Where Are Firestone Tires Made & Manufactured?

‍Some Firestone History

Firestone Rubber company was founded in Akron, Ohio in 1900. The founder of Firestone was named Harvey Firestone, who founded the company to make pneumatic tires for the United States.

Harvey Firestone used his friendship with Henry Ford to become the official tire supplier for Ford in 1906.

During the 1920’s, Firestone became more than just a rubber company by offering other products such as inner tubes, mechanical goods, and roofing materials.

Firestone opened a plant in Canada and South America during this time as well as sponsored NBC and has became one of the first major sponsors of television.

Firestone played a pivotal industrial role in WWII by providing rubber products for military vehicles and equipment.

In 1988, Firestone was struggling financially and was acquired by a company called Bridgestone, which is a Japanese tire company.

Firestone rubber company has been around for a long time and has had a major hand in a lot of American history.

If you are interested in learning more about the company, I recommend checking out their wikipedia page, which is full of detailed information about the company.

Manufacturing In The United States

Firestone has 16 manufacturing plants within the United States.

All the plants within the United States are scattered throughout the Eastern part of the country.

The most Eastern plant resides in Rhode Island while the most Western plant is located in Texas.

The plants all strive to use renewable energy by 2050 and to use reusable materials to make all their tires.

For example, the plant Aiken County was awarded the ISCC as the company strives to completely use 100 percent sustainable materials by 2050.

The majority of tires manufactured by Firestone are manufactured in the United States.

While Firestone does have plants located throughout the globe, the fact that the majority of plants are located in the US means that Firestone is technically made and manufactured in the United States.

Bridgestone Tire Company, the parent company, is a Japanese company, but that doesn’t mean Firestone is.

The Firestone company was founded in America and it’s infrastructure that was built in America was bought by Bridgestone.

So while Bridgestone is a Japanese company, the Firestone brand is and always was a US based company.

Are Firestone Tires Good?

Firestone Tires are some of the most dependable, durable tires you can purchase.

I used to work for Firestone as well as PepBoys and the Firestone tires that we put on a vehicle were far superior to any other tire we put on other vehicles.

The quality and durability of Firestone tires are unmatched. While you do pay for the quality of Firestone tires, you get what you pay for.

Some of the best Firestone tires you can purchase are the Firestone Destination, The Firestone Firehawk, and The Firestone Winterforce.

Firestone sells all season tires, and tires that fit passenger vehicles as well as light trucks and heavy duty trucks. Firestone is the largest tire manufacturer in the United States.

These tires are the most expensive, but definitely will give you the most mileage as well as the best performance.

Firestone Tires are very good and you will not regret buying them since they provide great traction, get great mileage, and show great performance during inclement weather and harsh driving climates.

The Bridgestone Tire Company, the parent company of Firestone, also sells lots of great tires.

For example, Bridgestone truck tires are some of the highest quality tires you can purchase.

Firestone Auto Repair

Firestone isn’t just a rubber company. Firestone has its own arm of repair shops where you can get tires installed and your vehicles repaired.

My first job was as a tire installer in a Firestone auto repair shop. From there, I worked my way into repair.

But just because the rubber company maintains a large tire presence, doesn't mean that their repair is lacking.

Firestone repair is actually very good and they employ top technicians at their repair facilities.

Employees at Firestone range  from simple C-technicians all the way to ASE certified master technicians.

Firestone repair facilities, if stocked with the correct employees, can be just as functional as dealership level repair shops.

So if you are wondering if you should take your vehicle to a Firestone in order to get your vehicle repaired instead of just having tires replaced, you can be sure that your vehicle will get repaired correctly.

Does Firestone Install Other Tires?

Firestone locations will install other tires besides Firestone brands.

Firestone will install other brands of tires onto the vehicles.

Of course, Firestone tire will prefer to install one of their own brands, but they also install all other brands. For example, they will install the following brands of tires.

• Pirelli Tires
• Goodyear Tire
• Bridgestone Tires (parent company of Firestone)
• Goodyear Tires
• Cooper Tires
• Kenda Tires
• Continental Tires

They stock and sell these tires on a regular basis.

Working as a tire technician in Firestone, I saw that around only 30% of the tires that were stocked were Firestone and the rest were companies listed above.

Firestone is still able to make money by selling other brands since they can buy them in bulk and sell them at a upcharge.

So if you want some Pirelli tires installed on your car at a Firestone location, it’s possible to do so.

As well, Firestone tire will accept Tire Rack orders.

For example, if you order a set of Pirelli Tires off Tire Rack and have them sent to a Firestone location, Firestone will install the Tire Rack shipment for you, for a fee.

So, yes Firestone will install tires from brands other than Firestone.

Should You Purchase Firestone Tires?

As a previous employee of the company, I am biased in my opinion. But from what I’ve seen working in multiple type of tire shops, I can say Firestone Tires are the best tires you can purchase.

The price versus the performance are the best you can get on the market today.

That’s because the parent company, Bridgestone Tires, produces tires that are high quality.

Firestone tires sell a wide range of tires from truck tires and highway tires to performance tires and winter tires.

Firestone is one of the largest tire manufacturers in in the world and they are successful because the quality of their tires matched with the price are unmatched really by any other company.

So I say yes, purchasing a set of Firestone tires is a good idea.

As any smart consumer does, you may want to consider your options first, but seeing all different types of tires first hand I can tell you that Firestone tires are some of the best tires you can purchase.