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André Jules Michelin was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company (Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) in 1888 in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand. In 1886, Andre Michelin abandoned his career as a Parisian engineer, and managed to take over the failing of his grandfather's agricultural goods and farm equipment business. Established in 1832,"Michelin et Cie" suffered from neglect and was on the verge of insolvency (bankruptcy) after the founder’s death. Michelin’s grandfather had started the company that sold farm equipment and an odd assortment of vulcanized rubber products, such as belts, valves and pipes. As soon as Andre took the helm of the company, he recruited his younger brother Edouard to join him at the company. Edouard was named the company’s managing director. In the late 1880s, the bicycle became a popular form of transportation and hobby due mainly to John Dunlop's for the inflatable bicycle tyre. Before Dunlop’s invention, bicycle tyres were made out of solid rubber. The solid rubber tyres tended to provide little traction and made for a difficult and uncomfortable ride. The Michelins recognized that there would be a great demand for pneumatic tyres if only there was a way to make repairs faster. They reasoned that first the wheel must become detachable. Edouard conducted a series of experiments and developed a number of prototypes. In 1891, he was granted a patent for a detachable tire. |
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variant spelling: Michelin, André Jules |
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