Auburn Rubber Company

Auburn Rubber Company was an American manufacturer of rubber products whose best-known business became a broad range of children's toys. The enterprise began in Auburn, Indiana, in 1913 as the Double Fabric Tire Company. Its initial business was closely connected with the Auburn Automobile Company, for which it produced tires. During the 1920s, the company adopted the Auburn Rubber name and gradually moved away from tire production. It diversified into industrial and consumer rubber goods, including rubber sheet material used in shoe soles. The company's major strategic turn came in 1935, when it entered the toy business. Auburn produced rubber toys depicting cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, aircraft, tanks, farm animals, soldiers, cowboys, trees, buildings, and other play objects. Its vehicle range became particularly recognizable among mid-century toys. Models generally represented contemporary automobiles and utility vehicles, often in compact sizes of roughly four to eight inches, although larger examples were also made. The company used rubber initially and later incorporated plastic and vinyl materials. Its products were sold in many colors, with sprayed silver details commonly used for windows, grilles, bumpers, and other trim. Auburn's toy vehicles were relatively simple in construction. A typical model consisted of a molded body, four wheels, and two metal axles. Despite the limited construction, the toys often displayed recognizable proportions and styling cues from real vehicles. The catalog included versions resembling the Ford Model A, 1955 Ford Thunderbird, Triumph TR2, Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Ford Ranchero, Cadillac convertibles, station wagons, fire engines, police cars, telephone trucks, tractors, construction equipment, and racing cars. Some toys were imaginative combinations rather than precise replicas, reflecting the design conventions and licensing environment of the period. The company maintained industrial production during the Second World War. In addition to continuing to manufacture rubber soles, it supplied soles for combat boots and produced gaskets associated with military fuel containers, commonly called jerry cans. This wartime work illustrates that Auburn remained more than a toy maker even as toys became its most visible consumer business. In 1959, the toy operation was sold and its dies were transferred from Auburn to Deming, New Mexico. The transaction has been discussed by author Jonathan Kwitny as an example of organized-crime penetration into a legitimate business, although the available reference material does not identify all parties or establish a complete corporate account of the transaction. Auburn Rubber's Deming operation continued for approximately another decade and closed in 1969. Products remained available in retail channels into the early 1970s. The original Auburn plant later passed through other industrial ownership, including Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, and the site was subsequently associated with Continental Rubber. Auburn itself is no longer an operating brand. Its surviving toys are collected for their mid-century styling, compact molded construction, unusual color schemes, and representation of American cars, commercial vehicles, farm equipment, and fantasy subjects. The Deming-era toys are especially frequently encountered in secondary markets and at collectibles venues.

Auburn Rubber Company's corporate history began in 1913, when the Double Fabric Tire Company was established in Auburn, Indiana. The company initially manufactured tires for the Auburn Automobile Company, linking its early development to the automotive manufacturing economy of northeastern Indiana. During the 1920s, it changed its name to Auburn Rubber Company and began reducing its emphasis on tires. Its product range broadened to include rubber sheet goods used in shoe soles and other molded or fabricated rubber products. In 1935, Auburn entered the children's toy market. The move transformed the public identity of the business. It produced rubber toys representing automobiles, trucks, tractors, animals, figures, farm scenes, aircraft, tanks, and other subjects. Vehicle toys were made in a variety of scales, with smaller examples commonly measuring approximately four inches and larger cars and trucks extending to around ten inches. Many were molded in colored rubber or vinyl and received sprayed silver decoration on features such as glazing, bumpers, grilles, and lamps. The toys generally used a straightforward construction consisting of a body, four wheels, and two metal axles. Some open vehicles included molded occupants, while others used relief faces or figures integrated into the interior. The catalog combined realistic references with imaginative interpretation. Cars and trucks recalled contemporary American and European designs, including forms associated with Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Triumph, and other manufacturers. Auburn also made fire engines, police cars, telephone trucks, farm machinery, road graders, construction equipment, racing cars, military vehicles, and aircraft. Its non-vehicle products included toy soldiers, cowboys, farm animals, trees, farm buildings, horse-drawn wagons, and a rubber horseshoe game marketed as a safer play alternative. Auburn retained industrial importance during the Second World War. It continued making soles and shifted some production toward combat-boot soles. It also manufactured gaskets for military fuel containers. This wartime activity demonstrates the company's ability to apply rubber-processing capacity to defense-related components as well as consumer toys. The company's later history was marked by a major ownership and manufacturing change. In 1959, the toy business was sold, and its dies were moved to Deming, New Mexico. The transaction was later cited by Jonathan Kwitny in Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace in a discussion of alleged organized-crime involvement in legitimate commercial enterprises. The available account does not provide a full list of purchasers, executives, or legal findings, so the matter should be treated as a documented allegation and literary discussion rather than a fully reconstructed corporate case. Production in Deming continued until 1969, when the Auburn Rubber operation went out of business. Auburn toys continued to appear in stores into the early 1970s, and surviving examples later became collectibles. The former Auburn, Indiana, plant was eventually acquired by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company and subsequently used by Continental Rubber. Today, Auburn Rubber is remembered primarily through its toy vehicles and playsets, which are valued for their compact scale, stylized interpretations of mid-century transportation, colorful molded materials, and connection to the history of American rubber manufacturing.

• 1969

  Deming operation closes

  [1]Auburn Rubber Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The relocated Auburn Rubber business ceased operations.

• 1959

  Toy business sold and dies relocated

  [1]Auburn Rubber Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The toy operation changed hands and its tooling was moved to Deming, New Mexico.

• 1940

  Wartime rubber production

  [1]Auburn Rubber Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company produced combat-boot soles and gaskets for military fuel containers while continuing other rubber work.

• 1935

  Entry into children's toys

  [1]Auburn Rubber Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Auburn began manufacturing rubber toys, including vehicles, animals, figures, and play accessories.

• 1920

  Name changed to Auburn Rubber Company

  [1]Auburn Rubber Companyen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1920s, the company adopted the Auburn Rubber name and moved away from tire production toward a broader rubber-products portfolio.

• 1913

  Double Fabric Tire Company established

  [1]Auburn Rubber Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The predecessor company began operations in Auburn, Indiana, making tires for the Auburn Automobile Company.

A mass-market American rubber-toy manufacturer combining recognizable mid-century vehicles with inexpensive, durable molded construction. Its products occupied the affordable children's toy segment while the company also retained industrial rubber capabilities.

• Children's toys · 1935

  Molded rubber and vinyl vehicles

  Auburn's signature products were small molded vehicles, especially cars and trucks. The range included stylized versions of American and European automobiles, hot rods, convertibles, police cars, fire vehicles, telephone trucks, racing cars, and utility vehicles. Models were usually assembled from a molded body, four wheels, and two metal axles, with painted or sprayed details adding visual emphasis.

• Children's toys · 1935

  Farm and construction toys

  The company made tractors, farm implements, road graders, construction vehicles, stake-bed trucks, and other equipment. These products extended Auburn's vehicle range beyond passenger cars and reflected the importance of agricultural and industrial subjects in mid-century children's play.

• Children's toys · 1935

  Military and aviation toys

  Auburn's toy catalog included tanks and airplanes, alongside other military-themed objects. These molded toys formed part of a wider assortment that used recognizable transportation and service themes rather than a single character or entertainment license.

• Children's toys · 1935

  Figures, animals, and farm scenes

  Non-vehicle products included toy soldiers, cowboys, farm animals, trees, farm buildings, farm implements, and an antique-style wagon with horses. They were produced in different colors, first in rubber and later also in plastic.

• Industrial rubber products

  Rubber soles and sheet goods

  Before and alongside its toy business, Auburn manufactured rubber sheet material used for shoe soles and produced soles as a finished product. During wartime, this capability supported combat-boot production.

• Children's toys

  Auburn Safe Play horseshoe game

  The company offered a life-sized rubber horseshoe game promoted as a safer play product because its soft material reduced the risk of injury compared with conventional metal horseshoes.

• 1959

  Alleged organized-crime involvement in the toy-business sale

  The 1959 sale of Auburn's toy operation and transfer of its dies to Deming, New Mexico, was later discussed by Jonathan Kwitny in Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace as an example of alleged organized-crime penetration of a legitimate business. The available reference does not supply a complete account of the participants, proceedings, or legal outcomes.

  Source

Read more

• 1959

  Sale and relocation of the toy operationM&A

  Background

  After decades of production in Auburn, Indiana, the company's toy business underwent an ownership change.

  Action taken

  The toy operation was sold and its production dies were moved to Deming, New Mexico.

  Aftermath

  The Deming operation continued until 1969, while toys remained available in stores into the early 1970s.

  Source

• 1935

  Launch of rubber toy productionProduct launch

  Background

  Auburn had already diversified beyond tires and possessed rubber-processing capabilities that could be applied to consumer products.

  Action taken

  The company began producing children's toys, initially emphasizing molded rubber cars, trucks, tractors, animals, and related subjects.

  Aftermath

  Toys became Auburn's defining product category and later made the company one of the most prominent producers of rubber and vinyl toys in the world.

  Source

• 1920

  Shift from tires toward diversified rubber productsStrategy

  Background

  The predecessor business was established as a tire maker serving the Auburn automobile industry. During the 1920s, the company changed its name and began phasing out tire production.

  Action taken

  Auburn developed rubber sheet material for shoe soles and other products instead of remaining focused on automotive tires.

  Aftermath

  The diversification created the manufacturing base that later supported both wartime components and the company's toy business.

  Source

1. 1Auburn Rubber Companyen.wikipedia.org