AKRON/FINDLAY, Ohio—Direct customers and consumers alike should reap the benefits of a combined Goodyear-Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. entity, according to the executives who helped orchestrate the $2.5 billion transaction.
Once Goodyear completes its integration of Cooper—the proposed megasale was announced before the start of business on Feb. 22, pending regulatory approval—the new company promises to offer a broader portfolio, improved service and delivery and more opportunity than ever before, according to Richard Kramer, CEO and president of Goodyear.
The move combines two Ohio-based companies that have been making tires for more than a century.
Speaking to members of the tire trade press Feb. 22, Kramer said the transaction is good news for independent tire dealers across North America.
"By being able to put our networks together, our products together, our offerings together, our services together, our OE pull that can come into those dealers along with a wide array of products there, I think that that service proposition actually gets better for them going forward because of the combination of these two companies," Kramer said.