Armstrong Tires was founded in 1912 by George F. Armstrong in a small New Jersey loft. By the early 1960s, Armstrong had become a well-known tire brand and the 5th largest tire manufacturer in the world. Purchased by Pirelli in the late 1980s, by 2012 the brand was close to being phased out completely, which is when ZAFCO stepped in with the goal of acquiring and rebuilding Armstrong from the ground up.