The Lakin business began as a scrap tire and battery operation in 1917. Abraham Lakin and his son, Nathan, formally incorporated A. Lakin & Sons, Inc. in 1935 in Chicago, IL. At that time, the company focused on producing tire liners that extended the usable life of a tire.

Shortly after the end of World War II, Nathan Lakin developed a process for creating die cut products out of tire sections. This process, known by the TICOR brand name, has been used extensively in automobile and agricultural equipment production ever since. These parts continue to be produced at Lakin’s rubber division in Chicago.

Under the guidance of Lewis Lakin, Nathan Lakin’s son, Lakin General grew to become a national collector of tires. Since then, the processing center in Chicago has been joined by similar facilities in Birmingham, Alabama. By the end of 2005, the Lakin network was recycling over 32 million tires a year.

For over 100 years, the Lakin family has been committed to tire recycling, an ethic that has created a company recognized throughout the industry for its quality, integrity and leadership. Lakin has also won the prestigious Governor’s Corporate Recycling Award for “… for your exemplary and progressive efforts in providing a direct contribution to achieving the goals of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act.”

Since the early 1900s, Lakin has served as a producer of parts and products using the take-off tire as raw material.