|
|
|
|
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
|
| |
|
| |
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Today it is the third largest tire company in the world after Bridgestone and Michelin. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, and heavy earth-mover machinery.
Although the company was not connected with him, it was named in honor of Charles Goodyear. Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber in 1839.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company' Start a new discussion about 'Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Today it is the third largest tire company in the world after Bridgestone and Michelin. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, and heavy earth-mover machinery.
Although the company was not connected with him, it was named in honor of Charles Goodyear. Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber in 1839. The first Goodyear Tires became popular because they were easily detachable and low maintenance.
Goodyear is famous throughout the world because of the Goodyear blimp. The first Goodyear blimp flew in 1925. Today it is one of the most recognizable advertising icons in America. Goodyear is a former component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Company Locations
Principal operating facilities:
]]
North American Tire Manufacturing Facilities. North American Tire owns (or leases with the right to purchase at a nominal price) and operates 23 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada.
- 20 tire plants (8 in the United States and 2 in Canada),
- 1 steel tire wire cord plant,
- 4 chemical plants,
- 1 tire mold plant,
- 3 tire retread plants,
- 2 aviation retread plants, and
- 2 mix plants (1 in the United States and 1 in Canada).
- at least one known hose plant (located in the United States).
These facilities have floor space aggregating approximately .
European Union Tire Manufacturing Facilities. European Union Tire owns and operates 15 manufacturing facilities in 5 countries, including:
- 14 tire plants,
- 1 steel tire wire cord plant,
- 1 tire mold and tire manufacturing machines facility,
- 1 aviation retread plant, and
- 1 mix plant.
These facilities have floor space aggregating approximately .
Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Tire Manufacturing Facilities. Eastern Europe Tire owns and operates 5 tire plants in 4 countries. These facilities have floor space aggregating approximately .
Latin American Tire Manufacturing Facilities. Latin American Tire owns and operates 9 manufacturing facilities in 5 countries, including 6 tire plants, 1 textile mill, 1 tire retread plant, and 1 aviation retread plant. These facilities have floor space aggregating approximately .
Asia Pacific Tire Manufacturing Facilities. Asia Pacific Tire owns and operates 10 tire plants and 2 aviation retread plants in 9 countries. These facilities have floor space aggregating approximately .
Plant Utilization. Worldwide tire capacity utilization rate was approximately 86% during 2007 compared to approximately 82% in 2006 and 87% in 2005. 2007 utilization increased due to the recovery from the 2006 USW strike.
Other Facilities. Goodyear also owns and operates three research and development facilities and technical centers, and three tire proving grounds. The company also operates more than 1,800 retail outlets for the sale of our tires to consumers, approximately 60 tire retreading facilities and approximately 160 warehouse distribution facilities. Substantially all of these facilities are leased.
History
Early History 1898-1926
The first Goodyear factory opened in Akron, Ohio in 1898. The thirteen original employees manufactured bicycle and carriage tires, rubber horseshoe pads, and poker chips. The company grew with the advent of the automobile.
In 1901 Frank Seiberling provided Henry Ford with racing tires. By 1908 Ford was outfitting his Model T with Goodyear tires. A year later Goodyear manufactured its first aircraft tire.
In 1911 Goodyear started experimenting with airship design. It later manufactured airships and balloons for the U.S. military during World War I. The transport and reconnaissance capabilities that Goodyear provided contributed significantly to the Allied victory.
By 1926 Goodyear was the largest rubber company in the world. Only four years earlier they were forced to temporarily cease race tire production due to competition. Nevertheless, the popularity of the Goodyear tire on the racing circuit led to a popular demand for the brand.
Expansion 1926-1990
For the next sixty years Goodyear grew to become a Multinational corporation with multi-billion dollar earnings. It acquired their rival Kelly-Springfield Tire in 1935. During World War II Goodyear manufactured Corsair fighter planes for the U.S. Military. By 1956 they owned and operated a nuclear processing plant in Ohio.
In 1944, Goodyear created a subsidiary in Mexico in a joint venture with Compañía Hulera,S.A. de C.V., Compañía Hulera Goodyear-Oxo, S.A. de C.V. or Goodyear-Oxo.
Sales for 1969 topped $3 billion, five years later sales topped $5 billion and it boasted operations in thirty four countries. In 1978 the original Akron plant was converted into a Technical Center for research and design. By 1985 worldwide sales exceeded $10 billion dollars.
The Goodyear Aerospace Corporation, a holding that developed from the Goodyear Aircraft Company after World War II designed a supercomputer for NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in 1979, the MPP. The subsidiary was sold in 1987 to the Loral Corp. as a result of restructuring.
The Goldsmith affair
In 1986 The Goodyear Rubber & Tire Company was a victim of a Greenmail attack. British financier James Goldsmith in conjunction with the investment group Hanson purchased 11% of Goodyear stock. They threatened to take the company over unless Goodyear bought back the shares at a highly inflated price.
The following year Goodyear retaliated with a massive restructuring. The company sold subsidiaries, closed plants, and tried to damage itself financially to make it an unsuitable takeover target. The plan worked but Goldsmith reportedly still walked away with $90 million for his efforts.
1990 to Present
The last major restructuring of the company took place in 1991. Goodyear hired Stanley Gault, former CFO of Rubbermaid to expand the company into new markets. The moves resulted in 12,000 employees being laid off.
Recent History
On July 10, 2008, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was recognized as one of America’s most respected companies by the Reputation Institute (RI) and Forbes magazine. Goodyear ranked 16th on the magazine’s third
annual listing of companies with the best reputations in the United States.
The list is based on the results RI’s Global Pulse consumer opinion survey, which measures the overall respect, trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings consumers hold toward the world’s largest companies.
Scores are based on RI’s seven dimensions of reputation: products/services, innovation, workplace, citizenship, governance, leadership and performance. RI said the 2008 survey indicates that consumers are most influenced by a company’s high-quality products and services as well as its governance and citizenship.
Goodyear’s score of 76.0, represented a 7.54 point increase over 2007 and was the largest year-over-year improvement of any company on the list. Goodyear is the only tire company on the top-75 list.
The recognition from RI and Forbes is the fifth significant honor for Goodyear in 2008. The company was named the world’s most admired company in the motor vehicle parts industry by Fortune magazine. Audit Integrity Inc. and Forbes magazine ranked Goodyear sixth on their list of America’s most trustworthy companies. The Wall Street Journal recognized Goodyear for leading shareholder return for the past five years in the automotive category. Goodyear was also ranked among the Top 100 Corporate Citizens selected by CRO magazine.
Timeline
- 1898 — Goodyear Founded
- 1901 — Seiberling makes racing tires for Henry Ford
- 1908 — Ford's Model T is outfitted with Goodyear tires
- 1909 — 1st aircraft tire
- 1911 — 1st airship envelope
- 1917 — made airships & balloons for the U.S. military during World War I
- 1919 — tires on the winning car at the Indianapolis 500
- 1925 — first blimp, Pilgrim is launched
- 1926 — world's largest rubber company
- 1935 — acquired Kelly-Springfield Tire
- 1956 — Goodyear-operated U235 atomic processing plant opens in Ohio
- 1958 — enters racing to counter "stodgy" image
- 1967 — Goodyear introduces the Polyglas tire, one of the first wide-tread bias-belted fiberglass tires, which along with similar tires from competitors such as the Firestone Wide-Oval would become regular equipment on 1970 to 1974 models, which would be superseded by radial tires beginning in 1975.
- 1969 — Stock splits two for one
- 1974 — sales reach $5 billion
- 1978 — Akron plant converted into Technical Center for R&D
- 1984 — worldwide sales exceed $10 billion
- 1986 — James Goldsmith takeover attempt
- 1987 — massive restructuring
- 1987 — completion of the California - Texas "All American" oil pipeline
- 1994 — "electronic store" opened on the CompuServe network
- 1999 — Goodyear Dunlop enters joint venture with Sumitomo Rubber
- 2006 — end of car tire production in the UK, closure of the Washington plant
- 2007 — Sale of the Engineered Products Division to the Carlyle Group; EPD is renamed
- 2008 — Fatal explosion at Houston plant
- 2008 — Wolverhampton, UK plant partly reduced to rubble as part of a regeneration and housing project with the famous 81 year old on Sunday 29 June
Corporate Structure and Leadership
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is structured into the following units:
- Asia Pacific Region
- Pierre E. Cohade, President
- Europe, Middle East & Africa Business
- Latin American Region
- Eduardo A. Fortunato, President
- North American Tire
- Richard J. Kramer, President
Current members of the board of directors of Goodyear are: James C. Boland, John G. Breen, Gary D. Forsee, William J. Hudson Jr., Steven A. Minter, Denise M. Morrison, Rodney O'Neal, Shirley D. Peterson, G. Craig Sullivan, Thomas H. Weidemeyer, Michael R. Wessel, W. Alan McCollough, and Robert J. Keegan (chairman).
Robert J. Keegan is also the chief executive officer of the company (since 2002), succeeding Samir G. Gibara.
Subsidiaries
- Wingfoot commercial tire systems, LLC.
Corporate Issues
Sexual Discrimination Lawsuits
United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg stated,
Lilly Ledbetter was a supervisor at Goodyear Tire and Rubber’s plant in Gadsden, Alabama, from 1979 until her retirement in 1998. For most of those years, she worked as an area manager, a position largely occupied by men. Initially, Ledbetter’s salary was in line with the salaries of men performing substantially similar work. Over time, however, her pay slipped in comparison to the pay of male area managers with equal or less seniority. By the end of 1997, Ledbetter was the only woman working as an area manager and the pay discrepancy between Ledbetter and her 15 male counterparts was stark: Ledbetter was paid $3,727 per month; the lowest paid male area manager received $4,286 per month, the highest paid, $5,236.
Lilly Ledbetter sued Goodyear claiming she was paid less than men doing the same work. She won the suit and was awarded $360,000, the jury deciding that Goodyear had clearly engaged in discrimination. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court. In Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. ___ (2007), Justice Alito held for the five-justice majority that employers are protected from lawsuits over race or gender pay discrimination if the claims are based on decisions made by the employer 180 days ago or more. The United States Congress overturned this decision by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act which was the first bill signed into law by president Obama.
This was a case of statutory rather than constitutional interpretation. The plaintiff in this case, Lilly Ledbetter, characterized her situation as one where "disparate pay is received during the statutory limitations period, but is the result of intentionally discriminatory pay decisions that occurred outside the limitations period." In rejecting Ledbetter's appeal, the Supreme Court said that "she could have, and should have, sued" when the pay decisions were made, instead of waiting beyond the 180-day statutory charging period.
Justice Ginsburg dissented from the opinion of the Court, joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, and Breyer. She argued against applying the 180-day limit to pay discrimination, because discrimination often occurs in small increments over large periods of time. Furthermore, the pay information of fellow workers is typically confidential and unavailable for comparison. Ginsburg argued that pay discrimination is inherently different from adverse actions, such as termination. Adverse actions are obvious, but small pay discrepancy is often difficult to recognize until more than 180 days of the pay change. Ginsburg argued that the broad remedial purpose of the statute was incompatible with the Court's "cramped" interpretation. Her dissent asserted that the employer had been, "Knowingly carrying past pay discrimination forward" during the 180-day charging period, and therefore could be held liable.
No Firearms Policy
Recently customers have noticed a "no firearms allowed" sign posted on the entrance doors to all Goodyear stores. The official response from the company is as follows:
- In an effort to ensure the safety and security of our associates and customers, we have a clear company policy regarding weapons in the workplace. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. prohibits all persons who enter Company property from carrying a handgun, firearm, or prohibited weapon of any kind onto the property regardless of whether the person is licensed to carry the weapon or not. Exceptions apply to on-duty law enforcement personnel. This policy applies to all Company employees, visitors, customers, and contractors on Company property -- including our Company-owned stores. All Company properties have received a decal or sign referencing this policy, and have been instructed to post it.
The policy also restricts off-duty officers of the law from carrying a firearm into the store as well.
Environmental record
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst identified Goodyear as the 25th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with roughly 4.16 million lbs of toxins released into the air annually. Major pollutants included sulfuric acid, cobalt compounds, and chlorine. The Center for Public Integrity reports the Goodyear has been named as a potentially responsible party in at least 54 of the nation's Superfund toxic waste sites.
On February 8, 2008, Goodyear announced the launch of a environmentally friendly tire produced using a corn starch-based material. The Goodyear Eagle LS2000 partially replaces the traditional carbon black and silica with filler materials derived from corn starch thanks to "BioTRED compounding technology". The new technology increases the tires "flexibility and resistance to energy loss", which extend the tires life-span and lessen the impact on the environment. Similarly, Goodyear announced on April 22, 2008 that it had joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay Transport Partnership. The transport partnership is an attempt between the truck transportation industry and the EPA to reduce air pollution and greenhouse emissions as well as increase energy efficiency. The SmartWay partnership's tractors and trailers will use Goodyear's Fuel Max linehaul tires that increase fuel efficiency while reducing emissions. According to Goodyear and EPA officials "the fuel-efficient line-haul tires deliver up to 4% improved truck fuel economy, and when used with other SmartWay-qualified components, each 18- wheel tractor and trailer used in long-haul can produce savings of up to 4,000 gallons per year, or more than $11,000 annually."
Goodyear's plants in Aurangabad and Ballabgarh, India have received recognition for their excellence in energy conservation, efficiency and management with awards from both state and national governments.
Goodyear Products
Automotive
- Assurance (cars & minivan)
- TripleTred Technology
- ComforTred Technology
- Fortera (suv)
- Silent Armor Technology
- TripleTred Technology
- Wrangler (truck)
- Silent Armor Technology
- ProGrade Technology
- Eagle (performance)
- Nordic (Winter tires)
- Ultra Grip (winter tires)
- Aquatred (discontinued)
Commercial
- Commercial Truck
- Off The Road Tires
- Articulated Dump Truck
- Rigid Haulage Truck
- Mobile Crane
- Scaper
- Port & Container Handling
- Dozer and Loader
- Mine Service
- Motor Grader
- ATV Tires
- RV Tires
- Unisteel series (G670RV, G149RSA, G169RSA, G647RSS, G614RST)
- Wrangler HT (all weather)
- Marathon (trailer towing)
- Aviation
Non-Tire Industrial
- Airsprings
- Industrial hose
- Hydraulic products
- Conveyor belt products
- Power transmission products
- Molded Transportation products (vibration control)
- Rubber Track
- Isoprene monomer
- Synthetic rubber for medical applications
- Synthetic rubber for chewing gum
See also
People
Other related topics
Motor racing
Trivia
- In The Naked Gun, Frank Drebin remarks "It’s the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day". Jane Spencer then asks "Goodyear?", to which Frank responds "No, the worst".
- In the 2007 film Hairspray, in history class, Amber Von Tussle claims that Tracy could get sponsored by Goodyear, referring to her morbid obesity.
- Goodyear supposedly developed custom tires for the Batmobile for use in one of the recent Batman movies. The tires featured the Batman logo as a tread pattern.
- Goodyear sponsored Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club from 1986 until 2002. It has a factory located in the city, and until 1994 also had a factory in nearby town, Dudley.
Further reading
- Richard Korman. The Goodyear Story: An Inventor's Obsession and the Struggle for a Rubber Monopoly (2002)
- Ronald P. Conlin; "Goodyear Advertising Research: Past, Present and Future" Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 34, 1994. The real story of Goodyear.
External links
- from the Summit Memory Project
|
| |
|
|
