General Tire, founded by William F. O’Neill (“W.O”) and his partner Winfred E. Fouse in 1915. When the pair started manufacturing tyres, there were over 300 companies that also made tyres. O’Neill made the decision to skip the original equipment market (OE) and focus on quality tyres for the replacement market. This led to the General Jumbo tyre.

In the twenties, the company built an independent dealer network, which ensured the General Tire was presented as a premium brand. During this period, the development team of General Tire produced the Low Pressure Ballon Jumbos, which only requires 0.8 bar of air pressure. This was the first of many innovations such as the Dual Ballon, Dual 8, Dual 10, Squeegee, and Dual 90 that strengthened General Tire’s position as one of the best brands on the market.