Madras Rubber Factory was started by K. M. Mammen Mappillai as a toy balloon manufacturing unit in 1946 at Tiruvottiyur, Madras. In 1952, the company ventured into the manufacture of tread rubber. Madras Rubber Factory limited was incorporated as a private company in November 1960 and ventured into manufacture of tyres in partnership with Mansfield Tire & Rubber company based in Ohio, United States. The company went public on 1 April 1961 and an office was established in Beirut, Lebanon to develop the export market in 1964 and its current logo of the muscleman was born. In 1967, it became the first Indian company to export tyres to USA. In 1973, MRF started manufacturing Nylon tyres for the first time. The Company entered into with a technical know-how collaboration with B. F. Goodrich in 1978. The Mansfield Tire & Rubber Co sold out its share in 1979 and the name of the company was changed to MRF Ltd in the year. The company finalized a technical collaboration agreement with Marangoni TRS SPA, Italy for the manufacture of pre-cured tread rubber for retreading industry. MRF tyres supplied tyres to Maruti 800, India's first modern small car. In 1989, the company collaborated with Hasbro International United States, the world's largest toy maker and launched Funskool India. Also, they entered into a pact with Vapocure of Australia to manufacture polyurethane paint formulations and with Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli for conveyor and elevator belt manufacture. During the year 2004-05, the product range of the company expanded with Go-kart & rally tyres and tyres for two/three wheelers.
Products
Tyres manufactures various tyres for passenger cars, two–wheelers, trucks, buses, tractors, light commercial vehicles, off–the–road tyres and aero plane tyres, MRF ZVTS and MRF Wanderers for cars and SUVs, MRF Meteor all terrain tyres, MRF Steel Muscle for trucks and buses.
MRF ZLX is the latest one which is well known for its comfort in passenger segment
Conveyor Belting – manufactures its in-house brand of Muscleflex conveyor belts.
Pretreads – MRF has the most advanced pre-cured retreading system in India. MRF forayed into retreading in 1970 and manufactures pretreads for tyres.
Paints - manufactures polyurethane paint formulations and coats used in automotive, decorative and industrial applications.
The company also manufactures toys at its facility in Goa. The paints and coats are manufactured at two facilities in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Funskool
was established in 1987 in collaboration with Hasbro toys, US. Funskool manufactures and markets toys, board games among others. It has a manufacturing facility in Goa, India. The company has manufacturing licenses for toys and games from Disney, Warner Brothers, Rummikub, Dora and Funskool also has partnerships with renowned toy brands Hasbro, Lego, Hornby, Ravensburger, Tomy Toys, Leap Frog, Siku, Jumbo and New Bright for manufacture and marketing in India.
MRF promotes a national motocross championship, a form of all-terrain two wheeler racing held on enclosed off-road circuits annually across several cities.
MRF Karting
MRF sponsors major karting championships in India. MRF is the first Indian tyre company to develop FIA approved karting tyres.
Cricket
MRF Pace Foundation
MRF Pace Foundation is a coaching clinic for training fast bowlers established by MRF with the help of former Australian pace spearhead Dennis Lillee in Chennai, India. Through this program, young aspiring fast bowlers are trained in a special facility. Fast bowlers who trained with foundation and went on to represent the Indian Cricket Team include Javagal Srinath, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Venkatesh Prasad, R. P. Singh, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth. Besides Indian players, foreign players like Chaminda Vaas, Henry Olonga, Heath Streak and Australian fast bowlers Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee have also trained at the foundation. Sachin Tendulkar in his early days trained in the MRF Pace Foundation to become a fast bowler. Glenn McGrath was appointed director of the Foundation on 2 September 2012, replacing Dennis Lillee, who has held the post since its inception in 1987.
MRF won the JD Power Award for the record 11th time in 2014. The company has won several awards and accolades including the All India Rubber Industries Association's award for 'Highest Export Awards ', 'Top Export Award' from Chemicals & Allied Products Export Promotion Council for 2009–10. In 2014, MRF was ranked 48th among India's most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory.
