History of the brand Kleber
When the French general Jean-Baptiste Kléber died in Cairo in 1800, the concept of a tyre industry was something people at the time could simply not even dream of. How was the general to know, then, that more than 100 years after his death, through an interesting series of events, his name would be used for one of the world’s most popular choice of car tyres?
This is the story of how Kleber tyres came to be.
In 1901, the American company BFGoodrich established a factory in the French town of Colombes. Rumour has it that the firm’s director, Mr Work, decided to build the plant while sailing on a barge through a flooded region around Paris.
This French subsidiary began operating on the 13th of July, 1910 and the first tyre was produced on the 8th of December, 1911. While the official Kleber brand would not be established for another three decades, this can be considered the first significant date in the company’s history, as well as their first car tyre.
The logo of Kleber tyres
By 1927, the Colombes factory was in full production developing a range of goods, not just tyres. This included other rubber products, such as transmission belts, gaskets, machinery parts and various other devices.
Developing car tyres
In the 1930s, the Colombes plant made original tyres for Chambord and Versailles cars. In 1935, it presented its first ...
Read more >