COLMAR-BERG, Luxembourg, September
12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
-- Growth in Vehicle Models, Options Drives
Increasing Demand for Premium Tires
-- Innovative Mercury Production
Process Allows On-Demand Fulfillment of Customer
Orders
-- New Luxembourg Facility to Begin Production
in 2019
Advancing its connected-business model, The Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Company today announced plans to create a new facility in
Luxembourg that utilizes an
innovative production process to meet growing customer and consumer
demand for premium tires.
(Photo:
http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554360/Goodyear.jpg )
Named Mercury, the proprietary process features
highly-automated, interconnected workstations, using additive
manufacturing technologies to efficiently produce premium tires in
small-batch quantities on-demand for replacement and original
equipment customers.
Goodyear Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President
Richard J. Kramer announced Mercury
and the company's plans at the groundbreaking event for the
facility here.
"Mercury addresses the increasing complexity in the tire
industry as the number of vehicle models and options available to
consumers continues to proliferate," said Kramer. "It gives us the
capability to increase our speed and flexibility to meet the
growing demand for small volumes of high-margin, premium Goodyear
tires and to deliver them to customers on demand, faster than
ever."
"Mercury will advance our connected business model, which aligns
all of our assets - from the production floor to consumers who
choose Goodyear online and at retail," he added. "It will
complement our existing high-volume facilities and give us a true
competitive advantage."
The new facility, set to open in 2019, is in close proximity to
Goodyear's Luxembourg innovation
center and tire proving grounds. The company is investing
$77 million in the facility, which
will produce approximately 500,000 tires annually and create
approximately 70 new, full-time positions.
The technology used in the Mercury production process was
developed and tested over the past five years at Goodyear's
innovation and development centers. The name Mercury is a reference
to the mythical god of trade and travel, which inspired the
creation of Goodyear's winged foot logo by company founder
Frank A. Seiberling.
About Goodyear
Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It
employs about 65,000 people and manufactures its products in 47
facilities in 21 countries around the world. Its two Innovation
Centers in Akron, Ohio and
Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to
develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the
technology and performance standard for the industry. For more
information about Goodyear and its products, go to
http://www.goodyear.com/corporate .
Contact Information
Malachy Tuohy
Corporate Communications Manager EMEA
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations S.A.
Telephone: +32-2-711-51-14
eMail: malachy_tuohy@goodyear.com