Inventory of the B.F. Goodrich Company Records (1868-1990)

History of B. F. Goodrich Company

The B.F. Goodrich Company began in 1870. Originally called Goodrich, Tew and Company, the organization was founded by Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, Harvey W. Tew, Henry S. Sanderson, Robert Newland, and David N. Marvin. Their partnership was intended to make rubber and because of their choice of location in Akron, Goodrich, Tew and Company (GTC) became the first rubber company west of the Allegheny Mountains. GTC bought four lots on Factory Street in Akron, Ohio in 1870. The first of the company's buildings was erected in 1871. Originally, GTC sold fire hose, tubing, and billiard cushions. In 1874 the original partnership dissolved leaving Goodrich, Newland, and Marvin to form the company under a new name: B.F. Goodrich and Company (BFG&C). The company saw major growth over the remaining twenty-five years leading up to the twentieth century due to the introduction of various kinds of tires for bicycles and carriages such as solid rubber tires for both bicycles (1885) and carriages (1887), Palmer pneumatic fabric bicycle tires (1889), and clincher-type fabric automobile tires (1897). The success led to the need to expand and over the course of 1898 branches opened in New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Detroit. Rubber successes continued into the twentieth century with Palmer cord tires (1900), low-pressure balloon tires (1909), solid rubber industrial tires (1911), and "all black" pneumatic tire tread which boasted greatly increased tire mileage (1912). The company also became an associate member of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers during this time. In 1910 BFG&C started erecting road markers for drivers and issued road maps in 1912. That same year also saw the acquisition of the Diamond Rubber Company which was the second rubber competitor established in Akron at the time. Along with its successes in the rubber industry, BFG&C had just as many achievements in chemical research. 1915 saw the start of manufacturing of nitrobenzene and aniline; BFG&C had one of the earliest aniline manufacturing plants in U.S. Thiocarbanilide, a derivative of aniline, manufacturing began the very next year. Goodrich maintained a monopoly on distribution. In 1927 Goodrich commercially produced phenyl beta napthylamine for the first time. This compound is essential to mass production of American-made rubber which will be relied upon during World War II. The B.F. Goodrich Pacific Coast tire factory was established in 1928 in Los Angeles to serve the growing West Coast market. B.F. Goodrich was awarded the Army-Navy "E" award for excellence in manufacture of products for the armed forces. Among the accomplishments was production of gas masks in World War I, the government's first non-rigid airship in 1917, rubber tracks used for track-laying tractors, tanks, and other military transportation equipment in 1933 and the de-icer for airplane wings. During World War II, Goodrich created the world's first synthetic rubber to use because natural rubber supplies were cut off. They worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Government who financed much of the project and distribution. Following the end of the war, Goodrich bought one of the manufacturing facilities and moved more into the production of synthetic rubbers. The Post-War years saw Goodrich moving in numerous directions all at once with its various divisions. Prior to the war the war Goodrich came up with the "zipper" for footwear which led to a shoe division. The chemical division came up with the "anode" surgical gloves which could be repeatedly sterilized along with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production which became the big seller for the division. Aerospace Company - a newer division - provided the space suits for Project Mercury in 1961 though they lost the bid with NASA to outfit the astronauts for the trip to the Moon a few years later. They also sold disk brakes to Boeing for the 707's. The 1960's were a decade of decline for Goodrich. The rubber division lagged behind the competitors making it the smallest of the "big 4." The introduction of the radial tire - meant to be the saving grace - did not do enough to turn things around for the company though sales were better than they'd been in years. The footwear division saw a decline in the late 1960's due to the demand for more variety in footwear and stores were either sold or leased out at a loss. Goodrich diminished its presence in foreign markets by selling off out of state assets in Asia and Europe. The chemical division remained profitable though a rare kind of cancer became tied to the PVC creation process, creating a public backlash. Goodrich briefly worked with the government to supply fuel for air-to-air missiles. This relationship ended in 1962 when it ceased to be profitable though they continued to sell the materials used to make the propellants. By the 1980's, Goodrich struggled financially and began restructuring to counteract the losses. It moved further and further away from rubber until it completely left the rubber industry in 1988. The chemical division saw a change as well, selling off its primary PVC factory so that it could focus more on specialty goods for niche markets. In 1986 Goodrich merged with Uniroyal to become the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company but due to various problems and miscalculations, the company did not last long and it ended in 1988 along with Goodrich's tire business. The company restructured once again, becoming BFGoodrich and focused on becoming a technological leader in its manufacturing fields.

Scope and Content

Of note in this collection

Series I: Administrative Records (1880-1981) Included in this series are the earlier founding documents, annual reports to the director's and share holders and corporate records for many of the companies that Goodrich purchased as part of its strategy to diversify. Also included in this series are the corporate records for companies that B.F. Goodrich Company purchased.

Series II: Advertising Records (1878-1972) Sub-series: Magazine and Newspaper advertising (1890-1972). During the 1920's Goodrich divided the ads by the type of product in the advertisement. First by general type i.e.: airplane, truck, passenger car etc. As associated brands were acquired their names appear such as Brunswick, Diamond, Hood, and Miller. Some years specific types of products are named such as Hycar, Koroseal, and Geon. Sub-series: Dealer Advertising and Sales (1886-1976) These are the sales programs, contests and advertising aids for the dealers. They are organized by company/brand (B.F. Goodrich Company's then Goodrich Chemical, Goodrich Industrial Products, Goodrich International, Brunswick, Diamond, Hood, and Miller.) The advertisements are then organized chronologically. This series also includes the data and price books used by dealers and retailers. Sub-series: Sales Division Records (1916-1968) This sub-series of records consists of materials relating to sales campaigns, training aids and manuals for sales staff, and a series of advertisement effectiveness reports from the 1940s. These files are organized alphabetically by the folder title.

Series III: Personnel Department Records (1881-1978) Sub-series: Goodrich Employees (1881-1978) This sub-series consists of files about Goodrich personnel who gave speeches, presentations, or published articles as company executives. It does not include the records or names of most of Goodrich's employees, for names of employees who worked in each department from 1960-1973 see the Organization charts. This sub-series is organized by the Employee's last name. Sub-series: Organization Charts (1960-1973) These are organization charts that B.F. Goodrich updated every six months to yearly. The Organization charts list the departments and the personnel, who supervised, managed, were assigned to them. These charts are from 1960-1973. All charts are organized chronologically. Sub-series: Personnel Department Subject Files (1907-1972) This sub-series include the files the of the personnel department from 1920 to 1972 with the bulk of the material from 1965 through 1972. It is organized alphabetically by folder title and includes material about workplace safety, wages, benefits, and some of the early company outings from the 1930s.

Series IV: Labor Relations (1913-1973) This series consists of material relating to negotiations between management and labor unions. Of note are the minutes of meetings negotiations for the 1945 agreement with the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America and Goodrich. Also of note are the negotiations with United Rubber Workers Local #5 in the 1950s and Pattern Makers agreements from 1939-1972.

Series V: Legal Records (1871-1969) Of note in this collection are the Certificates of Trademark which provides evidence Goodrich's business dealings around the world. The letters of patent show the developments advanced by Goodrich. Sub-series: Certificates of Trademark (1902-1969) Certificates of Trademark are organized by alphabetically by Nation or territory then by date. Sub-series: Letters of Patent (1953-1956) The Letters Patent are organized first by country issuing the grant then chronologically with the patent number range and the date range of the grant of patent. Sub-series: Subject files (1871-1969) These files are organized alphabetically by the folder title.

Series VI: Public Relations Files (1910-1973) Sub-series: Department files (1912-1973) These files are the subject files from the public relations department. They include safety and retirement pamphlets, correspondence and public service booklets as well as booklets promoting the B.F. Goodrich Company and their products. Also included are papers from the former Goodrich archives. Sub-series: News Releases (1935-1973) The Goodrich news releases run chronologically one folder per year initially, as the B.F. Goodrich Company expanded after the forties so did the amount of news releases. From the mid fifties on the news releases are divided by division so 1958 will have a folder for Goodrich-Akron and another for Goodrich-Gulf Chemical, etc. Sub-series: Touring books and road maps (1910-1930) This sub-series includes the touring books and road maps that Goodrich published in connection with the Goodrich Touring Bureau.

Series VII: Research and Development (1906-1969) Sub-series: Laboratory Notes (1905-1932). These are the laboratory research notes of the chemists that worked for Goodrich. They are generally organized chronologically by the chemists who took the notes. For example George Oenslager's research and lab notes date from 1905-1922, next is John Young's research and lab notes from 1912-1914, then F.H. Martin's research from 1915-1918. Sub-series: Research Reports (1918-1967). This sub-series includes annual research reports on the type and progress of the B.F. Goodrich laboratories. Bound volumes of research problems and their progress reports are available for 1922-1953 [see shelf list for R&D bound volumes]. Sub-series: Subject Files (1908-1967). This sub-series is composed of various files relating to Research and Development at B.F. Goodrich. Sub-series: Technical Articles by Goodrich Employees (1922-1969). This sub-series is organized by author of the article.

Series VIII: Product Information (1890-1972) This series is divided into seven sub-series relating to Goodrich's product lines. Each sub-series provide general information about the materials used or the types of products and their uses. Sub-series: Automotive (1911-1966) This small sub-series is composed of material reflecting Goodrich's contribution to America's interest in the automobile. Sub-series: Aviation (1934-1966) This sub-series consists of material about the products developed and produced for airplanes such as tires, slides, de-icers and products for high altitude and space flight such as pressure suit and space suit development. Sub-series: Koroseal (1938-1967) This sub-series is composed of material about the development of Koroseal and the various products that B.F. Goodrich used it for. Sub-series: Rubber (1890-1968) This sub-series consists of articles, pamphlets, speeches, and presentations about the history of rubber and its uses in industry and manufacturing. Sub-series: Synthetic Rubber (1938-1970) This sub-series includes articles and information relating to the development and use of man-made rubber. Sub-series: Tires (1917-1972) this sub-series includes articles about various types of tires such as cord tires, seal-o-matics, pneumatic tires, farm tires, tire care and increasing the life of a tire, tire history, and reports on various road tests. Sub-series: Tubeless Tires (1919-1964) this sub-series includes articles and newspaper clippings about the history and use of tubeless tires.

Series IX: Printed Material (1909-1981) This series is comprised of material printed about the B.F. Goodrich Company. Of note in this series are the Company histories and Periodicals produced by the company. Sub-series: Company Histories (1909-1968) This small sub-series consists of drafts and copies of company histories by and about the B.F. Goodrich Company. Sub-series: Company Periodicals (1912-1981) This sub-series consists of the periodicals published by B.F. Goodrich Company for their employees and stock-holders. Sub-series: Newspapers and Magazine Articles about B.F. Goodrich (1915-1973) This series consists of articles about the B.F. Goodrich Company.

Series X: Audiovisual Material (1870- 1980) This series is comprised of five sub-series dependent on the format of the material. Sub-series: Photographs (1870-1975) This sub-series contains photographs of, by and about the Goodrich company and their products. It is organized by subject arranged alphabetically. Sub-series: Personnel Photographs (1870-1978) This sub-series include photographs and/or negatives of individuals who were associated with B.F. Goodrich Company. Several celebrities who the Goodrich Company may have sponsored are included. Sub-series: Slides (1948-1951) This sub-series is composed of slides made for presentations. Of note in this sub-series are the slides of the tire manufacturing process circa 1951. Subseries: Scrapbooks & Photo albums (1870-1961) Sub-series: Filmstrips and Film (1935-1980) Filmstrips were an early form of multi-media instruction whereby a 35mm filmstrip was synchronized with an audio recording. At a tone the film projector operator would advance to the next image on the filmstrip. Sub-series: Radio (1940-1945) This sub-series contains scripts for the Goodrich Baseball Broadcast Announcements and The Meaning of the News radio spots.

Series XI: Financial Records (1868-1990) This series is comprised of three sub-series relating to the financial activities of the Company. Subject files, Departmental Organization Charts and Oversized material. Sub-series: Subject Files (1870-1984) This sub-series consists of material that was kept with the financial departments. Of note is the Articles of Partnership between B.F. Goodrich, Harvey W. Tew, and Henry S. Sanderson. Also a description of financial situation of the Hudson River Rubber Company to Akron businessmen prior to the founding of the Goodrich, Tew & Company in 1870. Sub-series: Departmental Organization Charts (1932-1990) This sub-series includes the departmental organization charts used for accounting purposes. Of note are the Controllers' office copy of the charts that have hand written notes and memos included with the charts. Sub-series: Oversized Material (1868-1961) This sub-series includes Accounting Journals, Ledgers and other financial documents that are oversized.

Series XII: Artifacts

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Restrictions on Access

No restrictions on access; except not available through interlibrary loan. Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Goodyear Rubber and Tire Collection, 1898-1993; The Akron Association of the Pattern Makers League of North America Collection, 1938-1977; American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Akron Section, Records, 1930-2000; General Tire and Rubber Company Records, 1940-1973; Willard P. Seiberling Papers, 1859-1964;

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Organizations/Corporations:

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], B. F. Goodrich Company records, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Mark Bloom with student assistants Abby Thompson, Gil Stadler,and Ashley Lizewski