Our story
Over the years
1903
The opening of a tyre retreading workshop
- A keen sportsman and amateur cyclist, Louis Rustin was all too familiar with punctures as a result of the state of roads in France. In 1903 Louis Rustin and his associate Jean Larroque opened a tyre retreading and repair workshop on Rue Truffaut in Batignolles in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. At that time, repairs to inner tubes were pretty haphazard and costly, and meant that bikes were out of use for a while. A solution had to be found
1908
A patented anti-puncture system
- Louis Rustin and his friend Paul Doumenjou, a chemical engineer, began researching a quick, cost-effective repair system. In 1908, Louis Rustin and his associate Jean Larroque came up with a means of preventing punctures for all vehicles: a leather patch stuck to the inner tube (French patent n° 397 424 filed on 15/12/1908) – “System for preventing punctures on tyres for all vehicles”
1922
The invention of Rustines®
- After the First World War, during which he had been forced to abandon his research, Louis Rustin set about finalising his invention, taking to his bike with his family in order to test it out. He then put the finishing touches to these small rubber discs before filing a patent both for them and the brand name “Rustines®”, in 1922
1934
Production begins in Sarthe
- Always at the cutting edge, Louis Rustin moved production to Sarthe, setting up on the site of a former cotton mill that had lain abandoned since 1917. It was his passion for fishing and a need for water which saw production of Rustines® move to the Loir Valley, with 30 million units produced every month in the 1950s
1947
- Production of rubber begins, funded through the Marshall Plan
1950
- Industrial rubber production is stepped up
1960-68
- RUSTIN becomes a leading parts supplier in the automobile industry (Peugeot, Talbot, Alpine, René Bonnet)
1972
- A leading figure in the use of rubber for sealing, RUSTIN develops new products for the automobile industry, the railway industry and aeronautics
1995
- The factory in Crousilles (La Chartre-sur-le-Loir, Sarthe) is renovated RUSTIN expands its technical capital by upgrading its production equipment.
- Continuous vulcanisation introduced.
- Awarded ISO 9001 certification.
2000
EN 45 545
- RUSTIN is awarded EN 45 545 certification (rail transport), developing a new rubber material used to make seals for trains across Europe. In the event of fire, this material is capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1,000 °C without emitting any heavy or toxic fumes, ensuring passengers are kept safe
2015
- RUSTIN opens a new production line at the factory in Crousilles
2020
- A new production unit dealing exclusively with silicone is built in Neuillé-Pont-Pierre (Indre-et-Loire, 37)