NOTEWORTHY INVENTORS:
EDOUARD MICHELIN
“Because so much is riding on your tires” has been the familiar slogan for Michelin tires since 1985. Here’s the story on the French inventor who brought us the first pneumatic tire. • Edouard Michelin studied art for ten years and had all intentions of spending his life as a painter in Paris. But at age 28, a family crisis altered his plans and the course of his life. The French family-owned business that manufactured agricultural tools, drive belts, hoses, and bicycle tires was in serious financial difficulties, and in 1888, Edouard abandoned his dream to help save the mismanaged company from ruin. His brother Andre, an architectural engineer, also abandoned his own business to join forces with Edouard. With Andre as the head of marketing and public relations and Edouard in charge of research and production, they set out to keep the business afloat. • A bicycle with a punctured tire changed everything for the company. It took Michelin four hours to repair the bicycle’s tire, made of reinforced rubber and filled with compressed air. The pneumatics were glued to the rim of the wheel, and it was very time-consuming to glue the tire back on. The Michelin brothers could see that the inflatable tire made for a faster, more comfortable ride and resolved to build a detachable tire with an inner tube that was easily changeable by a cyclist. • In 1891, the Michelins had their bicycle tire ready for the famous Paris-Brest bicycle race with one of the frontrunners, Charles Terront, riding on Michelin tires. When Terront, France’s first major cycling star, suffered a puncture, he was able to quickly fix the tire himself and went on to win the race. The product was an immediate success.
• The next step was to adapt the tire for use on motor vehicles. At that time, automobiles were equipped with wooden wheels with a metal rim. The Michelins set about trying to convince French carmakers of the advantages of pneumatic tires. Within five years of that famous bicycle race, 300 Paris taxis were equipped with Michelin tires. • In 1894, the Michelin Tire Company introduced what is now one of the world’s oldest and most recognizable trademarks, the Michelin Man. Named Bibendum, the character designed from stacked tires made his debut at the World’s Fair, the Lyon Exhibition of 1894, where the brothers had a booth. • There were 52 very discouraged employees when the brothers took over the company, which quickly grew to 500 motivated workers when the bicycle tire became successful. Edouard Michelin knew all of them personally and took an interest in their personal lives and families. That became a little more difficult a few years later when the work force grew to 2,000. By 1922, the Michelin factory employed 20,000 workers. • Edouard passed away in 1940, but the company continued to break ground in the industry. In 1946, Michelin designed and patented the radial tire. In 1934, the company had purchased the bankrupt Citroen automobile brand, and in 1946, it was the leading automaker in France. All new 1948 Citroen models were fitted with the new radial tires. Four years later, Michelin developed a radial truck tire. Michelin now owns B.F. Goodrich and Uniroyal and is the world’s largest producer of tires. It was not until 2012 that the CEO was not a member of the Michelin family.
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Weekly SUDOKU
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King CROSSWORD
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