The campus will be built to accommodate up to 4,000 employees, he said. The government estimates the automotive components sector in Luxembourg employs more than 10,000 and generates annual revenue of $1.65 billion.
Jean-Claude Kihn, president, Goodyear Europe, Middle-East and Africa, said creating the Automotive Campus “will foster business growth opportunities within the European automotive sector for Goodyear, its campus partners and the country of Luxembourg. As a founding partner and one of the first to locate a new facility at the Campus, Goodyear looks forward to collaborating with other progressive companies on the design, testing and incubation of new concepts.
“‘Innovation excellence' is a core element of Goodyear's strategy,” he added. “The company has been practicing a philosophy of open innovation around the globe for many years. Now we will expand it further by joining the Automotive Campus. In this way, Goodyear continues to play an active role in the development of Luxembourg's future economy.”
Carlos Cipollitti, general director, Goodyear Innovation Center Luxembourg, added that becoming a founding partner of the campus is a “logical next step for Goodyear. Bringing Goodyear Luxembourg's non-manufacturing teams together at a single location will foster increased collaboration, improved efficiency and further advance our ability to work as ‘One Team.'”
Goodyear did not say what it intends to do with the space occupied now by the European Innovation Center on the grounds of its truck and OTR tire factory in Colmar-Berg.