Goodyear Looks Forward to ‘Winning’ in 2005

Jon Rich, president of Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s North American division, is “extremely bullish” about 2005, according to a Tire Review report. “New products are going to be the lifeblood of the new Goodyear,” Mr Rich, told delegates at the company’s annual dealer meeting in Dallas. The theme of this year’s conference is “capture the moment, create the future,” assuring dealers there is more to come.

Mr Rich also described how Goodyear had implemented the “Seven Reasons to Believe” that CEO and chairman Bob Keegan, spoke about at last year’s dealer meeting in Orlando, Florida. The seven reasons – leadership, brand building, supply chain, cost, cash, distribution and product leadership “are just as valid now as they were a year ago,” he explained.

At the same gathering Bob Keegan spoke of how Goodyear had “made a quantum change” in terms of its capability. “We will be confident but not arrogant. We are starting to make the dream a reality,” he said . “We are a work in progress and enjoy the work and the progress – job not done, job started,” Mr Keegan concluded.

“We must embrace and lead rapid technological improvements in the product, which means more sizes and types of tyres. To accelerate the pace of productivity, we are implementing tools and processes, like Lean and Six Sigma. I fervently believe that, with a focus on innovation and productivity, at speeds greater than we have ever imagined, we can win in tyre manufacturing in North America,” Jon Rich added.