Avon Rubber, now known as Avon Protection plc, is a company that now specializes in protection equipment and technologies. Founded in 1885 as Avon Mill, a clothing mill along the River Avon, it was moved to Melksham as The Avon India Rubber Company Limited. The company began marketing pneumatic tires for bicycles in 1900, and the first automobile tires were sold in 1906.
In 1997, the Avon Tyres division was sold to the US firm, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.