An Overview of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company: Rolling the Industrial Revolution

While Goodyear rubber may not have been the decisive factor in the industrial revolution, its revolutionary manufacturing process for rubber tires served as the foundation for distributing the ever increasing product of the emerging industrial market and carried this nation through two world wars, to its eventual standing as a world super power. From its humble beginning as a manufacturer of tires, the Goodyear Tire Company has expanded to a multi billion dollar corporation with many diverse products. Founded in 1898, it has integrated itself into the modern world.

"The founding of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in 1898 seems especially remarkable, for the beginning was anything but auspicious. The 38-year-old founder, Frank Seiberling, purchased the company's first plant with a $3,500 down payment - using money he borrowed from a brother-in-law. The rubber and cotton that were the lifeblood of the industry had to be transported from halfway around the world, to a landlocked town that had only limited rail transportation. Even the man the company's name memorialized, Charles Goodyear, had died penniless 30 years earlier despite his discovery of vulcanization after a long and courageous search.

Yet the timing couldn't have been better. The bicycle craze of the 1890s was booming. The horseless carriage, some ventured to call it the automobile, was a wide-open challenge. Even the depression of 1893 was beginning to fade. So on August 29, 1898, Goodyear was incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000. (Goodyear)

David Hill, who purchased $30,000 of stock, became the first president. But it was the dynamic and visionary founder, hard-driving Frank Seiberling, who chose the name and determined the distinctive winged-foot trademark that remains an integral part of the Goodyear signature, a symbolic link with the company's historic past." (Goodyear)

Goodyear's Tires easily falls within the family of products classification. On their Website, when I click on the Market's they cover I see Tires, an Automotive Aftermarket with such products as belts, hose, tensioners, and air springs, Industrial Products such as Airsprings, Hose, Hydrolic, Conveyor Belts, Power Transmission, molded Transportation and finally, Rubber. According to Goodyear's Website "Goodyear is one of the world's leading tire companies together with its U.S. and international subsidiaries and joint ventures". But according to Wikipedia, "The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is the third largest tire and rubber company in the world after Bridgestone and Michelin. And further, according to CNN Money, "Goodyear is -one- of the world's largest tire companies. The company manufactures tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals in more than 100 facilities in 29 countries around the world".

Goodyear's website is pretty much easy to navigate. Its design is easily handled by both Internet Explorer and Firebox type Browsers and its lean (i.e. not too flashy but bright and simple). It gives me the sense that the company and by extension, its product line, is robust, simple and reliable while at the same time, keeps rolling with its product line. I had the option to select a menu based on where I located (the US in this case) but for comparison purposes, I also selected to explore the European Section, Germany and the United Kingdom in specific. Here I found details about their line of European products and services, was easily able to navigate the relevant menu's again and at the end, found myself spending hours reading about the company's History; I then used Google to supplement, to see if there was any negative aspects to what appears to be a company with a solid product line.

All things being equal, I reasoned that there had to be some bad I could find on the company and while I am sure if I would have more time I could unearth some more negativity, all I could find at this juncture was a Grinch survey (and some news articles):" Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is the Grinch of the Year 2006, say voters in the sixth annual Jobs with Justice (JWJ) contest to name the nation's worst corporate malfeasor. (blog.aflcio.org)

From a social responsible standpoint, Goodyear's Blimp supports Disaster Relief and thus tries to appear a bit involved. "The Goodyear blimps routinely display messages encouraging donations to support the victims of Natural Disasters. The blimps' electronic sign often provides telephone numbers or website addresses for the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and other relevant organizations active in disaster relief efforts." (Goodyear)

I have looked upon the sky and have seen had a 'close encounter" with Goodyear's blimp (GoodyearBlimp). I have driven cars sporting the Goodyear tire as they crept off the lot. Every time the subject of tires would roll across my life, with the expectation of Firestone, it is the first tire company I think off. I attribute this to the blimp, the tires already installed on some new cars and of course, years of television advertising, coupled with the disaster Firestone was in the news for. ~ DrAT