Goodyear Tires

Rubber comes from tree sap and has really interesting properties. But when it gets cold, it tends to get brittle, so scientists looked for a way to manipulate its properties.

In 1839, Charles Goodyear supposedly “invented” a process of vulcanization – also known as curing. Through this process, individual sulfur polymer molecules are linked to other polymer molecules, which make them rubbery and springy. This also makes the material harder, more durable, and more resistant; thus making it good – year round. The process was patented by another man by the name of Thomas Hancock eight weeks before Goodyear applied for his.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is now the world's largest tire company. Today, Goodyear factories cure their tires at over 300 degrees Farhenheit for 12 to 25 minutes. The tires are then inspected by machine and by human hand to ensure the best quality, performance, and safety possible.