Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
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The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...
. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-moving machinery. It also makes bicycle tires, having returned from a break in production between 1976 and 2015. As of 2017, Goodyear is one of the top five tire manufacturers along with
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japa ...
(Japan),
Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larg ...
(France), Continental (Germany) and MRF (India). The company was named after American
Charles Goodyear Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860) was an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844. ...
(1800–1860), inventor of vulcanized rubber. The first Goodyear tires became popular because they were easily detachable and required little maintenance. Though Goodyear had been manufacturing
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
s and balloons since the early 1900s, the first Goodyear advertising blimp flew in 1925. Today, it is one of the most recognizable advertising icons in America. The company is the most successful tire supplier in
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
history, with more starts, wins, and constructors' championships than any other tire supplier. They pulled out of the sport after the 1998 season. It is the sole tire supplier for
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
series. Goodyear was the first global tire manufacturer to enter China when it invested in a tire manufacturing plant in Dalian in 1994. Goodyear was a component of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
between 1930 and 1999. The company opened a new global headquarters building in Akron in 2013.


History


Early history 1898–1926

The first Goodyear factory opened in Akron, Ohio, in 1898. The company originally manufactured
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...
and
carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping ...
tires, rubber
horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human ...
pads, and poker chips, and grew with the advent of the automobile. In 1901, Goodyear founder Frank Seiberling provided
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
with racing tires. In 1903, Goodyear president, chairman and CEO Paul Weeks Litchfield was granted a patent for the first tubeless automobile tire. In 1916, Litchfield found land in the Phoenix area suitable for growing long-staple cotton, which was needed to reinforce its rubber in tires. The 36,000 acres purchased were controlled by the Southwest Cotton Company, formed with Litchfield as president. (This included land that would develop into the towns of Goodyear and Litchfield Park.) In 1924, Litchfield forged a joint venture with the German
Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as ''Zeppelins'' due to the company's prominence. The name ...
Company to form the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. From the late 1920s to 1940, the company worked with Goodyear to build two Zeppelins in the United States. The partnership continued even when Zeppelin was under Nazi control and only ended after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
began.


Expansion 1926–1970

On August 5, 1927, Goodyear had its
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
and was listed on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
.GT , NYSE
By 1930, Goodyear had pioneered what would later become known as "
tundra tire A tundra tire (UK: ''tundra tyre'') is a large low-pressure tire used on light aircraft to allow operations on rough terrain. A common variant of tundra tire is the bushwheel brand. These tires include an integral inner tube with the valve man ...
s" for smaller aircraft—their so-called low inflation pressure "airwheel" aviation wheel-rim/tire sets were initially available in sizes up to 46 inches (117 cm) in diameter. Over the next few decades, Goodyear grew to become a multinational corporation. It acquired their rival Kelly-Springfield Tire in 1935. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
Goodyear manufactured
F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
fighter planes for the U.S. Military. Goodyear ranked 30th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. WWII forced the dissolution of the Goodyear-Zeppelin partnership in December 1940. 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.


Radial tire transition

Goodyear is the only one of the five biggest tire firms among US tire manufacturers in 1970 to remain independent into the 21st century. Goodyear's success was partly due to the challenge posed by radial tire technology, and the varied responses. At the time, the entire US tire industry produced the older bias-ply technology. Estimates to fit factories with new machinery and tools for making the new product were between $600 million and $900 million. This was a substantial amount in a low margin business with sales revenue in the low billions. The US market was slowly shifting towards the radial tire, as had already been the case in Europe and Asia. In 1968, ''
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Found ...
'', an influential American magazine, acknowledged the superiority of radial construction, which had been developed in 1946 by
Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larg ...
. When Charles J. Pilliod Jr. became CEO in 1974, he faced a major investment decision regarding the radial tire, which today has a market share of nearly 100%. Despite heavy criticism at the time, Pilliod invested heavily in new factories and tooling to build the radial tire. Sam Gibara, who headed Goodyear from 1996 to 2003, has noted that without the action of Pilliod, Goodyear "wouldn't be around today." Sales for 1969 topped $3 billion. Five years later sales topped $5 billion and Goodyear operated in 34 countries. In 1978, the original Akron plant was converted into a Technical Center for research and design. By 1985, worldwide sales exceeded $10 billion.
Goodyear Aerospace Goodyear Aerospace Corporation (GAC) was the aerospace and defense subsidiary of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The company was originally operated as a division within Goodyear as the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, part of a joint project ...
, a holding that developed from the Goodyear Aircraft Company after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, designed a supercomputer for NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in 1979, the MPP. The subsidiary was sold in 1987 to the Loral Corporation as a result of restructuring. In 1987, Goodyear formed a business partnership with Canadian tire retailer Fountain Tire.


Diversification and Goldsmith affair 1986

In the 1980s, incoming Goodyear CEO Robert E. Mercer argued that the tire and automobile-related businesses that formed the core of Goodyear to that date were slow growing and a handicap. He set a strategy "to get away from the cyclical nature of the automobile business through mergers or purchase of businesses unrelated to tires or vehicles." In 1983, Goodyear acquired the natural gas company
Celeron Corporation Celeron is Intel's brand name for low-end IA-32 and x86-64 computer microprocessor models targeted at low-cost personal computers. Celeron processors are compatible with IA-32 software. They typically offer less performance per clock speed comp ...
in exchange for stock valued at more than $740 million. It went on to invest heavily in gas exploration including the 1,200 mile crude oil "All American" pipeline from California to Texas. The project was initially estimated to cost $600 million but ultimately cost almost $1 billion. In October 1986 British financier
James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His cont ...
in conjunction with the investment group
Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...
purchased 11.5% of Goodyear's outstanding common stock. This was viewed as a
greenmail Greenmail or greenmailing is the action of purchasing enough shares in a firm to challenge a firm's leadership with the threat of a hostile takeover to force the target company to buy the purchased shares back at a premium in order to prevent the ...
attack by some, and as shareholder activism by Goldsmith, who viewed the company's move into areas far removed from tire development production and sale as commercially ill-advised and wanted the company to divest, especially, its oil interests which he viewed as depressing the value of the company. On November 20, 1986, Goodyear acquired all of the stock held by Goldsmith's group (12,549,400 shares) at an above-market price of $49.50 per share. Goodyear also made a tender offer for up to 40 million shares of its stock from other shareholders at $50 per share. The tender offer resulted in Goodyear buying 40,435,764 shares of stock in February 1987. As a result of the stock buyback, Goodyear took a charge of $224.6 million associated with a massive restructuring plan. It sold its Goodyear Aerospace business to Loral Corporation for $588 million and its motor wheel business to Lemmerz Inc. for $175 million. Two subsidiaries involved in agricultural products, real estate development, and a resort hotel in Arizona were sold for $220.1 million. The company also sold the Celeron gas and oil corporation. In 1998, the All American Pipeline, Celeron Gathering, and Celeron Trading and Transportation were sold, largely completing what Goldsmith's hostile takeover had suggested good management should do. In the years following 1987, the company invested in its tire business. President Tom Barrett succeeded Chairman Robert Mercer in 1989, and began a process of modernizing and expanding Goodyear plants in cities like
Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in southwestern Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma, metropolitan statistical ...
, Napanee, Canada,
Point Pleasant, West Virginia Point Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. The population was 4,101 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Point Pleasant, ...
, and
Scottsboro, Alabama Scottsboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Alabama, United States. The city was named for its founder Robert T. Scott. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 14,770. From its incorporation in 1870 until 1890, ...
. In the 2000s, the move of business into low-wage countries, facilitated by
GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its prea ...
(which Goldsmith had warned government against, calling it "a policy to impoverish"), resulted in plants across North America being shuttered, for instance
Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
; New Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and
Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...
were closed.


1990 to present

The last major restructuring of the company took place in 1991. Goodyear hired Stanley Gault, former CEO of
Rubbermaid Rubbermaid is an American manufacturer and distributor of household items. It is a subsidiary of Newell Brands. It is best known for producing food storage containers and trash cans. Additionally, it produces sheds, step stools, closets and shel ...
, to expand the company into new markets. The moves resulted in 12,000 employees being laid off. In 2005, Titan Tire purchased the farm tire business of Goodyear, and manufactures Goodyear agricultural tires under license. This acquisition included the plant in
Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the county seat and largest city of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is known for hosting the second Linc ...
. In the summer of 2009, the company announced it would close its tire plant in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
as part of a strategy to address uncompetitive manufacturing capacity globally by the end of the third quarter of that year. Goodyear announced plans to sell the assets of its Latin American off-road tire business to Titan Tire for $98.6 million, including the plant in
Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and a licensing agreement that allows Titan to continue manufacturing under the Goodyear brand. This deal is similar to Titan's 2005 purchase of Goodyear's US farm tire assets. In 2011, more than 70 years after the dissolution of the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, it is announced that Goodyear will partner with Zeppelin again (the legacy company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik) to build more zeppelins together. In 2018, Goodyear and
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japa ...
announced the creation of TireHub, a joint wholesale distribution network across the United States. At the same time, Goodyear also announced that it was ending its distribution relationship with
American Tire Distributors American Tire Distributors (ATD) is an American distributor and retailer of automotive parts and supplies, including tires and wheels. The company has locations across the United States and Canada. History J.H. Heafner Co. was founded in Linco ...
, which used to be the largest tire wholesaler in the US. In 2018, Goodyear was ordered to pay $40.1 million to J. Walter Twidwell, who claimed he developed
mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...
because of exposure to
asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
. After the trial, Goodyear asked the
New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
for a new trial. Goodyear attorney James Lynch said Goodyear did not receive proper consideration from the jury. Lynch said that the other side's attorneys engaged in character assassinations against
expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...
es. During closing remarks, the attorneys for Twidwell put up a slide with the heads of Goodyear's expert witnesses pasted onto "insulting caricatures." In December 2018, Goodyear ceased operations in Venezuela due a lack of materials and rising costs resulting from hyperinflation. In February 2021, Goodyear announced that it will acquire the
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sales of replacement automobile and truck tires, and has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle, and racing tires. ...
for $2.5 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2021.


Timeline

Source: * 1898: Goodyear founded * 1899: Automobile tires added to the original product line of bicycle tires, carriage tires and horseshoe pads * 1901: Seiberling makes racing tires for
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
* 1903: Paul Litchfield granted patent on first tubeless automobile tire (Litchfield would go on to become president of Goodyear-Zeppelin, then board chairman) * 1908: Ford's
Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
is outfitted with Goodyear tires * 1909: First pneumatic aircraft tire * 1911: First
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
envelope * 1912: Goodyear blimp first debuts * 1917: Made airships and balloons for the U.S. military during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
* 1919: Tires on the winning car at the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
* 1924: Zeppelin patents acquired, joint venture Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation formed with the German company * 1925: ''Pilgrim'' is launched, the first commercial non-rigid airship to use helium * 1926: World's largest rubber company, based on sales of $230,161,356 * 1927: Initial public offering * 1929: Construction of world's largest airship dock started in Akron * 1929: Introduction of first-known example of low-pressure
tundra tire A tundra tire (UK: ''tundra tyre'') is a large low-pressure tire used on light aircraft to allow operations on rough terrain. A common variant of tundra tire is the bushwheel brand. These tires include an integral inner tube with the valve man ...
s for aviation, invented by Alvin J. Musselman as Goodyear "Airwheels" * 1935: Acquired Kelly-Springfield Tire * 1937: First American-made synthetic rubber tire * 1940: In December, Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation dissolved with WWII straining partnership * 1942: Awarded contract to build FG-series ''Corsair'' naval fighter planes * 1944: Tire testing begins near
San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage ...
* 1947: First nylon tires developed * 1949: First television advertising with sponsorship of "The Goodyear Review," hosted by Paul Whiteman * 1954: First nationwide strike in company's history lasted 52 days * 1956: Goodyear-operated U235 atomic processing plant opens in
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
* 1957: Goodyear Proving Grounds for tire testing, near San Angelo, Texas, is rebuilt * 1958: Production of foam-padded instrument panels begun for 1959 model cars * 1962: Goodyear racing tires used on more winning stock and sports cars than any other brand * 1963: Goodyear produces its one billionth tire * 1965: Radial-ply tires made available in a full range of sizes to auto manufacturers * 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: Sales reach $3 billion * 1970: First tires on the moon (Apollo 14) * 1974: Sales reach $5 billion * 1975: All tires used in Indianapolis 500 supplied by Goodyear * 1976: Chemical Division shipped first shatterproof polyester resin bottles * 1977: Industry's first all-season tire ''(Tiempo)'' introduced * 1978: Akron plant converted into Technical Center for R&D * 1983: Three billionth tire produced * 1984: Worldwide sales exceed $10 billion * 1986:
James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His cont ...
takeover attempt and resulting restructuring * 1987: Completion of the California - Texas "All American" oil pipeline * 1991: ''Aquatred'' tire introduced * 1992: Began selling tires at Sears stores * 1993: Opened first tire store in Beijing, China * 1993: Inauguration of Dalian plant, China * 1994: "electronic store" opened on
CompuServe CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...
* 1995: Worldwide sales exceed $13 billion * 1995: Bought Polish Tire Company Dębica * 1998: Sold the All American Pipeline and Celeron businesses * 1999: Announced $1 billion global alliance with Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which had rights to the
Dunlop Tyres Dunlop Tyres is a brand of tyres which is managed by different companies around the world. It was founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Dublin, Ireland, in 1890. The brand is operated by Goodyear in North America (passenger c ...
brand in much of the world, to establish six joint ventures in North America, Europe and Japan * 2000: Formed an Internet-based purchasing alliance with five other rubber companies called RubberNetwork.com * 2003: Quarterly dividend to shareholders eliminated * 2004: Assurance ''TripleTred'' and ''ComforTred'' tires introduced * 2005: North American farm tire operations sold to Titan Tire Corporation * 2006: Goodyear blimp made maiden voyage in China * 2007: Engineered Products Division sold to Carlyle Group; EPD is rename
Veyance Technologies
* 2008: Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association trust (VEBA) approved by U.S. District Court, funded with $1 billion * 2009: Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tire introduced in North America * 2010: Plans announced to sell European and Latin American farm tire businesses * 2011: After being dissolved during WWII, Goodyear and Zeppelin's legacy company partner again to build more airships together * 2013: New headquarters complex opens in Akron * 2015: Goodyear and Sumitomo announced that they would dissolve their worldwide partnership. * 2018: The company ranked 187th on the
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
list of the largest United States companies by revenue marking its 24th year on the list * 2020: The company unveiled a self-regenerating concept tire with artificial intelligence features that allow the tire treads to change according to the environment and climate. The technology also uses sensors to learn from driver behavior. Information is sent to Goodyear's cloud servers where it is processed to build drivers' profiles, allowing predictions to be made based on drivers' data.


Corporate structure and leadership


Board of directors

* James A. Firestone. *
Werner Geissler Werner Geissler (born 1953) is a German businessman, with extensive experience in the United States, Japan, Europe and Emerging Markets. Biography Early life Werner Geissler was born in 1953 in Hachenburg, Heuzert, Germany. After graduation from ...
. * Peter S. Hellman. *
Richard J. Kramer Richard J. Kramer (born October 30, 1963) is an American businessman and Certified Public Accountant. He is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. Early life and education Krame ...
. * W. Alan McCollough. * John E. McGlade. * Roderick A. Palmore. * Stephanie Streeter. * Thomas H. Weidemeyer. *Michael R. Wessel. * Laurette T. Koellner
Thomas L. Williams
Former Board members include Shirley D. Peterson, William J. Contay, James C. Boland and Rodney O'Neal. Richard Kramer is the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
and president of the company (since 2010), succeeding Robert J. Keegan.


Subsidiaries

* Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. *
Dunlop Tyres Dunlop Tyres is a brand of tyres which is managed by different companies around the world. It was founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Dublin, Ireland, in 1890. The brand is operated by Goodyear in North America (passenger c ...
(''North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand'') * The Kelly Springfield Tire Company (''United States'') * Douglas Tires *Fierce *Lee *
Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...
(''Slovenia'') *Fulda (''Germany'') *Dębica (''Poland'') *Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems, LLC *Bluestreak (''Indonesia'') *Regetta (''Australia'') Distributed by KMART *LS2000 (''Japan'') Distributed by Goodyear Autocare *Goodyear Auto Service Centers *Goodyear Chemical *Just Tires


Controversies


Foreign relations with Indonesia in the 1960s

Following the military coup in Indonesia in 1965, the Indonesian president
Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto l ...
encouraged Goodyear to return and offered rubber resources and political prisoners as labor. In an NBC special aired in 1967, reporter Ted Yates aired footage showing former Communist rubber union workers escorted at gunpoint to the rubber plantation.
Bad as things are in Indonesia, one positive fact is known. Indonesia has a fabulous potential wealth in natural resources and the New Order he fascist regime headed by pro-U.S. General Suhartowants it exploited. So they are returning the private properties expropriated by Sukarno's regime. Goodyear's
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
n rubber empire is an example. It was seized
y the rubber workers Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh ...
in retaliation for U.S. aggression in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
in 1965. The rubber workers union was Communist-run, so after the coup many of them were killed or imprisoned. Some of the survivors, you see them here, still work the rubber – but this time as prisoners, and at gunpoint.


Pay discrimination lawsuits

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...
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.LEDBETTER v. GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO.
No. 05-1074) 421 F. 3d 1169, affirmed.
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 A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. 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 The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
overturned this decision by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 which was the first bill signed into law by
President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
. 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.


Environmental record

Researchers at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
identified Goodyear as the 19th-largest corporate producer of
air pollution in the United States Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials into the atmosphere, causing harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damaging ecosystems. Air pollution can cause health problems in ...
, with roughly 4.16 million lbs of toxins released into the air annually. Major pollutants included
sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular fo ...
,
cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...
compounds, and
chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine i ...
. The
Center for Public Integrity The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is an American nonprofit investigative journalism organization whose stated mission is "to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to ...
reports that Goodyear has been named as a potentially responsible party in at least 54 of the nation's
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency ...
toxic waste sites. On February 8, 2008, Goodyear announced the launch of an environmentally friendly tire produced using a
cornstarch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or sou ...
-based material. The Goodyear Eagle LS2000 partially replaces the traditional
carbon black Carbon black (subtypes are acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal and coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid ...
and
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
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 Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
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."


Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges

On February 24, 2015, Goodyear agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (, ''et seq.'') is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests. The FCPA is applicable worl ...
"FCPA" charges that two of its African subsidiaries allegedly paid $3.2 million in bribes that generated $14,122,535 in illicit profits. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission "SEC" FCPA charges involved Goodyear subsidiaries in Kenya and Angola for allegedly paying bribes to government and private-sector workers in exchange for sales in each country. According to the SEC because "Goodyear did not prevent or detect these improper payments because it failed to implement adequate FCPA compliance controls at its subsidiaries" and, for the Kenyan subsidiary, "because it failed to conduct adequate due diligence" prior to its acquisition. It was not alleged that Goodyear had any involvement with or knowledge of its subsidiaries' improper conduct.


Internal training and discrimination

On August 18, 2020, WIBW, a local CBS-affiliate television station, reported that an internal PowerPoint slide on political attire from a
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...
, training seminar was circulating on social media. The leaked slide depicted a "zero tolerance" policy towards some political movements. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
called for a boycott of Goodyear tires the following day, as Trump campaign attire such as
MAGA Maga or MAGA may refer to: MAGA * Make America Great Again, a political slogan famously used by Donald Trump * Museo MAGA, a modern-art museum in Gallarate, Italy * ''maga'', the logo of the Cornish Language Partnership, an organisation promot ...
hats were among the banned products. Goodyear responded via Twitter, stating "the visual in question was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate, nor was it part of a diversity training class". Following release of the audio that went with the slide, Goodyear admitted the slide was used at its Topeka factory.


Goodyear products


Automotive

*Assurance (''Passenger All Season'') **TripleTred All Season **Triplemax **ComforTred Touring **FuelMax **CS Fuel Max (SUV) **CS TripleTred All Season (SUV) **Weather Ready **Outlast (Exclusively sold at
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
Auto Care Centers) *Integrity (''OE All Season'') *Fortera (''SUV'') **Silent Armor **TripleTread **HL **SL *Wrangler (''truck'') **Silent Armor **All Terrain Adventure **AT/R **AT/S **AT/SA **RS/A **RT/S **SR-A **TG **HP **HP AW **MTR with Kevlar **DuraTrac **DuraGrip **Radial (235/75R15 only) * EfficientGrip (Summer Tires) **EfficientGrip Performance **EfficientGrip Compact *Eagle (''Touring/Performance/OE'') **Eagle F1 **Eagle F1 Asymmetric SUV **Eagle F1 Supercar **Eagle F1 GS-D3 **Eagle F1 Directional 5 **Eagle F1 Asymmetric **Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 **Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 **Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 **Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 **Eagle Efficient Grip **Eagle Efficient Grip Performance **Eagle GT3 **Eagle LS **Eagle LS2 **Eagle NCT **Eagle RS-A **Eagle RS-A 2 **Eagle RV **Eagle Sport **Excellence **Response Edge ***Carbon Fiber Technology *Nordic (Winter tires) *UltraGrip Ice (Winter tires) *UltraGrip Ice WRT (Winter tires) *UltraGrip Winter (Winter tires) *Winter Command (Winter tires) *KhADI-27


Commercial

*Commercial Truck **Cargo G26 **Cargo Marathon **Cargo Marathon 2 **Cargo Vector **Cargo Vector 2 **Fuel Max **Duraseal *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 **Rawhide Camo **Rawhide MT/R *RV Tires **Unisteel series (''G670RV, G149RSA, G169RSA, G647RSS, G614RST'') **Wrangler HT (''all weather'') **Marathon (''trailer towing'') *Aviation


Non-tire industrial

* Airsprings (licensed t
Infinity Engineered Products
* Industrial hose * Hydraulic products * Conveyor belt products * Power transmission products * Molded transportation products (''vibration control'') * Rubber Track *
Isoprene Isoprene, or 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, is a common volatile organic compound with the formula CH2=C(CH3)−CH=CH2. In its pure form it is a colorless volatile liquid. Isoprene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon. It is produced by many plants and animals ...
monomer * Synthetic rubber for medical applications * Synthetic rubber for chewing gum Veyance Technologies was purchased by ContiTech and no longer has the rights to Goodyear's licenses. Goodyear-branded wiper blades are made under license by Saver Automotive, in Ohio. The wipers were never under the Veyance umbrella. Goodyear also produces the rubber for Lacoste tennis shoes, the AG-LT 21 and AG-LT 21 Ultra.


Manufacturing and development facilities


See also

*
List of tire companies This is a list of all the tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to p ...
*
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series The NASCAR Pinty's Series (french: Série NASCAR Pinty's), commonly abbreviated as NPS, is a national NASCAR racing series in Canada, and is a continuation of the old CASCAR Super Series which was founded in 1981. History In September 2006 NASC ...


References


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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodyear Tire And Rubber Company 1898 establishments in Ohio 1920s initial public offerings American brands Automotive companies established in 1898 Automotive companies of the United States Companies based in Akron, Ohio Companies based in Wolverhampton Companies listed on the Nasdaq Cycle parts manufacturers Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Formula One tyre suppliers Manufacturing companies based in Ohio Multinational companies headquartered in the United States Tire manufacturers of the United States U.S. Synthetic Rubber Program