Goodyear opens new global headquarters

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has officially opened its new global headquarters. Goodyear chairman and CEO Richard J. Kramer, Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic spoke before leading a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the tyre company’s new offices.

The ribbon cutting ceremony took place on the plaza outside of the entrance to the Global Headquarters, approximately 100 feet from where the company held its groundbreaking on April 18, 2011. 

The 639,000 square foot Global Headquarters building is home to nearly 2,000 corporate and North American Tyre associates. The new building is connected to Goodyear’s existing Innovation Center and serves as a central campus for the company in Akron. The Innovation Center is currently home to almost 1,000 associates.

According to Richard Kramer, the new global headquarters “represents our commitment to Akron and northeast Ohio…not just to the Akron of old, but to a revitalized, and progressive Akron that continues to evolve and prosper in groundbreaking ways. It represents genuine collaboration. Our new home was made possible by a true partnership between the public and private sectors and serves as a model for other cities to follow,”

“With its advanced technology and collaborative work environment, the new headquarters is providing our associates with great opportunities to come together as one team. There’s genuine excitement about our new home, and more importantly, greater excitement about our future,” Kramer said. 

Goodyear built its first office building, a two-story structure, on East Market Street in 1900. Additional factory and office buildings, including the landmark Old Guard clock tower, were constructed in 1915.  The Akron Innovation Center was built as a factory known as “Plant Two” in 1916 and renovated in 1978 to become the company’s global technical center.