Goodyear Archives - Page 144 of 243 - Tyrepress

Founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Akron, Ohio. It is one of the oldest, biggest and best-known tyremakers in the world. Goodyear makes tyres for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, SUVs, racing cars, aeroplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery. Find all the news and analysis you need relating to Goodyear here.

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China Sunsine’s Second Quarter Profits up 52%

China’s Sunsine Chemicals has reported that net profits increased 20 per cent in the first half of 2008 to 53.5 million yuan, with a 41 per cent increase in revenues to 402.1 million yuan. In the second quarter, Sunsine’s net year-on-year profits rose 52 per cent to 37 million yuan revenues increased 47 per cent to 234.9 million yuan. According to China Knowledge, the company’s sales grew 14 per cent to 84 million yuan and reached 9,496 tons in the second quarter. The average selling price rose by 27 per cent to 24.764 yuan per ton as the cost of raw materials continues to rise.

4th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Makes 2 North American Leadership Appointments

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has appointed Stephen McClellan and Joe Copeland to new leadership assignments within the company’s North American Tire business. McClellan, formerly vice president of Commercial Tire Systems, has been named president of the North American Tire Consumer business, replacing Lawrence Mason, who has announced he will leave the company. Copeland, previously vice president of the Off-Highway businesses, becomes vice president of Commercial Tire Systems, replacing McClellan. A replacement for Copeland will be named at a later date.

“Steve and Joe are two proven leaders who have demonstrated the strategic, operational and team building success that will have an immediate impact in their new assignments,” said Richard J. Kramer, president of North American Tire. “They have a track record of exceptional performance at every level and are well positioned to help lead our businesses into the future.”

4th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

NASCAR Blame Game Inconclusive

Was it the track, the cars or the tyres that did it? The Indianapolis Brickyard on Sunday saw a bizarre NASCAR event unfold, as drivers were unable to keep their tyres fit for more than ten laps at a time.

The catastrophically low durability of the Goodyear tyres harks back to the US Grand Prix of 2005, where the Michelin-shod teams did not race because the tyres could not last the pace. This year, the NASCAR debacle has been played out on Goodyear rubbers, which appears initially to have let the French manufacturer off the hook for the previous flop.

30th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear’s Search for Innovative Farmers Continues

In June Goodyear announced its search for the UK’s most innovative farmer, offering the prize of £3500 worth of Goodyear Optitrac farm tyres and the Farming Innovation Award 2008 at October’s British Ploughing Championships. With the deadline rushing ever closer, Goodyear reports the search is hotting up, and says great interest has been expressed in the campaign. Farmers from across the UK have entered the competition, impressing Goodyear with their innovative thinking.

“The competition has launched to a great start and we have had numerous entries already,” comments Goodyear communications specialist Kate Rock. “Farmers are telling us about their eco friendly initiatives, including the use of solar energy, compost conversions and the reduction of carbon emissions. All of the entries we have had so far are top contenders but there is still time to submit an innovation and win the competition!”

25th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Man Sues Goodyear for Sex, Disability Discrimination

An employee at Goodyear’s soon to close Tyler, Texas facility is taking legal action against the tyre major, claiming his job was terminated because he is a man. Area manager Cory Harris says that salaried staff at the plant were told they would be able to continue their employment with Goodyear at other facilities. However, while on medical leave for a work-related injury, Harris was told he did not qualify for a job transfer and that his employment at Goodyear would not continue.

According to court papers related to a wrongful termination suit lodged against Goodyear in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas on July 22, Harris believes he was fired in retaliation for his injury and because he is male. Harris states that, at the time the decision was taken, a number of area manager job openings were available at other Goodyear facilities. As evidence, he argues that a less qualified and less experienced female employee retained her employment and secured a transfer to another plant.

25th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Appoints New Internal Audit VP

Goodyear has announced the appointment of Richard Pegher to the position of vice president of internal audit. Pegher’s appointment, effective August 1, sees him reporting functionally to the audit committee of the company’s Board of Directors and administratively to executive vice president and CFO Mark Schmitz. In this role, based at the company’s Akron, Ohio headquarters, Pegher will implement audit programs and evaluate risk exposures relating to the company’s governance, operations, financial reporting and information systems.

24th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Mistaken Identity?

Is not even the tyre industry safe from cybersquatting? Tyres & Accessories was recently surprised by its attempts to view Dunlop’s UK website. Upon entering the address www.dunlop-tyres.co.uk, instead of viewing the expected Dunlop homepage, we found ourselves face to face with the website of rival tyremaker Michelin. Additionally, a search under www.dunlop.co.uk was equally unfruitful. The website is registered in the name of Essex based man named David Dunlop, and is reportedly available for purchase.

A representative from Goodyear Dunlop has pointed out that the correct website address for the company’s UK Dunlop site is www.dunloptyres.co.uk.

24th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Iconic Chimney Bricks to Be Sold

Blue, yellow and – in some cases – blue-and-yellow bricks once part of Goodyear’s famous landmark chimney in Wolverhampton are to be sold, with the proceeds going to charity.

The beloved 150 ft tower was felled last month in the presence of 1,000 onlookers, and now 350 pieces of industrial memorabilia are available for purchase. Blue bricks will go for £2, yellow for £5, and the much sought after two-tone bricks will be sold for a tenner. All monies raised will be donated to cancer care specialists Macmillan Nurses.

24th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Notifies Tyler Plant of More Layoffs

Employees at the Goodyear plant in Tyler, Texas have been given notice of further upcoming redundancies. According to Harold Sweat, president of United Steelworkers Local 746L, the redundancies will take place some time between September 22 and October 6 and include about 70 people.

Goodyear has issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice of the layoffs, which it refers to as a “permanent separation.” This is the second WARN notice received by the Tyler plant within two months. The notice also contained a phrase saying the plant “will be permanently closed,” said Sweat.

24th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Embark on Charity Tour de Midlands

Thirteen employees of Goodyear Dunlop are staging a four-day, 320-mile endurance cycle ride to benefit Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The challenge will start from the company’s head office in Erdington on 18th September, and will see riders raising much-needed funds for the leading medical facility.

The manufacturer pledged to raise £50,000 to fund the development of a specialist play area for the Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) at the hospital earlier in the year, a target the company is on track to meet, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the firm’s thirteen Lance Armstrongs and Victoria Pendletons.

23rd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Chris Kisby Wins Bid for 3 Regional HiQ Tyre Retail Franchises

Former HiQ Retail Director, Chris Kisby, has successfully bid for the South Midlands, East Midlands and West Midlands zones of the HiQ Franchise Programme. Kisby, who has 30 years experience in the tyre industry, leads an investment group who have been named as the preferred bidder for the region. He will step down from his current role of Goodyear Dunlop UK Director, Consumer Tyres with immediate effect to avoid any conflict of interest.

The announcement follows the news that a management buyout led by HiQ MD Neil Burrows and three other managers was not successful in its bid for a national retail franchise. According to a Goodyear representative, Kisby’s investment group operates independently of the quartet that proposed the management buyout. Prior to becoming Director Consumer Tyres, Chris Kisby held a number of key positions within the Goodyear group including UK Sales and Marketing Director, European Brand Director and Managing Director for Russia, Belarus and Central Asia, as well as leading the HiQ Retail network.

23rd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

USW Members Approve Early Closure of Goodyear’s Tyler Facility

The Goodyear factory in Tyler, Texas, will close earlier than originally anticipated following a union vote on July 18. United Steelworkers union members have chosen to waive the clause that required the facility, which has been used as a rubber-mixing centre following the end of tyre production in 2007, to remain in operation until after the closure of the company’s plant in Valleyfield, Canada.

22nd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Names New Market Supply Chain Director

Goodyear Dunlop has promoted Market Planning Manager, Steve Carless, to Market Supply Chain Director – UK and Ireland. Market Supply Chain Director is a new role that has reportedly been created to improve effectiveness, reduce costs and give superior customer satisfaction. The new role’s main responsibilities will include order management, forecasting, warehousing and the Sales and Operating Plan process.

Steve Carless started with the company as an Undergraduate Trainee in Marketing in 1993. After graduating in Mathematical Business Analysis from Wolverhampton University, a year later, he rejoined the company. Carless began his career after graduation as a Market Analyst, moving into Sales for the Truck Tyre department as well as experiencing roles in the company’s Luxembourg offices covering Marketing and Sales Forecasting.

22nd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop MD Discusses HiQ, Christian Salvesen and the Truck Tyre Business

Having spent 17 years working for Procter & Gamble in both national and European positions Mark Brickhill became Goodyear Dunlop UK managing director in May 2007. What followed was something of a steep learning curve. Headhunted from a senior management position overseeing laundry products in Geneva, it was only a matter of weeks before he faced the new challenge of tyres. One year on, and set against an impressive global Goodyear recovery, Tyres & Accessories met Mark Brickhill at the company's Tyre Fort headquarters in Birmingham and asked: How is the UK turnaround going?

Arriving at Tyre Fort in Birmingham, the first thing you notice is the still gleaming Norbert Dentressangle logo that now hangs on the adjacent distribution centre (the Goodyear and Dunlop brands on the side of the huge building excepted). Less than a month after his appointment as general manager was made public, Mark Brickhill encountered something of a sea change in the company's newly revamped distribution setup. In January 2006 Goodyear Dunlop decided to hand over the warehousing and delivery control of most its products to a third party logistics company (3PL). The idea was for Goodyear Dunlop and Christian Salvesen (as it was then) to work together to improve efficiencies and costs for everyone involved. To say feelings about this move in general were mixed would be something of an understatement. And to say the service wasn't as good as all the respective parties had hoped for would be similarly wide of the mark.

21st July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Truck Force Turns a Corner

Goodyear Dunlop’s detractors would have the truck tyre market believe that there are serious problems in the company’s commercial vehicle department. Goodyear Dunlop UK, managing director, Mark Brickhill, however, paints quite a different picture. In a recent interview with Tyres & Accessories (to be published in our August magazine) Brickhill gave details of progress in the truck business. Firstly, Brickhill told T&A that Truck Force is already showing signs of being a turnaround success story.

Since the commercial vehicle retail arm separated from the HiQ passenger retail business, and the two chains were each allowed to follow strategies tuned to the respective business areas, both operations appear to be better off. Perhaps the best sign of this is the fact that Truck Force, which was once a significantly loss making operation, is now at breakeven and on schedule to enter profit in 2009. But this doesn’t tell the whole story. From Mark Brickhill’s point of view, the fact that Truck Force has evolved into a service-led operation has had much to do with its improved performance.

21st July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors