Goodyear acquires interest in radio technology firm

AKRON (Oct 23)—Goodyear has acquired a 20-percent equity interest in Phase IV Engineering Inc., a Boulder, Colo.-based maker of custom radio frequency identification and radio telemetry systems. The move, aimed at fully developing tire pressure monitoring technology similar to Goodyear´s recently unveiled "intelligent" tire system, is in keeping with the tire maker´s "corner" strategy of taking minority positions in technology firms with interest in integrated vehicle suspension components, Goodyear said. Earlier this year, the tire maker formed research and design agreements with Cycloid Systems and Michelin North America Inc. to develop run-flat and tire monitoring technologies. Goodyear has worked with Phase IV since 1992 to develop a system that could be embedded in a tire for monitoring tire dynamics such as air pressure and temperature.