Who Owns BF Goodrich Tires And Where Are They Made?

With its origins dating back to the late 1800s, BF Goodrich has been a fixture in the consumer tire market for about as long as that market has existed. The tire maker came into being in Akron, Ohio, in 1870 when Benjamin Franklin Goodrich and Harvey W. Tew established Goodrich, Tew and Company, the partnership that would eventually transform into the BF Goodrich we've come to know. That company would soon establish itself as a player among other major tire brands like Goodyear, Firestone, and Uniroyal as one of America's "Big Four" tire makers.

Of course, BF Goodrich didn't start out making tires, with the company initially producing rubber hoses, belts, and bike tires. As the 1800s drew to a close, BF Goodrich began manufacturing its own pneumatic (or air-filled) tires, and over the years, the Goodrich brand would go on to branch out into various other market segments, including plastics, chemicals, and even aircraft components. 

Despite the diversification of its product line, consumer tires remained the primary offering to bear the BF Goodrich brand, with members of the Goodrich family largely guiding the company's ship for much of the 20th Century. The 1980s proved turbulent for the Goodrich brand, however, with the faction that gave the company its name eventually selling off its tire division. That event occurred in 1988, with famed French tire maker Michelin ponying up $1.5 billion for Goodrich's operation. Michelin still owns the BF Goodrich name today, along with several other tire brands.

With BF Goodrich boasting a distinctly American origin story, one might be curious how the shift to a French ownership group might've affected the company's manufacturing operations. In its early days, the company, of course, made all of its tires in the United States, through a facility in Akron, Ohio, which became the first functioning tire factory in North America. That plant was shut down in the 1980s, just prior to Michelin's acquisition of BF Goodrich in 1988. But if you are a purveyor of items that are Made in the U.S.A., you'll be happy to know that BF Goodrich still makes many of its tires in America.

Much of that production is undertaken at a facility located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Built in the 1940s, that plant ran its first tires off the line in 1946, and in the almost eight decades since, it has produced more than 500 million tires. These days, the factory employs more than 1,400 individuals and is largely responsible for making passenger radials and light truck tires bearing the BF Goodrich brand. As for the company's All-Terrain tires, many of those originate in a 1,900,000 square foot facility located in Woodburn, Indiana, a suburb of Fort Wayne. That facility has been up and running since 1961. As of 2020, some 1,600 people are employed there.

While those facilities supply most of North America with BF Goodrich products, the brand also has an international consumer base to serve. As such, the company also produces tires — such as its KO2 All-Terrain model — at a plant located in Thailand.