Bridgestone Corp. was named after its founder, Japanese businessman Shojiro Ishibashi — “ishi bashi” meaning “stone bridge” in Japanese.
According to tire industry lore, Mr. Ishibashi was so inspired by the story of Mr. Firestone that he was compelled to slap his own (very conveniently similar) name on his products. We're sure the serendipitous similarity didn't hurt his upstart brand's market position.
In any event, the whole saga came full circle when Bridgestone bought out Firestone in 1988.
We chortle now. But perhaps history will repeat itself and Rubberstone will buy out Bridgestone in the not-so-distant future.
If you're interested in getting in on the ground level of this up-and-coming rubber juggernaut, why not inquire about becoming an international distributor for these undoubtedly fine tire products? We're sure the folks at Rubberstone are all ears. Looks like they've got their exclusive agent in Pakistan — AZA Traders — locked down, but beyond that, the market's wide open.
Want a peek at the Rubberstone Tyre product catalog? Click here.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Rubberstone Tyres appears to be the international DBA for Qingdao Ymi Machco Industry Co. Ltd. of Laoshan/Qingdao, China, which claims to be a manufacturer of radial and bias-ply light truck and truck/bus tires, radial passenger tires and radial and bias-ply OTR, agricultural and industrial tires. However, a tire shown on the company's Facebook page displays the U.S. DOT plant code of 87, which is assigned to Shandong Hongsheng Rubber Co. Ltd., in Guangrao, China.
Bridgestone's response? — Bridgestone Americas said this in response to a query from Tire Business: “Bridgestone Corp. and its subsidiaries are highly committed to protecting the company's intellectual property and will take all necessary measures to do so. We became aware of Rubberstone Tyres in February. We conducted a search of the U.S. Customs database and did not find any records of Rubberstone tires being imported into the United States. Be assured that if we do find them being offered for sale, we will take immediate action.”
Bridgestone has defended its trademarks before. In 2013 it received a trademark infringement judgment against Guangzhou Bolex Tyre Ltd., covering that firm's use of the "Gemstone" brand name and typeface.
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Graham Kozak writes for Autoweek magazine, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.
