Avon Tyres
Avon has been making high quality tyres since 1904, tyres that fit all sorts of cars and motorbikes, vans and trailers. And over the years Avon has not only proved itself on the road but also on the racetracks of the world, on two wheels as well as four.
Today, Avon’s century of tyre-making experience is combined with the very latest design and manufacturing technology. Add in a punishing test regime and you can see why Avon makes tyres of unparalleled quality and ability.
So if you’re after tyres that can confidently shrug off the elements, tyres that help make driving a pleasure rather than a chore, ask for Avon.
Avon Tyres is owned by the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. For more information about Cooper Tire please visit www.coopertire.com/html/ (This link will take you to an external site).
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A tradition of success
The seed of Avon Tyres was sown back in 1885, when Messrs Brown & Margeston turned a former cloth mill into a rubber goods factory. And as the century turned, the team spotted a new opportunity: pneumatic tyres for motorcars.
A new product for a new era
It’s 1901, and Avon’s first pneumatic tyre rolls off the production line. Demand quickly grows, and we diversify into motorcycle tyres, gaining skills that are later put to good use supporting the war effort. Come 1933, Avon Tyres is in full stride: Rolls Royce specifies our tyres as standard equipment and the company successfully floats on the stock exchange.
When WWII breaks out, all 2,500 Avon employees work flat out to ensure troops are well-supplied, then once peace is declared, growth is rapid. In fact, modernisation sees our output double by 1956.
On the right track
Fast-forward to 1957, and every solo world champion from now until 1963 will ride on Avon tyres. Aston Martin clean up at the World Sports Car Championships in 1959, and it’s just the beginning of a long line of sporting successes.
Over the years, our tyres have kept racers ahead of the field in everything from grassroots clubman series right up to Formula One, Le Mans 24-endurance, drag racing, rally cross… even ice racing.
Big names
Today, Avon has a separate racing division – Avon Tyres Motorsport - that supplies tyres to over 150 race championships around the world. They include the British GT Championship, 2007 Champ Car Atlantic, Formula 3 and Formula Ford. We supplied Formula 3000 tyres from 1988 until the series finished in 2004 and are honoured to supply the Thoroughbred Grand Prix (a race for 3 litre non-turbo Formula 1 veterans).
You might be familiar with some of the drivers who’ve put our tyres through their paces – Ayrton Senna, Juan Pablo Montoya, Keke Rosberg, Jenson Button and Mika Hakkinen, to name a few.
Innovative through and through
From new formulas to increase ‘cling’ in the ‘60s through the creation of some of the world’s first radial tyres, innovation is in our DNA. And it continues today, as the innovations in motorcycle radial tyre design of our Azaro range attest. We were the first UK tyre maker to be awarded BS5750 (now ISO 9001) certification, and with a brand new European Technical Centre just opened, the innovation’s set to carry on.
Local past, international future
Avon remained a UK-owned company up until 1997, when we were acquired by the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Ohio, USA. Our name’s changed to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd, though our historic Avon brand remains.
The deal has meant access to ever more high-tech design and development facilities, and has since seen Cooper Tire expand into the Asian market.
