5 For 50: Akron still capitalizing on rubber

AKRON—And the winner ... and STILL Rubber Capital of the World ...

Akron may not be the epicenter for the commodity that it was post-World War II, circa 1960, when its rubber industry workers peaked at 58,000 and the overall population topped out at just more than 290,000, but it remains a major player.

From Goodyear's headquarters (now combined with Ohio-based Cooper Tire), to the University of Akron's esteemed School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, to the ACS Rubber Division and the various testing agencies that call Akron home, here are five reasons why the city remains a global hub for all things rubber.

In every issue leading up to our special 50th Anniversary edition on Aug. 9, we'll explore a new list of 5 things that have changed or are changing the industry. When our 50th anniversary issue arrives, you'll have a total of 50 things that define the last five decades.

1. Bouncing back

"What's past is prologue," a quote from William Shakespeare's "The Tempest," presumes that though history is written, the future is anyone's to decide—with the knowledge gleaned from the past.

And since no city maintains a greater rubber pedigree than Akron, the community's future remains bright.

As a hub for air ship production, the city produced early zeppelins and later the iconic Goodyear Blimps. Akron-Fulton Airport was a center for production of the Goodyear Corsair, arguably the premier Allied air-to-air fighter of the Pacific Theater.

And Akron itself was home to Goodyear (named for Charles Goodyear, the father of vulcanization), B.F. Goodrich, Firestone and General Tire, the four largest rubber producers in the world at that time, who chose to set up in the now 194-year-old city.

Though the latter three companies moved elsewhere in the 1980s, Goodyear remains devoted to Akron, opening its 639,000-sq.-ft., $160 million headquarters, one of the largest buildings ever constructed in the city, in 2013.

With the $1.5 billion merger with Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. finalized in early June, Goodyear's position increases dramatically, keeping the city of Akron synonymous with rubber production.

2. This is only a test

As much as it remains a hub for tire production, Akron similarly remains a city of testing and technical centers.

Global firms such as Smithers and the Akron Rubber Development Laboratory Inc. call the region home, and their presence in Northeast Ohio is no coincidence.

Smithers, founded in 1925 in Akron, has a timeline that reads like an infinitely progressive learning curve. The company has a winter test track in Michigan and other labs in Massachusetts, analytical and functional testing labs in Akron, and similar facilities for hose and tire testing in China and the United Kingdom. The company continues to be a go-to lab for the medical, rubber and instrument industries in all types of fields.

ARDL also has a long history in the area, as a center for regulatory testing for a range of industries. The company works with customers to develop rubber compounds, to test elastomer physical and analytical properties (think chemical, failure and forensic testing) and even offers webinars and continuing education in the polymer industry.

3. An academic feedstock

Just as rubber requires its own feedstock materials, chemical and engineering companies require their own sources for the best and brightest employees.

Akron has carved out a corner on that market as well, via the University of Akron's School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, one of the premier academic institutes in the world.

The college sits at the center of campus, a gleaming glass facility that beckons to the world's top students. It was born out of the rubber chemistry field in 1909, when Charles M. Knight had the foresight to teach courses in polymers.

The college's reputation became so well respected that the U.S. government sought out the school—then part of Buchtel College—to train employees during the war effort.

Today, the institute continues to grow alongside the polymer industry, offering doctorate programs in cutting-edge research. Its students and faculty read as a "who's who" of scientists and engineers, with George S. Whitby, Maurice Morton and James L. White as alumni of the school.

4. Educate, connect and grow

The ACS Rubber Division is part professional, part academic, and all knowledge, comprising chemists, engineers, plant managers, those on the distribution side and any others related to the rubber and polymer field.

Based in Akron, the group organizes and sponsors the annual International Elastomer Conference, coming up this year in early October, as well as continuing education and training.

The group has an extensive library of technical and research papers, and its training programs and classes are sought by industry experts across the world.

As recognition is appreciated amongst peers in any space, the group's Science and Technology Awards are considered some of the most prestigious in the industry, a line item on a resume that would make any professional or student proud.

5. Looking over that next hill

Just as Goodyear is as much a global technology firm as it is a tire company, the same can be said for Germany's Continental A.G. and its Fairlawn, Ohio-based ContiTech.

Located in a quaint suburb of Akron, ContiTech is the tire maker's non-tire division, and its research is world renowned in anti-vibration, fluid and hydraulic power, conveyance, power transmission and sealing services, among many others.

Like its parent group in Hanover, the group prides itself on the most advanced predictive maintenance and sustainability solutions and consistently looks to the horizon—whether that represents the coming EV revolution, AI in vehicles or the use of IoT in its products.

The ContiTech division is a fitting example of why Akron's future is as bright as its history is rich—and why the city will remain a "Rubber Capital of the World."