page_title: General Tire
section_title: Formation
hierarchical_section_title: General Tire / History / Formation
caption_attribution_description: English: General Tire newspaper ad from 1919.
context_page_description: Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, C.J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, & H.B. Pushee as The General Tire & Rubber Company using funding from O'Neil's father, Michael G., who owned Akron's O'Neil's department store, the company later diversified into a conglomerate with holdings in tires, rubber compounds, rocketry and aeronautics, entertainment and news, and real estate. The tire division was sold to Germany's Continental in 1987, becoming Continental Tire North America, before its re-incorporation again to its current name. The compounds division was spun off & became OMNOVA Solutions. The rocketry business was kept and expanded, and after a couple company name changes, the parent company is now Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings.
context_section_description: William Francis O'Neil had a Firestone franchise in Kansas City. He started a small manufacturing facility for tire repair products, and called it The Western Rubber & Supply Company (also referenced as The Western Rubber & Supply Co.) initially, then The Western Tire & Rubber Company (also referenced as The Western Tire & Rubber Co.).
  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 in 1915 using $200,000 in capital borrowed from the store. O'Neil & his associates hired away some Firestone managers.
  Initially, they focused on repair materials, as with Western Tire & Rubber, but in 1916 they expanded into tire manufacturing, focusing on high-end products. Early products included:
  General Jumbo, a premium replacement for Ford Model T trucks
  Low-pressure General Balloon Jumbo
  Dual 90 tires
caption: Newspaper ad for General Tire from 1919.
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