A look at the rubber industry in the 1970s

1971

• Rubber & Plastics News debuts on Aug. 16.

• Apollo 15 becomes the first lunar mission to use rovers.

• Dayco Corp. Chairman Robert Jacob dies unexpectedly and is succeeded by his brother, Richard.

• Rubber companies battle recession-era challenges, including a wage and price freeze implemented by President Nixon.

• Goodyear opens OTR tire plant in Topeka, Kan., and christens new blimp.

• ACS Rubber Division hosts 100th meeting in Cleveland.

• DuPont, Firestone, B.F. Goodrich Co. and Uniroyal express optimism for 1972.

1972

• Radialization and regulations become the biggest industry buzzwords.

• Michelin faces duties on imports into the U.S. from Canada, launching battle that lasts a decade.

• Michelin invests $400 million in U.S. operations.

• Polyurethane Manufacturers Association is created.

• Tire makers push back on Uniform Tire Quality Grading, an initiative that doesn't get off the ground.

1973

• Rubber industry companies navigate the energy crisis.

• Arab oil embargo results in huge production and cost disruptions for overall economy.

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration puts MOCA curative on cancer-causing chemicals list, and PMA launches effort to fight the move.

• United Rubber Workers union seeks 8-percent increase in wages but locks horns with tire companies, leading to a 23-day strike at B.F. Goodrich and walkout at Firestone. In the end, unionized workers get a significant raise.

• Goodyear admits to making illegal contributions to President Nixon's re-election campaign.

• Gates Rubber Co. exits tire making business, citing growing costs associated with radials.

1974

• Oil embargo continues through March with a stock market crash.

• High prices and gas insecurities lead to significant decline in driving, which has major impact on overall auto industry and suppliers in particular.

• With scarce supplies of raw materials, layoffs are common throughout the industry.

• Capital spending declines throughout the industry.

• Dunlop touts new run-flat tires.

1975

• Sluggish economy turns over to full-scale recession.

• BFG closes plants in Akron and California.

• Supplemental Unemployment Benefit funds run out for BFG, General Tire and Uniroyal, leading all three companies to lay off staff.

• Firestone's top executive says recession seals tire maker's fate in Akron.

• URW decides not to merge with Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers.

• Courts strike down OSHA's MOCA regulations, but a number of other chemicals were added to the toxic substance rules.

• Firestone faces problems with 500 steel-belted radial tires and fights the recall of 1 million tires.

• General Tire faces bribery charges in Chile.

1976

• The longest strike to date in the rubber industry's history occurred, lasting 141 days with 60,000 workers at the Big 4 tire makers striking.

• The union wins a 36-percent pay increase over three years and tire makers, weakened by the strike, begin looking for alternatives to union organized plants in the U.S.

• Michelin buys a closed Gates Rubber plant in Littleton, Colo., and pushes forward with expansion plans in South Carolina.

• Tire makers are caught operating secret slush funds, used for foreign bribes, political payoffs and domestic campaign contributions.

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues pursuit of a Firestone 500 recall.

• Crain Communications Inc. acquires Rubber & Plastics News.

1977

• The U.S. Supreme Court lets the tire quality grading standard stand.

• OSHA issues stringent benzene exposure rule but ends up in court.

• Firestone charges Robert Beasley, its former financial officer, with fraud. Beasley blasted the company for launching a "Watergate-style cover-up."

• Michelin launches $100 million expansion in the U.S.

• Goodyear begins expansion project in Lawton, Okla.

• Within a matter of months, the tire and rubber industry sees 1,420 layoffs.

• Butadiene supplies remain tight, causing disruptions in SBR and polybutadiene production.

1978

• Radialization forces closures of bias-ply tire plants, marking a turning point for the industry. Goodyear and Uniroyal each close a plant and Firestone closes three plants.

• Firestone recalls 10 million of its steel-belted radial 500 tires.

• Firestone's ex-CFO Robert Beasley pleads guilty and is given a four-year prison term.

• OSHA's benzene standard is overturned.

1979

• OSHA launches effort to regulate multipiece rims.

• A MOCA standard set by California is accepted by the PMA, which called it "tough but fair."

• URW reaches contract agreement with Firestone and settles without a strike at the Big 4 tire makers, except Uniroyal, where a long walkout occurred.

• Michelin unveils plans to build three plants and launch two major expansions.

• Firestone, crushed by the weight of the Firestone 500 recall and labor disputes, prepares for the next phase, hiring John Nevin to prepare the company for sale.