The History of Yokohama Rubber: From Joint Venture to Global Group

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. began in 1917 as an equal-investment venture between Yokohama Electric Cable Manufacturing Company and B.F. Goodrich. Its first production base used U.S. equipment and, according to Yokohama Rubber’s historical account, technical assistance from B.F. Goodrich.

Only a few years after production began, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed the Hiranuma Plant in 1923. Yokohama Rubber rebuilt around a new plant, then lost that manufacturing base when air raids rendered the Yokohama Plant inoperative in 1945.

Postwar expansion brought diversification, rationalization, international manufacturing, and a more integrated U.S. operation. In the latest era, management has directed major investment toward tires, especially off-highway tires, while industrial-rubber and other businesses remain part of the group.

A Quick Look at the History of Yokohama Rubber

A Japanese-American Joint Venture Takes Shape

Yokohama Rubber was established on October 13, 1917. Yokohama Electric Cable Manufacturing Company and B.F. Goodrich each supplied half of the investment.

Yokohama Rubber identifies Suekichi Nakagawa, then an executive of Yokohama Electric Cable, as instrumental in establishing the venture. In the company’s retrospective account, Nakagawa had been exploring broader uses for rubber and expected demand for rubber products in Japan to grow. He later became Yokohama Rubber’s second president.

The Hiranuma Plant became the first production base around 1920. Yokohama Rubber’s history says the plant used manufacturing equipment from the United States and that B.F. Goodrich technicians helped guide construction and early operations. The plant produced tires, belts, and other rubber goods, placing both tire and industrial-rubber manufacturing near the center of the business from the beginning.

Yokohama Rubber was a separate company created through joint investment, not the same corporate entity as B.F. Goodrich. That distinction matters later as the ownership relationship changed and Yokohama Rubber built its own international operations.

The 1923 Earthquake Forces the First Rebuild

In September 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed the Hiranuma Plant. Corporate records also note that Yokohama factory operations stopped and the head office moved to Tokyo.

Yokohama Rubber rebuilt around a new Yokohama Plant. The company’s historical sources differ slightly on the exact completion date: one places completion in December 1928, while the current English history uses 1929. The broader sequence is clear. The replacement base was completed in the 1928–29 period, industrial-product production began in 1929 according to the anniversary history, and tire production followed in 1930.

At the opening of the Yokohama Plant, Yokohama Rubber’s history attributes a concise management principle to President Nakagawa: “Production is a social service.” The company presents the statement as part of the management philosophy associated with that rebuilding period.

Another identity change followed in 1937, when the tire trademark shifted from Goodrich to Yokohama. This was a brand change rather than the creation of a new corporate entity, but it marked a visible move away from the founding partner’s name in the market.

War, Destruction, and the Move Toward Hiratsuka

During the early 1940s, Yokohama Rubber’s official history records military production, overseas facilities, and tire production for Zero fighter aircraft. The same period ended with another severe physical loss. Allied air raids rendered the Yokohama Plant inoperative in 1945, and the company’s anniversary history says its overseas production bases were also lost after the war.

Postwar rebuilding gradually shifted the company’s production center. The Mishima Plant was established in 1946. Shares were listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges in 1950. By the early 1950s, Hiratsuka was becoming the major Kanto-area production base; the securities report records construction of the Hiratsuka Plant in 1952, while the official history says the Yokohama Plant closed as the Hiratsuka operation came on line.

The postwar business also broadened across tires, belts, hoses, adhesives, aircraft parts, foam rubber, vinyl products, and related fields. Yokohama Rubber’s anniversary history says a downturn beginning in 1965 led to withdrawal from foam rubber, plant closures, workforce reduction, and broader rationalization.

In that retrospective account, the rationalization helped establish a longer-term core around tires and selected industrial products. The record supports a significant narrowing of the postwar portfolio without reducing the mid-1960s difficulties to a single cause.

In 1963, the Japanese corporate name changed to 横浜ゴム株式会社. The legal company continued; the name change did not create a new enterprise.

Radial Tires, ADVAN, and a U.S. Operating Base

By the late 1960s, the next phase combined product change with overseas operating expansion. Yokohama introduced the G.T. SPECIAL STEEL passenger-car radial tire in 1967. Two years later, Yokohama Tire Corporation was established as a U.S. tire sales company.

The late 1970s and early 1980s also brought a more differentiated passenger-tire brand strategy. ADVAN HF appeared in 1978. Yokohama Rubber’s anniversary history says management implemented a three-brand strategy in 1980 around ADVAN, ASPEC, and GRAND PRIX, each aimed at a different product and customer position.

The ownership relationship with B.F. Goodrich also changed. B.F. Goodrich divested its Yokohama Rubber stake in 1981. Yokohama Rubber’s own histories differ on whether the transaction involved a majority holding or all of the shares, so the more precise residual ownership should not be assumed.

Eight years later, Yokohama Rubber expanded its American manufacturing presence by acquiring Mohawk Rubber. Contemporary Los Angeles Times reporting described the 1989 transaction at about $150 million.

In 1992, Yokohama Tire Corporation absorbed Mohawk. Contemporary reporting said the consolidation combined U.S. marketing, sales, service, manufacturing, and research-and-development activities, while some non-tire Mohawk divisions remained separate Yokohama subsidiaries.

This sequence gave Yokohama Rubber a more integrated manufacturing and commercial structure in the United States. It also created a notable historical contrast: a business founded with American capital, equipment, and technical input was now acquiring and reorganizing American tire operations of its own.

Building a Wider Global Manufacturing Network

From the 1990s into the 2000s, Yokohama Rubber expanded its manufacturing and sales network across a wider set of international markets. The securities report and official company history record new operations in the Philippines and Thailand beginning in 1996, followed by further expansion in China, India, Russia, and other markets.

The important change was not any single factory. It was the gradual development of a broader network that supported both tire and industrial-product activities outside Japan.

Product development continued as well, including the launch of the BluEarth fuel-efficient passenger-tire series in 2010. By this period, however, the larger historical shift was the widening geographic footprint and increasingly complex mix of businesses.

Off-Highway Tires Become a Major Growth Platform

A new strategic pattern became visible in 2016. Yokohama Rubber acquired Alliance Tire Group, adding agricultural, forestry, industrial, and construction tire businesses. In announcing the deal, Yokohama said it had not previously manufactured or sold agricultural or forestry tires. European Rubber Journal separately reported the completed acquisition and Yokohama’s entry into agricultural tires.

The transaction was important because it added an adjacent tire category rather than simply increasing capacity in an existing passenger-car line. It also began a sequence that would materially expand Yokohama Rubber’s off-highway tire business.

Portfolio reshaping did not consist only of acquisitions. In 2021, Yokohama Rubber transferred the HAMATITE adhesives and sealants business to Sika. The sale removed one established business while other industrial-rubber activities remained inside Yokohama Rubber’s MB segment.

In May 2023, Yokohama Rubber completed the acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The acquired business brought additional off-highway tire brands, manufacturing sites, employees, and market coverage. Trelleborg independently confirmed completion of the divestiture.

Then-president Masataka Yamaishi directly connected the transaction to management’s plan at the time: “The acquisition fits perfectly with our medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2023.”

The same year, Yokohama Rubber moved its head office to Hiratsuka. That location had already played a central role in the postwar manufacturing and research story, making the 2023 move a notable return of the corporate center to a place that had long been important operationally.

Yokohama Transformation 2026 and the Goodyear OTR Acquisition

In 2024, management introduced Yokohama Transformation 2026, or YX2026, as the medium-term plan covering 2024 through 2026. The company’s stated strategy continued the portfolio transformation begun under the previous plan.

Annual sales revenue passed ¥1 trillion for the first time in 2024. The next major structural change came in February 2025, when Yokohama Rubber completed its acquisition of Goodyear’s off-the-road tire business for mining and construction applications.

Reuters had reported the agreed $905 million transaction in July 2024. A Goodyear SEC filing later confirmed completion on February 3, 2025, for gross cash consideration of approximately $905 million, subject to customary adjustments. Yokohama Rubber’s completion announcement described the acquired operation as serving mining and construction markets.

Taken together, Alliance Tire Group, Trelleborg Wheel Systems, and the Goodyear OTR business materially broadened Yokohama Rubber’s off-highway product range and operating footprint.

Recent financial growth had more than one driver. Yokohama Rubber’s FY2025 reporting attributed higher business profit to factors including consumer-tire sales, a higher-value product mix, MB profitability improvements, and cost and structural measures. The same reporting noted one-time costs related to acquiring and consolidating the Goodyear OTR business.

Where Yokohama Rubber Stands Now

As of September 22, 2026, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. was a Japanese public company headquartered in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa. Masataka Yamaishi served as Chairman & CEO, while Shinji Seimiya served as President & COO.

The group reported three segments: Tires, MB (Multiple Business), and Other. Its activities included passenger-car, truck and bus, light-truck, agricultural and forestry, industrial-vehicle, mining and construction tires; industrial products such as hoses, conveyor belts, marine products, and aerospace products; and smaller businesses including golf-related products.

FY2025 consolidated revenue was ¥1,234.959 billion, with 34,471 consolidated employees at year-end. Tire revenue was ¥1,121.3 billion, including ¥371.1 billion of off-highway tire revenue.

For the first half of FY2026, Yokohama Rubber reported sales revenue of ¥639.4 billion. Management also raised full-year forecasts, but those figures remained forecasts as of September 22, 2026 rather than completed historical results.

A History of Rebuilding and Rebalancing

Yokohama Rubber’s history does not reduce neatly to one product or one expansion phase. It began with a cross-border partnership, rebuilt after the destruction of major production sites, broadened and then rationalized its postwar portfolio, developed a more independent international operating network, and later used both acquisitions and divestitures to change the business mix.

The current group is strongly tire-centered in revenue, especially after the recent off-highway acquisitions, but it is not a tire-only business. The continuing MB and Other segments preserve a thread visible from the earliest years: tires and industrial rubber developing side by side.

Timeline

The timeline below highlights the most important verified milestones in Yokohama Rubber’s development.

October 13, 1917

Yokohama Rubber is established through equal investment by Yokohama Electric Cable Manufacturing Company and B.F. Goodrich.

1920

The Hiranuma Plant becomes the company’s first production base for tires, belts, and other rubber goods.

September 1923

The Great Kanto Earthquake destroys the Hiranuma Plant and halts Yokohama operations.

1928–1929

The replacement Yokohama Plant is completed and becomes the new production base. Company sources differ on whether completion should be dated to December 1928 or 1929.

1937

The tire trademark changes from Goodrich to Yokohama.

1945

Air raids render the Yokohama Plant inoperative.

1950

Yokohama Rubber shares are listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges.

1952

The Hiratsuka Plant becomes a major Kanto production base, and the Yokohama Plant closes.

1963

The Japanese corporate name changes to 横浜ゴム株式会社.

1969

Yokohama Tire Corporation is established in the United States as a tire sales subsidiary.

1978–1980

ADVAN HF launches in 1978, followed by Yokohama’s three-brand passenger-tire strategy around ADVAN, ASPEC, and GRAND PRIX in 1980.

1981

B.F. Goodrich divests its Yokohama Rubber stake.

1989

Yokohama Rubber acquires Mohawk Rubber in the United States.

1992

Yokohama Tire Corporation absorbs Mohawk, integrating major U.S. tire sales, manufacturing, service, and R&D activities.

1996–2009

The group expands its international manufacturing and sales network across Asia and other regions, including operations in the Philippines, Thailand, China, India, and Russia.

July 2016

Yokohama Rubber acquires Alliance Tire Group, adding agricultural, forestry, industrial, and construction tire businesses.

November 2021

The HAMATITE adhesives and sealants business is transferred to Sika.

March 2023

The head office moves to Hiratsuka, Kanagawa.

May 2023

Yokohama Rubber completes the acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems.

2024

Yokohama Transformation 2026 begins, and annual sales revenue exceeds ¥1 trillion for the first time.

February 2025

Yokohama Rubber completes the acquisition of Goodyear’s off-the-road tire business.

FY2025

Consolidated revenue reaches approximately ¥1.235 trillion, including ¥371.1 billion of off-highway tire revenue.

First Half of FY2026

Yokohama Rubber reports first-half FY2026 sales revenue of ¥639.4 billion. Full-year FY2026 figures available as of September 22, 2026 remain management forecasts.

FAQs

Question: Is “Yokohama Tire” the same company as The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.?

Answer: Not exactly. The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. is the Japanese parent company. Yokohama Tire Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary established in 1969, while YOKOHAMA is also used as a tire brand. The names therefore refer to related but distinct corporate and brand identities.

Interviews & Firsthand Resources

Financial Results Briefings and Q&A Archive

Yokohama Rubber’s investor-relations archive contains management presentations, briefing materials, and analyst Q&A. It is useful for readers who want firsthand management explanations of current strategy, off-highway tire integration, operating conditions, and financial priorities. Because the material comes from the company, it should be read as management’s perspective rather than independent analysis.

View the financial results briefing materials and Q&A archive

Top Message and Investor Relations

This resource presents current management’s framing of strategy and recent performance. It is most useful for understanding how Yokohama Rubber’s leadership describes the group’s current direction at the end of the historical period covered here.

View Yokohama Rubber’s investor-relations leadership resource

Sources

• The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.: FY2025 Securities Report, Company History, Corporate Data, 100th Anniversary Newsletter No. 1, 100th Anniversary Newsletter No. 2
• Los Angeles Times: 1989 Mohawk Rubber acquisition report, 1992 U.S. subsidiary consolidation report
• The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. / European Rubber Journal: Alliance Tire Group acquisition announcement, Alliance Tire Group acquisition completion report
• Sika AG: HAMATITE adhesives and sealants business acquisition
• The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.: Trelleborg Wheel Systems acquisition completion, Yokohama Transformation 2026 plan, Goodyear OTR acquisition completion
• Trelleborg Group: Trelleborg Wheel Systems divestment completion
• Reuters: Goodyear OTR sale agreement report
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company: Form 8-K confirming completion of the Goodyear OTR sale
• The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.: FY2025 financial results, Segment Results, First-half FY2026 results, 2026 senior management changes