Where Are Uniroyal Tires Made & Who Owns The Company?

Uniroyal has been a major name in the tire game for well over 100 years now, and given the brand's continued prominence in the tire market, the company appears primed to be around for more than 100 more. As for the company's origins, Uniroyal came into being in 1892, when nine separate rubber manufacturers joined forces to become the United States Rubber Company, marking one of the United States' first corporate mergers.

The newly minted rubber conglomerate initially focused its efforts on the manufacture of many different products. But with the automobile industry taking off in the early-1900s, it became clear that production of automobile tires would soon be a booming industry. As such, the U.S. Rubber Company wisely pivoted to tires, with its founders taking control of a massive manufacturing plant in Detroit, Michigan. At one point in time, that facility was the largest manufacturing plant in the world, employing as many as 750 workers and cranking out upward of 350 tires per day. 

Located on the banks of the Detroit River, that plant would be Uniroyal's primary production facility until 1980, though the company also ran an operation in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. These days, production of Uniroyal tires is a little more international, with the company utilizing manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Europe, South America and Asia. However, much of its output is still very much homegrown, with Uniroyal also operates a swathe of U.S. production plants located in Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 

Interestingly, the company didn't actually adopt the Uniroyal moniker until 1961, and that, prior to the name-change, the company was one of the initial 12 companies Charles Dow tabbed as part of his first Dow Jones Industrial Average listings. It's ownership today, is just as interesting. Despite how long Uniroyal has operated under that particular brand name, the company itself is no longer a standalone operation, and hasn't been since the early-1990s.

Given the way the company first came into being, one could easily argue that Uniroyal has never really been a standalone sort of company. But in 1990, the brand's fascinating ownership history took a major left turn after it was purchased by Michelin.  Michelin was at te time and remains one of the largest tire manufacturing companies in the world. Suffice it to say, but Michelin's operation got considerably bigger after the Uniroyal acquisition, which reportedly set the former company back a cool $1.5 billion when all was said and done.

It's hardly a rarity these days that one tire company should acquire another, with even Goodyear counting several other tire brands — including low key Wal Mart exclusive Cooper Tires — among its holdings. As for Michelin itself, the brand arguably remains the best of the best among the 14 major tire manufacturers, with Uniroyal regularly earning a spot among the best budget-friendly tire brands.