Goodyear Archives - Page 228 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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Tyre Recall Ends In Divorce

As if last year’s voluntary recall of 6.5 million Firestone tyres in the USA had not caused enough damage, the Japanese-owned tyre manufacturer is facing another crisis. May 21 Bridgestone/Firestone was severing all its business connections with Ford. That was it, the 100-year relationship was over, Bridgestone/Firestone had had enough and this was goodbye. It certainly seemed a drastic step to take, but the reason became apparent the next day, when Ford announced that it was recalling 13 million Firestone tyres; an exercise that would take nine months and cost the company up to $3 billion. This is a cost that Bridgestone cannot afford and the company has indicated that any demand from Ford to help with the costs would receive short shrift. Press reports say that Ford President Jacques Nasser has a statistical study which shows that Firestone Wilderness tyres fail three times more often than the industry average. Bridgestone/Firestone suggests that the Explorer design is to blame; something which Ford strenuously denies, saying that Explorers sold with, for example, Goodyear tyres, have had no tread separations. As far as John Lampe of Bridgestone/Firestone is concerned, the company has no obligation to participate in a further recall. In a statement, he said; “No-one cares more about the safety of the people who travel on our tyres than we do.” Bridgestone President Shigeo Watanabe gave the reason for splitting from Ford, saying that the new recall, coming on top of last year’s exercise, would have been “a life or death matter for Bridgestone/Firestone.” Later on, he played down fears that not supplying Ford would have a marked effect on Bridgestone/Firestone, saying that, at most, the group would lose 1.5% of its sales worldwide. On the plus side, freed from the need to be polite to a major customer, Bridgestone/Firestone can now say what it thinks about the part played by the Explorer in the accidents and defend itself more vigorously against the still-vocal consumer and pressure groups, not to mention the lawyers, of course. John Lampe, who wrote to Jacques Nasser, outlining Bridgestone/Firestone’s reasons for severing business relations with Ford: “Business relationships, like personal ones, are built upon trust and mutual respect. We have come to the conclusion that we can no longer supply tyres to Ford since the basic foundation of our relationship has been seriously eroded.”

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Manufacturers Association Cuts Tyre Forecast

Underlining the news from Goodyear, the US trade group the Rubber Manufacturers Association has cut its forecast of tyre shipments for 2001 from 316 million tyres to 303 million. Last year’s figure was a record 321 million tyres. July tyre shipments to car manufacturers were 5 per cent down on the same month last year, while commercial market shipments fell by 32 per cent. The RMA predicts shipments of 304.4 million tyres next year and 317 million in 2003.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

UK Version Of NASCAR To Use Goodyear Tyres

Goodyear has announced that its tyres will be the sole make in use in a form of motor sport new to the UK: ASCAR, or Anglo-American Stock Car Racing. This is based on the US-style stadium stock car racing, NASCAR, and will consist of a nine-race series, beginning later this year on a specially-built banked oval track in Northamptonshire, at Rockingham.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Business Between Ford And Bridgestone/Firestone Cancelled

Finger pointing between Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone is continuing and has reached the point where the tyre manufacturer has terminated its business relationship with Ford after 100 years. In a written statement, BF-boss Lampe said “we believe that the auto maker is attempting to divert scrutiny of the vehicles by casting doubt on the quality of Firestone tyres. The tyres are safe and as we have said before, when we have a problem we will acknowledge that problem and fix it. We expect you (Ford) to do the same.” The assumption that Ford’s Explorer is a problem-car seems to be based also on the fact that Ford felt forced last week to recall more than 50,000 Ford-Explorers equipped with Michelin and Goodyear-tyres, avoiding the word recall but calling it a “Customer Satisfaction Program.” While the business with Ford accounts for only five per cent of BF’s total turnover, virtually everything depends on the success of the Explorer for Ford; the company’s best selling car for years and its cash cow.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

European E-Commerce Director For Goodyear

Goodyear Tire & Rubber has appointed George Rietbergen (37) as its European director of e-commerce. He comes to the tyre manufacturer from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, where his most recent post was director, e-commerce and commercial development.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

NHTSA’s Preliminary Evaluation Against Goodyear

The NHTSA is still conducting a preliminary evaluation of Goodyear’s Load Range E-tyres, but the manufacturer is confident that its tyres are totally OK and that the evaluation will come to an end soon.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

New Leader For Goodyear’s Global Marketing/Brand Management

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has elected Cathryn M. Fischer, vice president and chief marketing officer. Fischer, 39, will be responsible for the world’s largest tiremaker’s global marketing and brand management efforts. She will report to Robert J. Keegan, president and chief operating officer.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Engineers “Tread” Toward Quieter Tyres

Engineers at the University of Purdue (Indiana/USA) have developed a new technique for analysing tyre vibrations that identifies which features produce the most noise, a step toward designing quieter tyres and reducing highway noise. A mathematical model is used to identify which parts of a tyre produce the most noise. The vibrations are characterised on a graph, a visual representation that’s like a fingerprint of each tyre’s vibration pattern.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Lays Off Five Per Cent Of US Workers

“The slowing economic market” is the reason given for the news that Goodyear is to lay off 1,400 associates at five plants in the USA. The figure equates to around five per cent of the company’s US work force and Goodyear would not say whether or not the layoffs were temporary or permanent. Production at the five factories is being cut from continuous operation to five or six-day working and the layoffs follow 8,000 job losses earlier this year, mostly outside the USA.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyreserve Throws Down The Gauntlet

Tyreserve is a new company aiming to create a big impression in the UK car fleet servicing market, which is reckoned to be worth around 200 million Pounds a year. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of national wholesaler Stapleton’s Tyre Services and is being launched at the beginning of April, backed up by an investment by Stapleton’s of two million Pounds. The fleet car market is extremely competitive, with the market leader being Kwik-Fit, followed by ATS Euromaster, FTM Tyrefit and National Tyres & Autocare. These first three have a market share of around 85% and, last year, Kwik-Fit acquired the shares of FTM. FTM is an association of independent retailers, banding together to provide a national fleet service and facilities. Tyreserve is aiming at FTM as its main target – when FTM was acquired by Kwik-Fit, there was some unease expressed by some independents, who wondered how this would affect the status quo. It promises to be an interesting time, with a new player entering the market and, presumably, the existing players determined to defend what they already hold. What makes it more interesting is that the main directors of Tyreserve were all working up until recently for Kwik-Fit Fleet. At least two names will need no introduction to the UK tyre trade – Managing Director David Goodyear and Network Director Charles Hespin.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

BRV Meeting In Weimar – “The Future Used To Be Better”

The BRV invited its members to attend its annual meeting in Weimar, historically one of the most famous cities in Eastern Germany. BRV President Ludwig did not have only good things to talk about, as he believes that margins will fall even further and the tyre trade cannot afford more pressure on margins. He mentioned Michelin and Goodyear as brands sold to car dealers at prices which are unrealistic and, due to the fact that tyre dealers have not been successful in the fast-fit field, President Ludwig urged tyre manufacturers to give tyre dealers better buying prices than car dealers. The association also expressed concern that tyre manufacturers might establish direct selling contacts with big fleets.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

New VP Of Corporate Research At Goodyear

Goodyear Tire & Rubber has appointed John Lawrence (58) as vice president for corporate research. Formerly director of materials science, Lawrence replaces recently-retired Richard Steichen. Lawrence joined Goodyear in 1970 as a senior research chemist.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

US Consumer Watchdog Group Beleaguers Bridgestone/Firestone

The Consumer Group Public Citizens is urging Bridgestone-Firestone/USA to recall another 7 million “Wilderness” tyres and is citing an alleged 1,000 consumer reports. The management of the tyre manufacturer insists that all Firestone tyres are safe and that a recall is not necessary. Only a few weeks ago the same group strongly urged Goodyear to recall 13 million Goodyear tyres which are, according to the files of the consumer group, not safe. Goodyear also refused to do so, claiming that the products are perfectly okay.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear And The Dunlop Acquisition

A comprehensive article in TYRES & ACCESSORIES (“We were hoping for architects, but so far we have only seen cost-cutters”) commented critically on the Goodyear acquisition of both the Dunlop activities in Europe and North America and the joint venture with Sumitomo in Japan, with all their particular opportunities and consequences. While Goodyear’s CEO Sam Gibara accepted that the facts had been reported correctly, he did not agree with much of the analysis. At the Goodyear head office in Akron, Ohio around Easter time, he gave a detailed and exclusive interview, in which he explained the reasons for, and the background to, the acquisition and the joint venture. Furthermore, Gibara was forthcoming about why cooperation with Dunlop is so important that he is even willing to accept a temporary interference in the balance sheet.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Funds And Manpower Contributed By Goodyear

Goodyear announced that it will contribute in excess of 1M US Dollars (1,081,775 Euro) to be divided between the New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund providing aid to rescue workers, civilians and their families and the American Red Cross. The fund will probably exceed this figure as contributions are added by Goodyear employees. The company has also dedicated personnel to ensure the constant supply of tyres to sites in Washington and New York, and has dispatched tyre engineers to assist New York City’s tyre maintenance staff to avoid equipment downtime.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors