Edouard Daubree was married to a young Scotswoman, Miss Elizabeth Pugh Barker, niece of the eminent scientist MacIntosh, who had discovered that rubber was soluble in benzene. In the Auvergne region of France, Madame Daubree used rubber to make balls for her children to play with.

Quickly becoming aware of the industrial possibilities of vulcanized rubber, Edouard together with his cousin Aristide Barbier, set up a small business using it as a raw material for making seals, belts, valves and pipes.

On May 28, 1889 the Michelin Company was created in Clermont-Ferrand. Edouard Michelin assisted by his brother Andre took over their grandfather’s company. They set out on a grand adventure on both the human and industrial fronts: putting innovation to work in developing modern means of transportation - means that spurred freedom of movement and economic growth. Michelin has been there at every step in the automobile age, from the invention of the radial tyre to the vertically anchored tyre, from the first gastronomical guide to the steel wheel.

Back in the early 1900s, the Michelin brothers found themselves becoming essential protagonists in developing the French road system  - organizing petitions to get the roads numbered and signposted. Michelin also found themselves branching out in the guide and mapping making business. The first ‘Red Guide’ - helping motorists to find fuel, food and a good hotel together with correct etiquette when driving, appeared first in the year 1900. Apart from Red Guides, Michelin also developed Green Guides, maps, tourist-aiding sites such as: http://www.viamichelin.com.