IT Award for Goodyear

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s virtual design technology, which has facilitated the success of several award-winning new tyres, has earned a 2006 CIO 100 award. The annual award program sponsored by CIO magazine recognises organisations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology.

“The CIO 100 award recognizes IT’s contributions in fuelling Goodyear’s new product engine,” said Stephanie Wernet, Goodyear’s vice president of information technology and chief information officer.

To shorten product development cycles and reduce costs, Goodyear now designs and tests tires virtually using a “massively parallel cluster” with hundreds of processors, a capability made possible through the company’s unique partnership with Sandia National Laboratories. The result is Goodyear’s rapid-fire launch of innovative new products, including its Assurance line of passenger car tyres, new additions to its Fortera and Wrangler light truck and SUV tyres, and the new Eagle with ResponseEdge and carbon fibre technology performance touring tyre.