Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

▪ American company

      a major U.S. manufacturer of tires and related products for passenger cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles. Headquarters are in Akron, Ohio.

      Founded as a rubber company by Charles and Frank Seiberling in 1898, Goodyear based its products on the tire designs of Paul Litchfield. The company encountered financial problems after World War I and the subsequent reorganization forced the Seiberling brothers to relinquish control.

      By far the greatest part of the company's business is devoted to passenger tires, but it also manufactures tires for trucks and buses, farm vehicles, industrial equipment, and aircraft, as well as producing industrial rubber, chemical, and plastic products. Goodyear pioneered in the use of polyester cord fabric for tires. The company also manufactures enriched uranium for both military and commercial use, and holds agricultural and resort properties in the southwestern United States.

      Known more for its marketing skill than its technological innovation, Goodyear has marketed its products overseas, with foreign sales contributing more than one-fourth of corporate revenues. The company's most visible corporate symbol is the Goodyear blimp, used as a national promotional tool for more than 60 years. There are three blimps in the United States and one in Europe.

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