Tyer Rubber Company
Tyer Rubber Company
- Lewis and Main Streets
In 1856 Henry G. Tyer established a factory to produce rubber cement in some of the Boston and Maine Railroad buildings. He began to make rubber shoes and moved into a larger structure. After obtaining a patent for combining zinc oxide with the rubber, he began to produce water bottles, syringes, rubber bands, and pharmaceutical items.The company pioneered inflatable bladders for footballs and rubber centers for baseball and golf balls. They also invented a process known as "hotcure" which was used to make rubber pontoons and reconnaissance boats during World War II. After he died in 1881, his son inherited the business and began making automobile tires in 1909. In 1922 the Tyer Rubber stopped manufacturing tires and returned to making rubber footware. It later became a division of the Converse Corporation.
See
- The Lower Merrimack River Valley: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites R 609 Low, page 8 and page 9.
- After Him You're First.(Pamphlet put out by Tyer
rubber about products during WW II) Andover Room R678.2 Aft (pamphlet box 4)
- Over the Years, the Valley Has Many Firsts. Eagle Tribune, 4/4/1989, page A2.
--Eleanor 13:05, October 7, 2006 (EDT)
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