In 1935 Bill Trexler was 42 years old and Plant Superintendent at the Oak Rubber Company in Ravenna, when he got his idea for a special type of inflatable model airplane tire. Bill had seen other inflatable rubber model airplane tires, but they all had some type of problem with the valves that hold the air inside, plus they were expensive. Generally the tire valves were cumbersome, complicated, and expensive to make. Being intimately familiar with the dipping process, Bill developed the idea of a simple integral valve stem that could be molded with the tire during manufacture to reduce cost. This rubber stem was then twisted and tucked between the tire and the wood hub during use, the pressure of the inflated tire against the wood hub scaled the flexible valve until it was pulled free. The simplicity of this design would allow him to sell the tires for less than other inflatable tires cost. During the Depression this was a major sales advantage.

Mr. Trexler began the manufacture of tires in the basement of his home in Ravenna, but soon the smell of the rubber and demands of production (and his wife Caroline) required that he move the operation to a small shop behind his house.

Today the company is still family owned and operated by his Grandson Jack William Schafer. Though balloon tires are only a tiny fraction of the business today, Trexler continues to offer specialized design and manufacturing services to their loyal customers worldwide.