(engine revving)
- Did I get too much sun?
(engine revving)
I feel like I'm just, like, a little pink.
(engine revving)
As somebody who has genetics to get tan,
it just doesn't seem to be working out so much for me.
(boy crying)
(car crashing)
What's going on, guys?
It's Alex from Fitment Industries,
and today we're bringing you a new series,
a new episode, of what we're going to call Tire History,
because you guys wanted to know everything
there was to know about wheels, so we made a series for it.
You guys wanted to know everything about suspension,
so we made a series for it.
And now, you guys are asking for company history on tires,
so we made a series for it.
So we thought we would start off
with probably one you haven't been expecting,
one that you probably can't even tell, Toyo Tires.
Toyo Tires began in August of 1945,
actually between a merger between two companies.
Those two companies would be Hirano Rubber Manufacturing
and Toyo Industrial.
Hirano Rubber was founded in 1890.
No, I did not make that up, 1890.
So what was happening in 1890?
Vincent Van Gogh was alive-ish in 1890.
Pretty much, 1890 was actually pretty, pretty terrible
in terms of history, so we're not gonna really
dive into that too much, because it's gonna start
all that controversy in the comments,
we're just not gonna do that.
But, Hirano has been known in the industrial community
for the rubber manufacturing plants
that they have for a long time.
And, over the course of the decades
that had gone through the 18 and 1900s,
they really specialize in just making rubber hoses
and components for pretty much anything.
And it wasn't until World War II came around.
Hirano Rubber was really starting to get in pressure
with regards to where they were producing supplies
and other sort of rubber compounds
for pretty much any sort of war effort.
So back in 1943, Hirano was looking for a company
that they could partner with that would match them
on a supply that the actual government
was looking to get from the rubber manufacturing companies,
and ergo, Toyo Industrial was essentially
brought into the mix.
Now, Toyo, on the other hand, has been involved
in a lot of different things, especially since
they have been in the rubber industry
for a few years less than Hirano,
but they definitely had history in the day.
Because in 1938, Toyo Rubber was born,
and that was born by a man named Toyo Boseki.
Toyo Tires, Toyo Boseki, Boseki.
And in 1938, Toyo really just came on board
as one of those companies
that had everything going for them.
A lot of their growth was through acquisitions and mergers,
not by natural, organic growth.
Essentially, Toyo was brought into the game,
and through just some random luck
and some good business deals, they grew huge
in just a few short years.
It wasn't until 1943 came along until they started
to realize that Toyo was going to essentially become
the sole proprietor use of all rubber manufacturing tires
for Japan; they just had all the mergers
and all the acquisitions back in the time
that it was just the company to go to.
And during the war efforts, that was the company.
They were the ones that were involved and responsible
for a lot of the rubber manufacturing processes
that Japan used during that time.
You see, Hirano needed a company
that could match the supply that it could give,
and Toyo needed a company that could actually
meet the amount of demand they were getting
from the government and from neighboring countries.
And so from there, the Toyo merger began.
The merger wasn't necessarily done
by a handshake and a hug.
It was something that was just bound to happen,
because what ended up occurring,
well, if you didn't know in 1943,
there were a few bombs dropped,
essentially all over the place,
and Hirano plants and Toyo plants
were no exception to the rules.
These things got bombarded during the war times,
and efforts to essentially stall marketing,
stall production, and stall supply,
especially considering the time and era.
Now in World War II, there was a lot of things happening,
and there was a lot of things
that essentially stalled progression,
especially in the industrial community.
And this was one of those exceptions.
What ended up happening is both industries
had the manufacturing plants destroyed
or almost destroyed, with nearly all of their supply gone
over 1943 to 1944, and they just realized
that they couldn't do business without each other.
And as a result, Toyo Industries, Toyo Rubber,
Toyo Tires, was born.
From there, Toyo truly began to grow
through organic growth on top of the mergers
and acquisitions that they had throughout the decades,
especially considering when they went public
through stockbrokers and essentially started taking over
more market share when they expanded
their overall customer base.
Now we know them as Toyo Tires,
but Toyo is involved in a lot of different things.
But, pretty much all you need to know
is Toyo Tires came into the USA in 1966 of July.
You can go, phone a friend, 50-50 that.
You can ask 'em as a quiz question on a Friday night
when you're getting drunk, and I bet you
they won't be able to tell you,
but from there, Toyo truly began to grow,
and on top of the fact that they were making production,
they had a very large focus in R&D.
Especially consider that's one of their main
portfolio projects in their overall company
is R&D, automotive parts, and of course,
their tire company.
But let's talk about what everybody
actually knows Toyo for, their tires.
Toyo owns Toyo tires.
That's pretty much a foundational point of view.
If you didn't know that, well,
we're gonna have to talk about things
that you do and don't know.
Toyo Tires is owned by Toyo.
Nitto is owned by Toyo.
Silverstone are also owned by Toyo.
So Toyo Tires is essentially an extremely large
market share, and although we think
that they do all things car, Toyo actually has
a lot more focus on their truck wheels,
especially their Open Country and tires of that nature.
Toyo, on top of that, has Nitto.
Now Nitto is like my personal favorite tires,
because Nitto makes a gorgeous looking tire.
Their NT series, the NT05s, the NT01s,
the RRs, all of that stuff are like,
they're just so nice to look at.
And on top of that, they do a really good job
at what they're supposed to do.
But that's what Nitto was made for.
Nitto was actually essentially created and acquired
by Toyo to be the dress-up, market tire for tuner fans.
So, although I feel a little bit played,
because I feel like one of those kids that buys
the cool stuff because everybody else buys the cool stuff,
I mean, Nitto does a pretty good job
at looking like a bad-ass tire.
And although we think Nitto is a huge brand
here in North America, it really doesn't extend
past the North American market.
Nitto especially is just something
that they use as another section
of their overall tire industry,
but Toyo is still a prominent car tire, as well.
The Toyo Proxe's probably one of the best-considered series
in terms of tires.
On top of the Proxes, I think really Nitto is my favorite,
even though they really don't last that long
and the traction is extremely harsh, and the road noise.
But it's besides the point.
The point is, is that even though Toyo Tires
is this huge thing that we know and remember,
there's two more divisions that Toyo Tires specializes in.
Toyo has a division that specializes in all things rubber.
(Snorts)
Division makes up about 20% of their overall business
and includes things like train absorbent springs.
They invest in things like rubber and CV axles,
and motor mounts, and all this random stuff
that you can make rubber out of.
Really what they do is any sort of commercial product
that they can get their hands on when it comes to rubber
automotive manufacturing parts, they try to do,
because from a commercial standpoint,
if you can conserve a partnership
through the use of multiple products,
between buying and selling, especially with
car manufacturers, it usually results
in bigger partnerships, bigger contracts, and longer deals.
So if you can supply tires on top of the fact
that you can supply CV axles, motor mounts,
bushings, and everything in between,
you're pretty much set up for success.
And that's what Toyo tries to do.
And on top of that, they try to stay current
by essentially spending the rest of their money
and their Saturdays and Sundays on their R&D department.
They have an exclusive R&D facility
that's dedicated to nothing more than just being
nerds in white lab coats that try to make everything
the best it possibly can.
But on top of that, really Toyo is just their tires,
and that's really all I care about,
and I'm sure that's what most of you care about.
So usually when people bring up tire brands,
there's really not a whole lot of competitive spirit,
not like XXR versus work, or something of that nature,
but you know what I mean?
Toyo tires is just a good brand,
and they do very well at what they do.
On top of that, they're involved
in almost every single motor sport
you can possibly imagine, whether that's baja,
drifting, autocross, HPD, everything in between
that you could possibly put tires on
in terms of an event, Toyo is involved in.
Toyo is a brand that pretty much carries
every sort of possible product that you could want,
as long as you have the cash.
Toyo is not one of those more affordable brands,
especially when it comes to tires.
In fact, they're Proxes can get a little pricey,
especially when you start getting wide with your wheels.
Nitto is absolutely no exception, either.
If you wanna go out and grab an NTO5R
or something like that, you're going to be paying
a pretty penny.
But what you're getting is a damn good tire.
Toyo specializes in making tires
for specific application purposes.
They're not really super strong in terms of
the all-season capabilities, especially within
their Toyo brand.
The Nitto does have some all-seasons
that I like, but in terms of overall growth,
really they're sticking to the stuff
that they know that they're good at.
It's going to be the street modified.
It's going to be the truck off-road capabilities,
and then of course their Nitto brand
when they want to capitalize on the 16 year old
that just bought their first set of wheels.
Or if you're Alex, and you're 23 years old,
and you still just want to have cool looking tires.
But on top of that, Toyo's not necessarily
have a huge, vast array of tires.
There's going to be other tires
out there on the market that are gonna be able
to compete with Toyo, depending on what your needs are.
If you're looking for something more robust,
Toyo's not really that brand.
Nitto is especially not that brand,
unless you really get the Neo Gens,
which is the only wheel, tire that I believe
is really kind of getting into the market
in the right way and price point.
But Toyo is a good brand, and they definitely have
a ton of heritage that makes them a brand
that I think you can definitely trust.
But that's everything that we have on Toyo.
Let us know what you guys would like to see next,
and then drop a comment and like.
If you guys are looking for any sort of additional videos,
let us know, and if you're looking for tires,
head on over to fitmentindustries.com.
You could actually pair your wheels
with tires to get a package price
that's actually a lot cheaper,
or you can just pick up some tires, too,
if you're looking to pick up some tires.
But www.fitmentindustries.com.
I'm Alex from Fitment Industries.
We'll see ya' later.
Peace.