Continental Barum (formerly just Barum) is a manufacturer of rubber
tyres
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...
based in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
under the Barum brand.
History
The Barum tyre company was created as a subsidiary of
Bata Shoes
The Bata Corporation (known as Bata, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as Baťa) is a multinational footwear, apparel and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerl ...
who made rubber soled boots in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
. The high cost of rail transport prompted the Bata company to operate its own fleet of vehicles to transport goods by road and in 1934, to counteract the high costs involved in importing tyres for its fleet of vehicles, the company decided to produce tyres for its own use. In 1945 the three major rubber-producing companies in Czechoslovakia were merged — Bata in
Zlín, Rubena in Náchod (Kudrnáč pre-1945) and Mitas (Michelin + Veritas) in Prague-Strašnice and post-war in Hrádek nad Nisou, being originally a subsidiary of
Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larg ...
. The Bata family lost control of the company, which was seized by the state and the Barum company was created.
In 1966 the construction of a brand new manufacturing facility commenced in Otrokovice and the following year the first
radial tyre was produced at the factory in Zlin. The factory was named Rudý říjen (Red October) in 1953, after the
October 1917 revolution in Russia.
In 1972 Tyre manufacture ceased in Zlin when a new plant was built in Otrokovice.
In 1983, Barum sponsored rally competitions for the first time. At that time, no one imagined that these races would become an important event in the world motorsport calendar. Today,
Barum Czech Rally Zlin is one of the stages of the
European Rally Championship
The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The championship has b ...
. Also, for many years, Barum has supported racing on historic rally cars Star Rally Historic.
«Шины Barum»
Barum tires"(in Russian) - autoset.by, 30 August 2022
In 1992 a joint venture agreement was signed with Continental AG
Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis ...
.
References
External links
*
Continental AG websiteBarum history at oponeo.co.uk
Czech brands
Tire manufacturers of the Czech Republic
Manufacturing companies of Czechoslovakia
Continental AG
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