's domestic plants.

Today, Yokohama is ranked 7th as the largest manufacturer of tires in the world and employs more than 15,000 employees. It continues to expand its operations worldwide and has set its focus into producing better tires.

Facts about Yokohama tires The Japanese name of the company is Yokohama Gomu Kabushiki-gaisha. It has two branch offices in Japan – its main office in Tokyo and another in Nagoya. Overseas, Yokohama has branch offices in Singapore, Bangkok, Panama, Jeddah and Dubai. It also has subsidiaries in Canada, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hangzhou in China and the Philippines.

Yokohama's first U.S. facility was built in Montebello, California.

When Yokohama merged with the Mohawk Rubber Co., Yokohama was able to produce tires for both automobiles and light trucks to sell in replacement markets in the United States.

Yokohama is the company behind the Geolandar A/T and H/T, Guardex 600 snow tire 60 and 65 series and the Geolandar M/T Directional. Using the same technology for both street and race track, Yokohama Tires produced the AVS Sport tire, the common consumer's version of the Toyota Atlantic racing tire.