Apollo Vredestein B.V.

Apollo Vredestein B.V. is a Netherlands-based tire manufacturer. In 2009, it was acquired by Apollo Tyres Ltd of India. Apollo Vredestein B.V. has its head office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and its production facility in Enschede. It designs, manufactures and sells tyres under the Apollo and Vredestein brand names via offices in Europe and North America.Vredestein products include car tyres, tyres for agricultural and industrial applications, and bicycle tyres. A significant number of the car tyres are designed by the Italian design house Giugiaro Design. The brand is over 100 years old.HistoryEmile Louis Constant Schiff became the owner of the Nederlandse Guttapercha Maatschappij in Delft, the forerunner of Apollo Vredestein, on 6 November 1908. In 1909, the company moved to Loosduinen and changed its name to NV Rubberfabriek Vredestein. The name Vredestein comes from the name of the farm Schiff bought in Loosduinen in 1909 and where he first started making rubber.The company initially specialised in all kinds of rubber products, including shoe heels, tennis balls, floor covering, boots and indoor football balls.On 13 September 1934, most of the factory in Loosduinen was lost in a fire. Reconstruction started immediately, and the bicycle tyre factory in Doetinchem was established in the same year.In 1946, the NV Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Autobanden-fabriek Vredestein was founded in Enschede, with the American company B.F. Goodrich owning just over 20% of the shares. A year later, Schiff laid the cornerstone of the plant in Enschede.The growth of the company accelerated in 1962, when it merged with N.V. Rubberfabrieken Hevea in Raalte. In 1971, the company became wholly owned by B.F. Goodrich and Vredestein's products were soon finding their way to 125 different countries.