Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/328077
MTD June 2014 News/views $500 million Goodyear consumer tire plant is coming to the Americas Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced plans to invest approximately $500 million to build a new consumer tire plant to support demand in North America and Latin America. The company says the new tire plant will support long-term growth in high-value-added consumer replacement and original equipment market segments. Goodyear says the plant will be its most technologically advanced and will have an initial capacity of about six million tires per year. Capacity can be increased as demand increases. Goodyear has not selected a site for the plant, but says it will be located in the Americas to support North America and Latin America customers. Tire production is expect- ed to begin in the frst half of 2017. "Our investment supports another key element of our strategy to focus on winning with consumers in proftable market segments," says Richard Kramer, chairman and chief executive offcer. "With growing consumer demand for our high-value-added tires in North America and Latin America, the time is right to invest in additional manufacturing capacity in the Americas to maintain Goodyear's leading position and to grow earnings beyond 2016. Goodyear is well-positioned to meet this market demand and has a proven track record of producing strong returns on capital investments." The company expects a 2% to 3% increase in unit volumes for 2014 over 2013. The new plant is one of several corporate moves announced as part of an update to the company's 2014-2016 capital allocation plan. In addition to allocating an additional $300 million for a new plant, the company plans to increase its quarterly cash dividend on Goodyear's common stock by 20%, increase its share repurchase program by $350 million in order to acquire up to $450 million of company stock through 2016; increase the shareholder return program by up to an additional $250 million based on company performance; and put an additional $400 million toward debt reduction. Federal-Mogul renames division Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp. has renamed the company's aftermarket parts division Federal- Mogul Motorparts. TCG adds to team Tire Consultants Group LLC (TCG), a consultancy that specializes in retail tire branding, marketing and retail dealer segmentation programs, has added veteran tire industry executives David Conley, Dennis Kruppa, Jack Kim and Tom Adams to its team. Fontana joins SURE Tire Patrick McLaughlin, longtime president of SURE Tire Co., has announced he will retire. Lou Fontana, a 20-year veteran of Hercules Tire & Rubber Co., will take over for McLaughlin. TV star in Bridgestone ads Bridgestone Americas Inc. is featuring Emmy-award winning actress and "Modern Family" star Julie Bowen in ads aimed at women, mothers and safety-minded drivers for its run-flat DriveGuard tire line. Delphi offers ABS training Delphi Product & Service Solutions has added a four-hour instructor- led course on service and repair of anti-lock brakes, stability control and traction control systems. Trelleborg to build plant Trelleborg AB will build a $50 million agricultural tire plant in Spartanburg, S.C. It will supply OE and replacement markets in North America. Production is expected to begin by the end of 2015. Bosch mentors youth Bosch's Automotive Aftermarket Business Division is a Diamond level sponsor of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition, which helps mentor youth interested in the automotive service industry. Reinalt-Thomas adds stores The Reinalt-Thomas Corp. doing business as Discount Tire/America's Tire has opened a Discount Tire store in Tulsa, Okla., and an America's Tire store in Visalia, Calif. bites An employee inspects a high-performance tire at the Goodyear plant in Lawton, Okla. Goodyear announced plans to build a $500 million plant to serve its North American and Latin American consumer tire businesses and capitalize on the anticipated growth in high-value-added tire market segments in the two regions. 12