Speaking to the Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company’s annual shareholder meeting, chairman and chief executive officer Robert Keegan said the tyre maker remains committed to the strategic direction implemented three years ago to fundamentally change the company.
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“We believe we are taking the required steps to drive improving future performance,” he said.
Keegan cited the company’s important financial milestones in 2005, including record sales, net income double the 2004 level, and growth in its business segments.
The ability to identify consumer needs and make product differentiation easy for consumers to understand is helping Goodyear grow its brands and to quickly capitalise on attractive market opportunities, resulting in a richer product, brand and customer mix.
Keegan cited examples such as: RunOnFlat tyres, being promoted in Europe to address consumers’ concern of being stranded by a flat tyre; TripleTred technology, with distinctive tread zones for varying conditions, to reduce anxiety associated with changing weather conditions in North America; and Silent Armor with Kevlar aimed at pickup and SUV drivers.
“We are a fundamentally different company today than we were three years ago, and a considerably stronger competitor,” he said.
“We see ourselves much differently today,” he said. “We see ourselves not as an auto supplier as some would characterise us, but rather as an aggressive marketing company. That change for us is huge.”
