Michelin
Michelin (full name: Compagnie
Générale des Établissements Michelin) is a French tire
manufacturer founded in 1888 and is one of the world's leading tire
companies today with some 127,000 employees world wide.
One of the company's most notable innovations was
the radial
tire, introduced in 1946 and today is the most widespread
tire type in use.
In
1988, Michelin bought the tire and rubber manufacturing divisions of
the B.F. Goodrich Company founded in 1870 and in
1990 bought Uniroyal Inc., founded in 1892 as the United
States Rubber Company.
The
company's symbol is one of the world's oldest trademarks introduced in
1898 by French artist O'Galop. The Michelin Man, or "Bibendum" was
commissioned by André Michelin as a caricature of his brother, Édouard
after he noticed that a display of stacked tyres resembled a human
form. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks,
representing Michelin in over 150 countries.
The
name of the plump tyre-man has entered the language to describe the
appearance of someone obese or wearing comically bulky clothing: "How
can I wrap up warm without looking like the Michelin Man?". In Spain, "michelín"
has acquired the meaning of the "tires" or folds of fatty skin around
the waist.
Michelin
Website
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