Michelin
79732
225817296
2008-07-15T15:24:02Z
Joshua Issac
2790857
/* History */ Citroen -> Citroën
{{otheruses4|Michelin tyres, maps and tourist guides|Michelin Stars and restaurants|Michelin Guide}}
{{Infobox_Company
|company_name = Michelin
|company_logo = [[Image:Michelin.svg|225px|Michelin]]
|company_type = Public ([[Euronext]]: [http://www.euronext.com/trader/summarizedmarket/0,5372,1732_6834,00.html?quotes=stock&selectedMep=1&shareprice=MICHELIN&isinCode=FR0000121261&idInstrument=20987 ML])
|foundation = 1888
|location_city = {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Clermont-Ferrand]]
|location_country = [[France]]
|key_people = [[Michel Rollier]] (General Manager)
|industry = Manufacturing and publishing
|products = [[Tire|Tyres]], travel assistance services
|revenue = {{profit}} [[Euro|€]]15.59 billion (2005)
|num_employees = 127,000 (2005)
|homepage = http://www.michelin.com
}}
'''Michelin''' (full name: ''[[Société en commandite par actions|SCA]] Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin'') ({{Euronext|ML}}) based in [[Clermont-Ferrand]] in the [[Auvergne (région)|Auvergne]] ''[[région]]'' of [[France]], is primarily a [[tire|tyre]] manufacturer. However, it is also famous for its Red and Green [[Michelin Guide|travel guide]]s, for the '''Michelin stars''' the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, for its [[road map]]s, and for its historic emblem, the [[#Bibendum|Michelin Man]].
The tyre manufacturing subsidiary is officially called ''Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin'', "Michelin tyre manufacturing company of France". The company headquarters are located in [[Clermont-Ferrand]], 424 km south of [[Paris]], France.
==Tyres==
===History===
Two brothers, [[Edouard Michelin|Édouard]] and [[André Michelin]], ran a rubber factory in [[Clermont-Ferrand]], France. One day, a cyclist whose pneumatic tyre needed repair turned up at the factory. The tyre was glued to the rim. It took over three hours to remove and repair the tyre, which then needed to be left overnight to dry. The next day, Édouard Michelin took the repaired bicycle into the factory yard to test. After only a few hundred meters, the tyre failed. Despite the setback, Édouard was enthusiastic about the pneumatic tyre and along with his brother, worked on creating their own, one which did not need to be glued to the rim.
[[Image:Michelin Entrance Waterville NS.png|thumb|240px|Michelin tyre plant in [[Waterville, Nova Scotia]]]]
Michelin was incorporated on [[28 May]] [[1888]]. In 1891, they took out their first patent for a removable pneumatic tyre.
Michelin has made a number of innovations to tyres, including in 1946 the [[radial tire|radial tyre]] (then known as the "X" tyre).<ref>[http://www.senat.fr/basile/visio.do?id=a/commission/fin/Fin991120.html&idtable=a/commission/fin/Fin991120.html#toc18 Travaux de la commission des finances<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> This tyre was developed with the front wheel drive [[Citroën Traction Avant]] and [[Citroën 2CV]] in mind. Michelin had bought the then bankrupt Citroen in the 1930s. This tyre is still available for the 2CV.
In 1988, Michelin acquired the tyre and rubber manufacturing divisions of the American [[Goodrich Corporation|B.F. Goodrich Company]] founded in 1870. Two years later, they bought out Uniroyal Inc., founded in 1892 as the [[United States Rubber Company]]. Uniroyal Australia had already been purchased by [[Bridgestone]] in 1980.
Michelin is currently the world's second largest tyre manufacturer after [[Bridgestone]], although it was in first position in 2005.<ref>http://gestdoc.webmichelin.com/repository/backoffice/DocumentRepositoryServlet?codeDocument=292&codeRepository=MICHCORP&codeRubrique=CORP</ref>
===Formula One===
{{seealso|Formula One tyres}}
Michelin first competed in the [[1977 Formula One season]], when [[Renault F1|Renault]] started development of their [[turbocharger|turbocharged]] F1 car. Michelin introduced radial tyre technology to Formula One and won the [[List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions|Formula One Drivers Championship]] with [[Brabham]], before withdrawing in 1984.
The company returned to Formula One in [[2001 Formula One season|2001]]. In that first year they supplied [[Williams F1|Williams]], [[Jaguar Racing|Jaguar]], [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]] (renamed [[Renault F1|Renault]] in 2002), [[Prost (racing team)|Prost]] and [[Minardi]]. [[Toyota F1|Toyota]] joined F1 in 2002 with Michelin tyres, and [[Team McLaren|McLaren]] also signed up with the company. Michelin's tyres were initially uncompetitive but in the [[2005 Formula One season|2005 season]] were totally dominant. This was partly because the new regulations stated that tyres must last the whole race distance (and qualifying), and partly because only one top team (Ferrari) was running Bridgestones, and so had to do much of the development work. Michelin in contrast had much more testing and race data provided by the larger number of teams running their tyres.
Following the debacle of the [[2005 United States Grand Prix]], where, because of safety concerns, Michelin would not allow the teams it supplies to race, Michelin's share price fell by 2.5% (though it recovered later the same day). On [[28 June]], Michelin announced that it would offer compensation to all race fans who had bought tickets for the Grand Prix. The company committed to refunding the price of all tickets for the race. Additionally, they announced that they would provide 20,000 complimentary tickets for the 2006 race to spectators who had attended the 2005 event.
Michelin have had a difficult relationship with the sport's governing body (the [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]]) since around 2003, and this escalated to apparent disdain between the two parties during the [[2005 Formula One season|2005 season]]. The most high profile disagreement was at the United States Grand Prix and the acrimony afterwards. Michelin criticised the FIA's intention to move to a single source (i.e. one brand) tyre from 2008, and threatened to withdraw from the sport. In a public rebuke FIA President [[Max Mosley]] wrote ''"There are simple arguments for a single tyre, and if [Michelin boss [[Édouard Michelin (born 1963)|Édouard Michelin]]] is not aware of this, he shows an almost comical lack of knowledge of modern Formula One"''. Another bone of contention has been the reintroduction of tyre changes during pit-stops from 2006. Michelin criticised the move claiming ''"this event illustrates F1's problems of incoherent decision-making and lack of transparency."''
In December 2005, and as a result of the difficult relationship with the sport's governing body, Michelin announced they would not extend their involvement in Formula One beyond the 2006 season.<ref>[http://newsonf1.net/2005/news/12/dec14m.htm F1 News - Michelin will not extend its Formula One involvement beyond the 2006 season - Michelin - 14 December 2005<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Bridgestone]] has since then been the sole supplier of tyres to Formula One.
The last race won on Michelin Tyres in Formula One was the [[2006 Japanese Grand Prix]], [[Fernando Alonso]] benefitting after the [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] engine of [[Michael Schumacher]] failed during the race. This gave Michelin a second consecutive [[List of Formula One World Constructors' Champions|Constructors Championship]] win, with the [[2005 Formula One season|2005]] and [[2006 Formula One season|2006]], after Bridgestone's seven-year winning streak, and brought to a total of four the number of wins for Michelin since this event's inception back in the [[1958 Formula One season]]; Michelin's other wins were in the [[1979 Formula One season|1979]], and [[1984 Formula One season|1984]] seasons.
===Recent Developments===
*[[Pax System]]
*[[Tweel]]
*[[X One]]
==Other products==
===Tour guides===
{{main|Michelin Guide}}
Michelin has long published two guidebook series, the Red Guides to [[hotel]]s and [[restaurant]]s, and the Green Guides for tourism. It now publishes several additional guides, as well as digital map and guide products. The city maps in both the Red and the Green guides are of high quality, and are linked to the smaller-scale road maps.
===Maps===
Michelin publishes various series of road [[map]]s, mostly of France but also on [[Europe]]an countries, [[Africa]], [[Thailand]] and the [[United States]].
===Online Mapping===
[[ViaMichelin]] is a wholly owned subsidiary of Michelin Group, and was started in 2001, to represent Michelin’s digital mapping services. ViaMichelin currently generates 400 million maps and routes per month on its main website.<ref>[http://www.viamichelin.com ViaMichelin: street map, maps, map UK, route finder, route planner, directions, road map, route map<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
ViaMichelin provides mapping and travel solutions for internet, mobile and satellite navigation products with street level coverage of Europe, USA, [[Australia]], and parts of [[Asia]] and [[South America]].
==Bibendum==
[[Image:MichelinManRunning.png|thumb|right|Bibendum (The Michelin Man) as he looked in the early 1990s]]
The company's symbol is '''Bibendum''', (aka "Bib the Michelin Man", "Bibelobis", or simply the "Michelin Man"),<ref>[http://www.michelin.com/corporate/front/templates/affich.jsp?codeRubrique=99&lang=EN Michelin Corporate - Bibendum, the Michelin man, the living tyre<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> introduced in 1898, by French artist O'Galop (pseudonym of Marius Rossillon), and one of the world's oldest [[trademark]]s. [[André Michelin]] apparently commissioned the creation of this jolly, rotund figure after his brother, Édouard{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, observed that a display of stacked tyres resembled a human form. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks, representing Michelin in over 150 countries.
The 1898 poster showed him offering the toast ''Nunc est bibendum'' ("Cheers!" or "Now is the time to drink" in Latin), to his scrawny competitors with a glass full of road hazards, with the title and the tag ''C'est à dire: À votre santé. Le pneu Michelin boit l'obstacle'' ("That is to say, to your health: The Michelin tyre drinks up obstacles"). It is unclear when the word "Bibendum" came to be the name of the character himself. At the latest, it was in 1908, when Michelin commissioned [[Curnonsky]] to write a newspaper column signed "Bibendum".
The name of the plump tyre-man has entered the language to describe the appearance of someone obese or wearing comically bulky clothing: "How can I wrap up warm without looking like a Michelin Man?"<ref>[http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1888830,00.html Kenny has a big pair of gloves to fill | News | guardian.co.uk Football<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.
In Spain, ''Michelín''<ref>[http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?LEMA=michel%C3%ADn&TIPO_HTML=2&FORMATO=ampliado Diccionario] de la [[Real Academia Española]].</ref> has acquired the meaning of the "tyres", or folds of fatty skin around the waist.
His shape has changed over the years. O'Galop's logo was based on [[bicycle]] tyres, and wore period-appropriate [[pince-nez]] glasses with lanyard, and smoked a [[cigar]]. By the 1980s, Bibendum was being shown as a running Bib, and in 1998, his 100th [[anniversary]], a slimmed-down version became the company's new logo; his vision had improved, and he had long since given up smoking. The slimming of the logo reflected both lower-profile, smaller tyres on sport compact automobiles and a more athletic, slimmer, and trimmer Bib, along with Bib even having a similar-looking puppy as a companion when the duo were CGI animated for recent American television advertisements.
Bibendum made a brief guest appearance in the [[Asterix]] series, as the chariot-wheel dealer in certain translations, including the English one, of ''[[Asterix in Switzerland]]''. (The original French version used the Gaulish warrior mascot of French service-station company [[Antar]]). The image also plays a key role in [[William Gibson]]'s novel [[Pattern Recognition (novel)|''Pattern Recognition'']]. Michelin sued the performance artist [[Momus (artist)|Momus]] for releasing a song about the trademarked Michelin Man.
French reggae band [[Tryo]] have sung about Bibendum on their album [[Grain De Sable]]. 'Monsieur Bibendum, il est vraiment énorme / Monsieur Bibendum, le bonheur en personne' - 'Mr Bibendum, he is truly enormous, Mr Bibendum; happiness in person.
===Michelin Challenge Bibendum===
The [[Michelin Challenge Bibendum]] is an annual major [[sustainable mobility]] event.
==Management==
From 1999, the company was headed by [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] [[Édouard Michelin (born 1963)|Édouard Michelin]]. On [[26 May]] [[2006]], Édouard drowned while fishing near the island of [[Île de Sein|Sein]], off the coast of [[Brittany]].<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/05/26/afx2776441.html Michelin CEO Edouard Michelin has died - police - Forbes.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The death of Édouard Michelin brought a non-member of the Michelin family, [[Michel Rollier]], to the head of the company.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114866900467864406.html?mod=home_whats_news_us Free Preview - WSJ.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Trivia==
{{trivia|date=July 2008}}
* Michelin owned the automobile manufacturer [[Citroën]] between 1934 and 1976.
* Allied forces relied heavily on Michelin maps to plan the invasion of [[Normandy]] during [[Operation Overlord]] in the [[Second World War]].
* Michelin is a founding partner with the [[Clemson University]] International Center for Automotive Research, located near Michelin of North America's headquarters in Greenville, [[South Carolina]].
* Michelin is the [[Original Equipment Manufacturer]] (OEM) supplier to [[Volvo]]'s Mark II vehicles. Michelin is also OEM supplier to [[General Motors]], [[Volkswagen Group]], and many other [[marque]]s of vehicles.
* The "''Bibendum Chair''" was a design by [[Eileen Gray]].
* Marcel Michelin, the son of the founder [[André Michelin]] started the local rugby team, [[ASM Clermont Auvergne]], and was a pioneer of skiing in the [[Massif Central]]. An early member of the [[French Resistance]], he died in a German concentration camp in 1945.<ref>[http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wiki/Massif-Central/Super-Besse Super-Besse<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* Cayce Pollard, the protagonist of [[William Gibson]]'s 2003 novel [[Pattern Recognition (novel)|''Pattern Recognition'']], exhibits a phobic reaction to the Michelin Man.
* In 2007 the Michelin Store opened in Downtown Greenville, South Carolina. There is also a smaller gift shop in the Michelin Main building.
* [[Michelin tire baby syndrome|Michelin tyre baby syndrome]] is a disease named after the Michelin Man.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commonscat|Michelin}}
* [http://www.michelin.com Official global website]
* [http://www.michelin.co.uk/ Michelin UK & Ireland website]
* [http://www.michelinman.com/ Michelin US website]
* [http://www.kogol.co.il/ Michelin in Israel website]
* [http://www.michelintravel.com/ Michelin guide website]
* [http://www.michelinsport.com/ Michelin Sport website]
* [http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ Digital mapping services]
* [http://www.michelin.co.uk/travel/ Michelin UK maps and Guides website]
* {{fr icon}} [http://oldmaps.free.fr/livre/michelin.htm Michelin maps]
===Data===
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/41/41240.html Yahoo! - Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin Company Profile]
{{CAC 40 companies}}
[[Category:Companies established in 1888]]
[[Category:Michelin| ]]
[[Category:Tire manufacturers]]
[[Category:Automobile advertising characters]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Euronext exchanges]]
[[Category:Automotive companies of France]]
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