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 Tire & Rubber’s New Zealand unit, Goodyear & Dunlop Tyres, intends to sell its retail tyre and automotive service centre chain. The company is selling its 52 Beaurepaires outlets in New Zealand to local company Beau Ideal Ltd for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close by the end of the month, the company said.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has officially opened its new global headquarters. Goodyear chairman and CEO Richard J. Kramer, Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic spoke before leading a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the tyre company’s new offices.
Goodyear has released details of two new speciality tyre products, the EV-4C, and the RT-5D – designed to be used in port and industrial applications respectively – at Bauma (covered earlier in this issue). The EV-4C is designed to be used mainly on straddle carriers. Featuring an innovative tread to reduce lug-induced vibration the tyre increases operator comfort and promotes even tread wear. It has a nylon sidewall reinforcement to reduce the risk of impact damage, while the breakers and carcass are stronger for greater stability and productivity. The tubeless tyre is available in sizes 16.00R25 and 480/95R25.
Pirelli Tire North America executive Tom Gravalos has been named CEO of Pirelli Neumaticos S.A. de C.V. in Mexico (Pirelli Mexico), effective immediately, reports Tire Review. Gravalos was vice president of marketing and OE for Pirelli Tire North America.
Last December, Thomson Reuters named Michelin and Goodyear Tire & Rubber two of its 100 most innovative organisations for 2012. Michelin reports receiving an award last week for this achievement; in sharing this news, the tyre maker states that the Thomson Reuters award is “significant for Michelin” as it focuses attention exclusively on companies that generate a “sizable amount of innovation.” – For example, only businesses that have accumulated 100 or more patents in the past three years are qualified for consideration.
Over here in Blighty, pick-up trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are perhaps not the most practical vehicles for negotiating narrow country lanes and suburban roads. But in North America they are among the most popular vehicles in their class. Goodyear reports that General Motors has selected several of its tyres as original equipment on 2104 Silverado and Sierra models.
The latest in a succession of leaders at Tyre Fort in Birmingham, Erich Fric brings with him an easy-going, but teutonic clarity into his (relatively) new role of Goodyear Dunlop UK managing director. Almost a year after news of the appointment was released, Tyres & Accessories visited the company headquarters in mid-April for the MD’s first published interview in his current role where he shared his views on the British tyre market and recent corporate criticism of the companies EMEA region.
Goodyear Dunlop’s dedicated truck tyre service provider, TruckForce has expanded its vehicle tracking system with the UK and Ireland’s largest telematics provider Ctrack, covering its entire fleet. The company says the deal will improve its operating efficiency, enhancing customer service.
Ian Stuart is to retire at the end of May 2013 after seven years as group managing director of ATS Euromaster, the UK’s largest comprehensive tyre specialist. He will be replaced by Peter Allen, who is currently commercial director of Michelin Canada.
The Goodyear Gives Back campaign, a fundraising programme run by the tyre maker in support of the US Armed Forces, is soon to get underway for a fourth year. To mark the campaign’s return, Goodyear will deploy commemorative tyres at the NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway on 18 May. The “Eagle” and “Wrangler” sidewall designs on all Goodyear’s NASCAR race tyres used at Charlotte will be replaced by desert camouflage lettering that reads ‘Support Our Troops’.
On 18 April, the Boeing Company honoured Goodyear Tire & Rubber as one of its 17 most exceptional suppliers. Goodyear was selected from a pool of more than 23,000 Boeing suppliers from around the world and received a Boeing Supplier of the Year award at a ceremony held in San Diego, US. The tyre maker was awarded in the Electronics/Hydraulics/Mechanical category.
Now this is a truck, Crocodile Dundee may have drawled. Australia is no stranger to the superlative, and the country is soon to be home to what Guinness World Records claims is the world’s largest semi-truck. Tractomas, built by French heavy-haulage specialist Nicolas, is capable of pulling a road train weighing 535 tonnes. The 1,000 horsepower tractor is fitted with 385/95R25 Goodyear GP-2B tyres, and before it departs down under the Goodyear-shod giant is on display at the Bauma 2013 show in Germany.
Enjoying its world premiere at Bauma 2013 is Goodyear’s new RT-5D wheel loader tyre. The RT-5D is a level 250 (L5) traction tyre intended for use in severe conditions such as quarries, difficult industrial applications and in open or underground mines. Goodyear says the RT-5D offers 25 per cent more load capacity than its predecessor, the RT-5C.
When Maurice Taylor visited Goodyear’s plant in Amiens, France, he claims to have observed workers talking for several hours a day instead of getting busy with the tasks they were paid to do, and when he challenged them about this they replied it was “the French way.” Now the Amiens plant workers are engaging in a behaviour more in line with the American way – they have sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
In its most recent report on market trends, Pirelli’s figures showed car and light commercial vehicle volumes in Europe to be down 13 per cent year-to-date in the OE segment and 10 per cent in the replacement business. While separate information for premium tyres is not given, on 5 April Pirelli stated that in response to the economic crisis in Europe and its impact on demand for premium tyres, it is “carrying out a significant review of its commercial structures” in the European market. The Italian tyre maker says this review entails, among other things, more closely integrating its high-end tyre production capacity in Europe with those markets where demand for premium products in highest. These markets are presumably the US and rapidly developing markets – areas where Pirelli says demand is growing approximately three times faster than overall global demand for passenger car tyres.
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