Teams from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will take to the track for ‘Prologue’ pre-season testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya tomorrow. One of the most significant moments of this anticipated public test session will be the return of Goodyear to international competition.
Sales and income were down at Goodyear Tire & Rubber in the first quarter of this year. Revenue in the three months to 31 March 2019 declined six per cent to US$3.6 billion; Goodyear attributes this result to unfavourable exchange rates and lower volume in its international businesses. The company reported first quarter segment operating income of $190 million in 2019, down from $281 million a year ago.
David E. Phillips, Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s associate general counsel, Americas, has been appointed the company’s senior vice-president and general counsel. He begins in this new role on 4 June.
A total of US$36 million has been set aside to increase OTR tyre production at the Goodyear plant in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg. The investment will also fund process improvements at the facility.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has reported Q3 2018 sales of US$3.9 billion, slightly up on a year earlier; improved volume, price/mix and higher sales in other tyre-related businesses were “substantially offset” by unfavourable foreign currency translation.
Stephen R. McClellan is the new chairman of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association’s (USTMA) Board of Directors. The president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s Americas business unit began in this role on 3 October and will serve a two-year term. McClellan succeeds Jim Hawk, chairman, Toyo Holdings of America, Inc., who served as chairman of the USTMA Board since 2016.
A familiar face has returned to Goodyear Tire & Rubber. As of 20 September, Darren R. Wells is back with the tyre maker as executive vice-president and chief financial officer – a position he held between 2008 and 2013. He succeeds Laura Thompson, who in June announced her intention to retire in the first quarter of 2019 following a 35-year career with the company.
Rights to use the Dunlop brand name on tyres and related products are mainly divided up around the world between Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Sumitomo Rubber Industries. In Australia, Goodyear acts as rightsholder to the Dunlop brand, and this makes a recent court decision significant.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was recently recognised by the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) with a Leadership Award for promoting innovative practices to improve worker safety.
In spite of alternatives such as guayule and Russian dandelion, the Hevea brasiliensis tree will remain an important source of rubber for tyre manufacturers. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company recognises this and has announced a new natural rubber procurement policy. The tyre maker says this new policy “reflects its strong commitment to the responsible sourcing of raw materials” and believes its implementation and adherence will help address deforestation, land grabbing, and human rights in the areas of the world where natural rubber is produced.
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