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.
Pirelli’s P6000 has been awarded top marks in Tyre Test 2008 – a challenging series of tasks conducted by Australia’s Wheels Magazine. The P6000 was given a total score of 99.01 out of a possible 100, making it the top tyre tested in the 195/60R15 category.
Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric received similar high praise from the magazine, ranked first in the 235/45R17 category and picking up an almost equally impressive score of 98.95.
Hino Motors Manufacturing USA Inc. has presented Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company with its Quality Excellence Award for commercial tyres on Hino medium-duty trucks.
Hino Motors said the award was given to Goodyear for “outstanding product quality.” Goodyear supplies Hino Motors, a Toyota Group Company, with a variety of truck tyres, including Unisteel G149 RSA RH and G182 RSD regional-service tyres.
4,000 tyre manufacturing workers have responded to ICEM’s (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions) Turkish trade union call to strike, after last-minute proposals by the employers’ association failed to avoid the action taking place.
The four manufacturing works affected by the strike action, in the Turkish cities of Izmit and Adapazari, are operated by Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli. News sources state that the companies are resisting demands for three bi-yearly salary increases at the rate of Turkish inflation, following an initial wage increase of 12%.
Goodyear has marked the Australian launch of its latest safety-conscious tyre with a “Satisfaction Assured Trial” – an option unique in Australia for consumers to have their set of four new “Assurance” tyres replaced after 1000kms or within two weeks, inclusive of all refit charges.
The Assurance tyre is the product of nearly two years’ development at the Goodyear Technical Centre in Luxembourg. It features an interlocking “Waffle Blade” system with silica-based tread, designed to provide greater levels of grip in wet or dry conditions, as well as an incorporated layer of Kevlar and silica-reinforced Durawall technology in the sidewall to provide increased resistance to cuts and tears. The company has named these features “ArmorGrip Technology”.
A sharp drop in the amount US motorists are driving, coupled with continued raw material price pressures has led financial analysts to lower US manufacturers earning predictions. Estimated vehicle miles travelled on all US roads declined 4.3 per cent year-on-year in March, according to the US Federal Highway Administration. The drop is apparently the steepest in the history of the data. This coupled with concerns about the effect of increasing raw material costs led Detusche Bank analysts to write: “In the near term, the combination of hyper-inflating raw material costs and weak demand will present major challenges for the tyre industry.”
“While we continue to see robust pricing behaviour within the industry, with price increases of “up to 8 per cent” having been recently announced by Goodyear (effective June 1) and Cooper Tire…we note that pricing may not completely offset raw material cost inflation in every quarter.”
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced the latest offering in its line of high-performance tyres, the Eagle GT. Starting in July, the Eagle GT will be available in 24 sizes representing 70 per cent of the volume potential in this segment, according to the tiremaker. Goodyear will add 19 more sizes by September, creating a 43-size lineup that ranges from 15- to 22-inch wheel diameters.
Design features include an aggressive dual zone asymmetric tread with an outboard High Performance Zone to aid grip and responsive handling, and an all season zone on the inboard side for all-season traction. Microgrooves in the all season zone help provide traction during normal driving, but lock together in handling maneuvers to provide a solid foundation for cornering, Goodyear said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Founded in 1914, Vogue Tyre has always been a little different, a bit more upscale. Best known as “that Cadillac tyre,” Vogue catered to top-end cars and sold what was touted as the industry’s first whitewall, a stark contrast to the day’s solid black tyres. Later, it added its now trademark white/gold sidewall stripes.
A family-owned company then as it is now, Vogue has never aspired to be a major tyre player, but rather wants to be known as a quality company with quality people (180 of them) offering quality products. The Mt. Prospect, Illinois-based Vogue is also a quality customer, celebrating its 70th anniversary as a Goodyear customer – and as Goodyear’s oldest private brand account.
45 years since Pirelli took over the German Veith Group, the German branch of the Italian tyre manufacturer last year reported sales of 850 million euros. Now, in the words of Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, the German operation is on course to break through the billion euro barrier by 2010. Thanks to investments in the order of 190 million euros over the last four years, income has increased 30 per cent.
During a press conference held at its factory in Breuberg, Germany, the Pirelli Group outlined its industrial activities and plans for tyre business expansion in this particular market, one the company sees as key for its growth strategies. The May 26 press conference was attended by numerous company representatives, including Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli Tyre CEO Francesco Gori and the CEO of Pirelli Deutschland, Guglielmo Fiocchi.
Goodyear is reportedly considering building a five million unit tyre production plant in the Yaroslavl region of Russia, at a cost of between $200-250-million. According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, Goodyear executives met with regional governor Sergey Bakhrukov at the end of April in order to discuss a particular plot of land. In addition Kommersant reports President Dmitry Medvedev has asked the Russian Ministry of Trade and Industry to consider what investment benefits to offer Goodyear following a request from the regional governor. The plot in question apparently doesn’t yet have any infrastructure.
The next step could be the expansion of the US company’s relationship with leading Russian tyre manufacturer Sibur-Russian Tires. Goodyear has reportedly been running a PCR off-take agreement working in partnership Sibur-Russian Tires’ Yaroslavl Tire Plant for some time. In addition Sibur-Russian appears to be involved in the Goodyear discussions too. Speaking to Kommersant, Igor Karavaev, deputy general director of Sibur-Russian Tires said: “The project really is being discussed…[and]…Sibur is one of the participants in that discussion.”
An undercover investigation conducted by media in the US has shown that some of the country’s largest tyre retailers are selling tyres that are well beyond the age limit recommended by safety advocates and some car manufacturers. The hidden camera investigation was carried out by the news show “20/20” and ABC News network affiliates throughout the US in an attempt to see if tyres more than six years old – the maximum tyre age recommended by Ford and other carmakers – were being sold as ‘new’ tyres.
In California reporters found a tyre made in 1999 and two from 2002 being sold as new by Goodyear, the seventh largest US tyre retailer. At Walmart, the third largest tyre seller, tyres dating back to 1999 were also found at more than one location. Sears, the fifth largest US tyre seller, sold tyres ranging from seven to twelve years old.
During the 1990s the US television series ‘The X-Files’ popularised the catchphrase “the truth is out there.” But while the programme focused on little green men and other unexplained phenomena, it could have easily referred to the high performance tyre market. The truth about this market segment is, you see, somewhere out there. Yet it is difficult to place one’s hands with confidence upon a single, authoritative source of data that tells exactly how things are and where they are headed. What can really be said about the high performance tyre market?
Auto Express Magazine’s annual Product Honours Awards report has recognised the Goodyear HydraGrip as the ‘Best Buy’ tyre in the family car tyre market. The Product Honours Award follows testing by Auto Express, Britain’s biggest selling motoring weekly magazine, of 16 tyre brands. The test compared stopping distances, handling, grip, fuel consumption, in car-noise levels and prices to determine the champion in the highly competitive family car tyre market.
The magazine found the Goodyear tyre excelled in the wet, particularly in the curved aquaplaning test, but was strong across the board. In terms of curved aquaplaning, the Goodyear HydraGrip had 15 per cent more grip than any other tyre tested, and 49 per cent more grip than one other brand.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co has reported a first quarter net income of $2 million on 31 March 2008. Net sales for the period were $679 million, an increase of $10 million over the prior year. According to the company, the increased revenues were driven by volumes in the International segment. Industry observers calculated that the $2 million figure represents a 92 per cent fall in first-quarter net income, with the Retuers news agency highlighting the fact that the company’s “headwinds” are exacerbated by a doubling of costs related to liability claims. For its part, Cooper conceded that the company has faced similar challenges to other North America-based businesses including “increased raw material costs, increased products liability costs, and decreased sales volumes in North America.
Cooper shares fell 96 cents (7 per cent) to $12.75, below the stock’s earlier 52-week low of $12.85, in response to the results.
Cooper’s North American Tire generated sales of $498 million, down 3 per cent from 2007’s record first quarter, and $8 million in operating profit which was considerably below the first quarter of 2007 ($28 million, an increase of $34 million over the first quarter of 2006). The segment’s decrease in sales, compared to the first quarter of 2007, was reportedly the result of lower unit volumes partially offset by improved mix. The largest volume decreases were in the areas of economy passenger and light truck tyres.
Goodyear has launched the Kelly Armorsteel KRH, a regional tyre for P&D and school bus applications. The new rib tyre was developed for uniform and long-lasting wear in regional applications, said Goodyear, and is now available in sizes 11R22.5 and 11R 24.5, both with an H load rating. Size 295.75R22.5 will be available in mid-June.
Goodyear said the Armorsteel KRH’s tread pattern was designed for “superb” traction on wet and dry roads, with circumferential grooves and lateral blading to help disperse water from under the tyre. Special tread compounding helps the tyre resist scrubbing and curbing in tight turns, the compay said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Goodyear’s farm and industrial tyre department has announced its 400th original equipment approval since 2003. All major farm and industrial machinery manufacturers, reports Goodyear, now sell their new machines originally equipped with tyres from the US tyre major. The list of agricultural vehicle manufacturers who have approved Goodyear Optitrac tyres includes major brands such as John Deere, Case New Holland, Fendt, Claas, Massey Fergusson, McCormick, Landini and BCS Ferrari.
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