NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—”Breakthrough” was the theme of the Goodyear 2016 Dealer Conference Jan. 27-29 at National Harbor, and Goodyear executives were full of good news for around 1,100 Goodyear dealers in attendance on business breakthroughs the firm has made.
Two major breakthroughs occurred in the last few months, according to Steve McClellan, president of Goodyear North America. McClellan was one of several Goodyear executives who addressed attendees during the morning session Jan. 28.
Combining Goodyear's commercial and off-highway businesses was one important change, McClellan said. Another was the Jan. 1 reorganization of Goodyear's North American and Latin American operations into the Goodyear Americas Business Unit.
“All manufacturing plants in the whole region—including the new Americas plant in Mexico—will be leveraged to serve all customers in North and Latin America,” he said.
“We are confident that the new Americas Business will serve you and your customers better by combining processes, such as product development, market forecasting and—yes—product supply,” he said. “This new organization will be a huge advantage for all customers and consumers throughout the Americas.”
While Goodyear's structure has changed, its strategy hasn't changed at all, according to McClellan.
“We're focused on operational excellence, so we can get more of the right tires to you at the right time,” he said.