The night that changed the history of tire giant Michelin

Throughout this series, we've often highlighted entrepreneurs who managed to leave a profound mark on popular culture, whether through a product that became generic (such as Bimbo, used as a synonym for sliced bread) or through the implementation of a slogan that became a natural fit. Ugène Schueller has one that's a good example. In this sense, it's no secret that today, and for many decades now, the name Michelin has been an unequivocal part of the language to refer to certain layers of fat that form in specific areas of the human body. We won't go into details, but we will make it clear that this expression derives from a doll that was the mascot of this French tire manufacturer for many years.

The fact that Édouard Michelin was the son of a highly regarded painter and engraver, and that he had studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, seemed sufficient to suggest that he might try his luck in the artistic world. However, due to a sudden change of plans when he was not yet thirty, he was forced to return to his Clermont-Ferrand farm, which was beginning to suffer. Both he and his older brother, André, set to work to right the situation. One night in 1891, everything changed: a cyclist who had gotten a flat tire came to the factory to request a tire repair. What Michelin found was a mechanism that was very difficult to disassemble because the rubber and inner tube were attached to the rim by means of clothing tabs attached almost by hand. This system made both assembling and disassembling the wheel a very tedious task, and that got him thinking: wheels needed to be removable and, at most, the inner tube could be replaced in fifteen minutes. A reflection that would change the world.

Focused on finding a detachable tire, he set the factory working in that direction, and within a few months they had the solution. That same year they carried out the acid test in the Paris-Brest bicycle race and the result was a resounding success. After testing the invention on bicycles, three years later they adapted it to horse-drawn carriages, and in 1895, to an experimental automobile. The impact of the detachable tire on the automotive world was profound, as it greatly reduced the vibrations transmitted by the wheels to the body, which solid rubber was unable to absorb. If before the innovation it was impossible to exceed 25 kilometers per hour, within just a few years of application, they reached 100.

The entrepreneur didn't stop there, because even before the turn of the century, he decided to test his invention on the iron wheels of trains, thereby not only reducing the vibrations of the cars but also greatly improving their grip on the rails. And after bicycles, carriages, automobiles, and trains, Michelin wanted even more, and looked to the skies. Shortly after, he established the Michelin Aviation Cup, which began in 1908 with a generous cash prize. Only five years had passed since the Wright brothers' invention, and Michelin was already aware of the military potential of these devices. "The future of France is in the air," Michelin prophesied, and immediately launched the production of airplanes. Shortly after, the First World War broke out, in which the air force would play a prominent role, especially the hundreds of Breguet-Michelin aircraft that bombed enemy positions.

During the interwar period, Michelin was already one of the world's most powerful tire manufacturers (holding around 50% of the global market share) and was also a supplier to Citroën, one of the leading French automobile brands. By 1934, Citroën's financial situation was so dire that they were unable to service their debts to Michelin, and Michelin took over the company, which was able to revive.

Historically, Michelin has always been considered a paternalistic businessman who promoted social policies within the company, but in recent years, reports have emerged linking him to practices that ran counter to the labor movement of the 1920s, similar to the gangsterism that was experienced in Catalonia at the same time.

Today, the company founded by Édouard Michelin has sales of nearly €30 billion, employs 132,000 people, and accounts for 15% of the global tire market. The company's largest shareholder (4.2%) is Mage-Invest, the investment holding company of the founding family.