KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 5) — Jon Rich, president of Goodyear´s North American Tire unit, thanked dealers for supporting the tire maker during its 86-day strike late in 2006 despite supply troubles.
Speaking to about 2,000 dealers and their spouses at Goodyear´s annual dealer meeting in Kissimmee, Rich said: "Now that it´s over, we can look back and say 2006 was a year of trials and a year to get ready for the future."
The new contract that ended the strike — ratified in January by the United Steelworkers — will help Akron-based Goodyear become a better supplier to dealers because the tire maker will be able to embrace simplicity, act quickly to the market and continue to innovate its products, Rich said.
"On behalf of everyone at Goodyear, I want to thank each of you for supporting us in 2006," he told dealers. "Someday we may look back at 2006 and say that was the critical year that took Goodyear to turnaround the company."