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- Firestone redirects here. For other things, see Firestone (disambiguation).
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Harvey Firestone in the late 19th century to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles and befriended Henry Ford, the first industrialist to produce them using the techniques of mass production. Firestone used this relationship to become the original equipment supplier of Ford Motor Company automobiles, and was also active in the replacement market.
Firestone was originally based in Akron, Ohio, also the hometown of its archrival, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Together, the two companies were the largest suppliers of automotive tires in North America for over three-quarters of a century. The family had decided in 1984 to look for a purchaser and began liquidating assets at that time. The company was purchased off the stock market by Japanese in 1988 by formally offering to buy stock at $80 per share by Bridgestone. March 21, 1984 was the formal offer to purchase. August 1st, the Bridgestone Corporation (Japan) announced it’s intent to integrate the corporate assets from Japan, the U.S. and Canada into Bridgestone. This pattern continued with other assets for almost a decade. Bridgestone was started by Firestone, but had been previously bought out by the Japanese and was therefore a separate entity. The combined Bridgestone/Firestone North American operations are now based in Nashville, Tennessee.
For 35 years, the company sponsored the radio and television show The Voice of Firestone.