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.
The city of Mount Vernon, Illinois, has reportedly committed $735,000 in grant funding to Continental Tire’s (CTA) plant expansion in the city. The money is expected to go toward infrastructure improvements and equipment. For its part, CTA has committed to creating at least 440 new jobs.
As part of its service provision that to farm tyre customers, Goodyear has put together some top tips for storing your harvester for the winter. Phil Stanton, Goodyear’s Farm Manager said: “It is important for farmers to store their harvesters in a good, sheltered place for the winter. Ensuring that a harvester remains lubricated and internally dry can mean there is less time wasted in the new year and a smaller risk of problems developing through the cold season.”
GITI Tire UK has added five staff members to its number after a summer of interviewing and appointing personnel. Following Richard Lyons’ promotion to the new role of European general manager in May former Pirelli man Brian McDermott has become general manager GITI Tire UK effective 1 November.
The Slovenian Press Agency reports that Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires is to invest 6 million euros in the production of retreaded truck and bus tyres in Slovenia.
The French tyre giant has done it again. As in all the previous online brand equity studies produced by Tyres & Accessories in collaboration with online brand research specialists Envisional, the 2011 data once again shows that Michelin has achieved the greatest degree of online prominence. What’s different this year is that the margin has somewhat decreased compared with the identical study we produced in 2010.
The companies occupying the remainder of the top six most-prominent brand slots all come from the same selection as before (namely Michelin, Continental, Pirelli, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Dunlop) but, this time Pirelli rose from sixth place in 2010 to third place in 2011, and Bridgestone dropped from second to fourth place. According to the analysis there was a significant drop in relative prominence between the top six brands and the remainder, amongst which small drops in position were seen for Firestone (dropping below Yokohama) and Falken (dropping below Hankook). Giti achieved the smallest degree of online prominence by a significant margin.
The annual Auto Express tyre test, published yesterday (8 September, 2011), awarded Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 top place and a “Best Buy 2011” endorsement. Michelin’s Pilot Sport 3 also received a “Recommended” rating, coming in second and scoring very highly all round. The magazine tested ten tyres from top-selling manufacturers, using the popular 225/45R17 size fitted to Volkswagen Golf GTIs. Ten tyres were supplied by each manufacturer, while Auto Express also bought two sets at random, to ensure fair testing. The tests, including wet and dry characteristics, cabin noise and rolling resistance, were completed at Bridgestone’s cutting edge testing facility in Aprilia, Italy.
Leading wheel distributor, Motor Wheel Service has appointed Peter Knapman as finance director. Knapman, from Manchester, previously operated as a finance professional offering freelance advice and solutions to a wide selection of SMEs throughout Europe including Polish engineering firm, Europower SPZ O.O. and Italian automotive exhaust specialist, Klarius Srl. The appointment comes on the same day as John Ellis, managing director of Motor Wheel Service, announced the company’s plan to increase turnover from £7 million to £20 million in the next five years.
Steve McDonald has joined GITI Tire (UK) Ltd. as regional sales manager. McDonald started his career in the tyre business in 2003 as sales manager for Cooper Avon Motorcycle tyres before joining Goodyear Dunlop in 2008 as business development manager, managing the North of England and Scotland. Prior to this, he held several key roles as an electrical engineer within the electrical industry.
Based just North of York in Pocklington, the relatively small size of this North Yorkshire town belies the current scale and influence of the tyre wholesale operation it is home to. Bond International was founded in 1966 by Reg Bond when the qualified automotive engineer suffered an industrial injury that blinded him in one eye. In spite of the incident, Bond demonstrated great vision by investing his ensuing compensation into expanding his business to incorporate tyre wholesale. Now the company is firmly in the top flight of UK tyre wholesale operations and has purportedly risen as high as number three in recent years (see next month's Wholesale Feature for an update on the current state of UK tyre wholesaling). With an overseas office already located in Singapore, now Bond is considering its European options, while pointing out that there are still opportunities in the UK. On top of this the company recently launched its first foray into the online marketplace, which executive hope will – over time – develop a whole new source of business for it and its retail customers alike.
A US federal judge has sentenced two former Wyko engineers to four years probation and 150 hours of community service after they were convicted of stealing trade secrets from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in a corporate espionage case that first surfaced in 2009.
The latest data from the US shows that shipments, what we might call sell-in sales, of light vehicle replacement tyres fell 12 per cent for RMA members and 10 per cent for the overall industry in July. This follows falls of 8.6 per cent in June and 10.7 per cent in May. Commenting on the figures, Deutsche Bank analysts pointed out that “the weakness was significantly more pronounced for broadline (economy) tyres,” with volumes down more than 20 per cent year-on-year in this segment.
Elaborating on news of a recent US$1.5 million grant received from a US Department of Energy (DOE) agency, Cooper Tire & Rubber says the funding will go towards accelerating the “development and refinement of innovative tyre design, construction, materials and reinforcement technologies focused on the replacement tyre market.” The grant from the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy calls for Cooper to develop an ultra lightweight tyre that delivers a minimum three per cent improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency. The anticipated timeframe for achieving this breakthrough is three years.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has appointed Stephen R. McClellan as president of the company’s North American Tire business unit. McClellan will succeed Curt Andersson, who plans to pursue other professional interests. McClellan will continue to be responsible for North American Tire’s consumer tyre business until a successor is named.
“Steve brings strong leadership and a proven track record of delivering results,” said Richard J. Kramer, Goodyear’s chairman, president and CEO. “Steve’s career of more than 20 years at Goodyear has included progressively larger leadership positions within North American Tire. His success in running the North American consumer and commercial tyre businesses and his strong relationships with customers make him a natural successor to the role.
Two months after the crash in Germany involving one of a pair of blimps leased to Goodyear and the subsequent termination of the company's blimp-related tyre safety campaign, the remaining craft has returned to UK skies. According to Goodyear Dunlop pr support manager Kate Rock, the Lightship Group-owned blimp has returned from a trip to Spain and is currently in the UK participating in a series of flights to evaluate filming locations for future tours. Goodyear Dunlop is not actively promoting the blimp in the UK at the moment, Rock added.
Work on a new, low rolling resistance military tyre and other projects has earned Goodyear high praise from some of the American military’s former top brass. US senator and retired Navy secretary John Warner and vice admiral Dennis McGinn (retired), who is now vice chairman for the CNA Military Advisory Board, recently visited the tyre maker’s headquarters in Akron, Ohio as part of a US-wide tour sponsored by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate, a group dedicated to highlighting connections between national security, energy independence, the economy and climate change.
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