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.
Goodyear has announced an extension to its range of durable radial industrial tyres, the IT630T, with the first size available the most popular one for these machines: 460/70R24. The new tyre is designed for use in hard ground applications, with its primary utilisation on telescopic handler machines, denoted by the suffix T.
Despite supposed crackdowns by Chinese authorities, the theft of patents, intellectual property and trade secrets remains a big business in China. And while the tyre industry has not been immune – Michelin among others have pursued legal action against Chinese tyre makers and tyre importers – vastly improved technology and knowledge among Chinese engineers and producers has made it much harder to prove some types of alleged theft.
Alcoa Wheel Products will be showing its forged aluminium wheels at Tip-Ex show (stand C7-8) between 10 and 12 June. The wheel maker recently added some 17.5” wheels to its portfolio including: a 17.5 x 6.75 10 hole low deck trailer wheel, available in mirror polished version; a 17.5 x 6.75 6 hole truck wheel for medium duty trucks. Alcoa reports that the latest sizes will be available in brushed and Dura-Bright finishes from April 2011 onwards.
Goodyear has announced its return to annual tipper show Tip-Ex at North Yorkshire’s Harrogate International Centre this year. The show, which runs between 10 and 12 June, will see the company display its Omnitrac MSS II and MSD II tyres, which feature the company’s two latest truck tyre innovations: DuraSeal and Max Technology. “An event such as Tip-Ex is a great way for Goodyear to enable tipper operators to view our innovative products Duraseal and Max Technology,” said Adam Stanton, product marketing manger for commercial tyres.
Some 80 million television viewers around the world are said to watch the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, and in 2011 Goodyear is continuing its commitment to the sport by supplying tyres to all 24 participating race trucks. In addition to supplying all teams with specially designed and built Truck Racing tyres, the company will also provide the FIA with technical support at all ten series races. The Goodyear tyres are supplied and serviced by TRO (Truck Racing Organisation), the sole tyre supplier. TRO represents the interests of all teams in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship and its trucks and trailers will attend all races, providing a tyre fitting area in the paddock at each venue. This year sees the introduction of RFID chips in the supplied tyres to enable their systematic electronic monitoring during race weekends.
Goodyear Dunlop has updated its fleet with 20 new Mercedes-Benz vans. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 313CDIs were supplied by Birmingham dealer Midlands Truck & Van and work for TruckForce, Goodyear Dunlop’s dedicated mobile truck tyre and breakdown service. They are based across TruckForce’s 15 operating centres, which act as hubs for some 100 satellite depots across England and Wales, and used by technicians who repair, replace and service customers’ tyres at their premises or at the roadside.
Both Goodyear and Dunlop have been producing tyres for over 100 years and van tyres have been a major part of both brand portfolios for many years. The current Goodyear range focuses around two key products for vans; these are the Cargo G26 and Cargo Marathon.
Transense Technologies plc has launched its iProbe multi-function RFID/TPMS tyre inspection tool into the market. Developed by its subsidiary Translogik and following consultation with potential customers, the iProbe provides wireless measurement of tread depth, tyre temperature and tyre pressure combined with integrated RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag and TPMS (Temperature Pressure Monitoring System) sensor reading capabilities.
Goodyear comments that Goodyear and blimps go together like America and apple pie, and this association will most likely continue even though the tyre maker’s next airships will be built using technology sourced from the USA’s old lighter-than-air rival: A new agreement with German zeppelin manufacturer ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik will see Goodyear supplied with airships well into the next decade.
Goodyear's first quarter 2011 results were “significantly above expectations” according to investor information published by Goldman Sachs. In addition to stating that the results were above their estimates, the analysts said Goodyear’s figures came in ahead of the wider consensus, “driven largely by a $361million tailwind from pricing and mix” which was way above the $278 million projection. According to Goldman Sachs, this increase is impressive because it exceeds the $300 million per quarter the market was typically able to absorb in periods of high inflation.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has reported record sales and higher unit volumes for the first quarter of 2011 – and a net profit for the quarter. The tyre maker’s first quarter 2011 net income was US$103 million, up from a net loss of $47 million for the same period in 2010.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has called US$350 million of its outstanding 10.500 per cent senior notes due 2016 for redemption on May 27, 2011. The tyre maker intends to use net proceeds from its recent mandatory convertible preferred stock offering to fund the redemption. The redemption will result in savings to annualised interest expense of approximately $40 million, of which about $23 million will be realised in 2011.
According to Titan International chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor, momentum from the “outstanding” first quarter the company experienced should “carry over into future quarters of 2011.” Upon announcing sales of US$280.8 million during the three months to March 31, a 41 per cent year-on-year increase, Taylor reported continued strength in Titan’s agricultural tyre and wheel business plus growth in the earthmover and construction tyre business; this sector is, the chairman and CEO commented “really taking off and I believe it will strengthen throughout the year.” He further opined that Titan’s markets are “going to keep moving upwards over the next 18 months.”
Long established as a leading UK tyre distributor, and named Tyre Wholesaler of the Year at the NTDA Tyre and Fast Fit Awards 2010, Stapleton’s reports it has continued to place an emphasis on customer needs in 2011. This emphasis includes a focus on the company’s product portfolio and in ensuring the needs of both large and small van operators are catered for. The result, says Stapleton’s, is an even broader range that encompasses all van tyre sizes – including premium brands as well as a comprehensive range of mid-price and budget products. The company plans to continue developing its van tyre sector further still throughout the remainder of 2011 in line with its overriding ‘working for the customer’ philosophy.
Goodyear has been ranked the 38th most reputable company in the USA by Forbes magazine. The magazine’s sixth annual ranking of corporate reputation in the US, released on its website, made Goodyear – the only tyre-maker on the list – the highest-ranked company in the automotive industry. The list was compiled based on the results of the Reputation Institute’s US Reputation Pulse consumer opinion survey, which measures the overall respect, trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings consumers hold towards 150 of the country’s largest companies.
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