Cordiant car tires

Cordiant is one of the most popular tire brands in Russia and is owned by Moscow-based JSC Cordiant, which owns three tire factories, one in Yaroslavl and two in Omsk. The brand produces tires for cars and trucks and exports them to more than 30 countries. In addition to Cordiant, the holding company also owns the Cordiant Professional and Tyrex brands.

The history of production in Yaroslavl began in 1928, when the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the USSR decided to build a rubber-asbestos plant (YARAK) in Yaroslavl. Asbestos. The new facility was designed by the American company Seiberling, which also provided technical support at the start of production. American engineers worked in Yaroslavl, and Soviet specialists underwent internships in the USA, since similar projects had not been implemented in the USSR before.

Construction of the plant lasted from 1930 to 1932, and the first tires were produced on the night of November 6–7, 1932. The following year, instead of raw materials imported from abroad, domestic synthetic rubber was used for the first time. In 1936, the Yaroslavl tire plant equipped the first Soviet limousine GAZ M-1, and a year later the production of tires for trolleybuses, also produced in Yaroslavl, began.

In 1939, YARAK was awarded the Order of Lenin, and the following year the plant was divided, and the Yaroslavl Tire Plant was separated into a separate enterprise. When World War II began, YaShZ was the only tire plant in the country. As a result, production was repurposed, and the company produced tires for the needs of the armed forces, including aviation and artillery. On the night of June 10, 1943, the plant was completely destroyed by bombing, but production was restored by the end of September.

After the war, YaShZ began to develop new categories of products, and in 1946 the Design Bureau of Aviation Tires was created. In the 1950s, production of the country’s first tubeless tires for passenger cars began in Yaroslavl, and at the same time tubeless tires for off-road trucks were developed. In 1954, mass production of agricultural tires began, and in the late 1950s and 1960s, radial tires (“R”) and radial tires with removable tread (“PC”) were produced using technology and equipment from the Italian company Pirelli. .

In 1966, the plant produced its 100 millionth tire, and in 1966 YaShZ became the first enterprise in Russia to begin production of tires for Zhiguli cars. In 1971, the plant received another order, so now the official name of the enterprise is the Yaroslavl Order of Lenin and Order of the October Revolution tire plant. At the end of 1981, the 200 millionth tire was produced in Yaroslavl. The creation of prototypes of steel-cord tires began in 1989, and they were launched into series in the 1990s.

In 1996, OJSC Yaroslavl Tire Plant was created, the largest shareholder of which in 2000 was SIBUR Holding. In 2006, the plant became part of the SIBUR-Russian Tires holding company, and in 2011 the company’s tire division was purchased by management and became a separate organization, renamed in 2012 to OJSC Cordiant.

In 2013, Cordiant decided to focus on the production of passenger and truck tires and sold its only aircraft tire production in Russia, moving it to Barnaul. In the same year, the company sold the Voltyre-Prom agricultural tire plant, which belonged to the American company Titan International. consortium with One Equity Partners (OEP) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

In 2016, YaShZ’s production capacity was 3 million passenger and truck tires produced under the Cordiant and Cordiant Professional brands.

The start of tire production in Omsk was determined by order of the People’s Committee dated March 16, 1938. Construction began in the same year, but work proceeded too slowly, and production was not ready by the start of the war, and the only tire plant in the country was YaShZ. After urgent delivery of equipment, production was established in Omsk. The official birthday of the plant was February 24, 1942, when the first tire was produced. At that time, tires were assembled in subzero temperatures in roofless buildings.

After the war, a second building was put into operation, and in 1955 another one. Two years later, it was decided to double the production capacity of the enterprise, and in 1960, construction began on a workshop for the production of steel-cord tires. A year later, the first Omsk tire with a steel cord was produced, the mileage of which was 100, 000 km, which is higher than that of the Continental tire.

In 1964, a batch of tubeless tires model I-194 was released, and three years later the production of radial tires began. In 1979, the Omskina production association was created. These, in particular, include tire factories producing non-mass and large-size tires. By 1989, Omsk tires were exported to 35 countries. In 1991, the company’s production capacity was 5. 7 million automobile and motorcycle tires and 5. 6 million bicycle tires.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, production began to decline, and in December 1993, after privatization, the Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) Omskshina was created. The technology in the created conditions turned out to be outdated and uncompetitive, so in 1995 the creation of Matador Omskshina, a joint venture with the Slovak company Matador, was announced. In any case, profitability remained a number of problems, so in 1999 the company became part of AK SIBUR. At the beginning of 2006, Omskshina became part of the SIBUR-Russian Tires company, the largest tire manufacturer in Eastern Europe. In 2002, Omskshina produced its 180 millionth tire.

In 2005, a decision was made to divide the range, and the Matador-Omskshina joint venture began producing passenger tires, and Omskshina switched exclusively to truck tires. In 2011, SIBUR – Russian Tires bought out 50% of the shares of the joint venture from Continental, as a result of which the company received the name ZAO Cordiant-Vostok.

The Cordiant brand appeared on the market in 2005 with the release of the Cordiant Sport and Cordiant Polar models. The following year, a production modernization program was launched, which introduced the Cordiant Off-Road and Cordiant Business commercial models. In 2016 Cordiant tires took first place in the passenger tire segment on the Russian market.