2006: The Year in Photos

Martin Carver, CEO of Bandag Inc., said Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. offered him a “deal we couldn’t refuse” when it proposed a $1.05 billion buyout of the retread materials firm. The deal, announced in December, gives Bridgestone many opportunities, a spokeswoman said. “When we combine our business with Bandag, we’re going to be able to better serve (fleet) customers. They’re going to get a comprehensive, tire maintenance solution, and it’s going to be backed by a complete line of new truck tire and retread offerings. That’s really the beauty of this. In the U.S. and Canada, we share a very similar distribution network.” Bandag photo

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas celebrated the 40th anniversary of “American Muscle—Past, Present, Future,” featuring Ford, Mopar and GM muscle cars, including “Mustang row,” shown here.

Bob Malerba (left) and Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield (right) welcome Paul Hyatt as president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA) in Las Vegas. TIA inaugurated Mr. Hyatt as president at its annual meeting before the kickoff of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas. Mr. Hyatt, owner of Superior Tire & Auto Inc. in Scarborough, Ontario, is the first international president of TIA.

Jon Shay (front) with his father Harold and brother Tim. Mr. Shay, vice president and co-owner of Main Tire Exchange, was named the Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award winner for 2006, an award presented annually by Tire Business. He said his father influenced his charitable efforts.

United Steelworkers striker Jim Kamm hails passing motorists—and another union member who outfitted a rented truck with union messages—outside Goodyear’s headquarters in Akron. About 15,000 union employees went on strike at 16 of Goodyear’s North American plants on Oct. 5. Tire factories involved in the strike represent an estimated daily capacity of 206,000 tires while four plants that continued to run have a daily capacity of about 123,000 units. Goodyear sought to minimize supply disruptions by using temporary workers and salaried employees. Executives said the strike initially cost $30 million to $35 million a week in lost operating income. The company and union primarily disagree on plant security—Goodyear wants to close its Tyler, Texas, plant—and retiree health benefits.

Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Delta World Tire Co. and other tire dealers affected by the storm focused on rebuilding in 2006. Delta World President Kevin Cates said the dealership has relocated its headquarters from a temporary site in Lafayette, La., back to the Central Business District of New Orleans and into a larger office. Renovation and repairs to some of its 12 retail locations affected by the storm were about 80 percent complete by October. All the stores had been open and operating within a week of the storm. Ironically, the storm damage gave the company impetus to spruce up and paint its older buildings and overall helped increase its annual sales. “We’re two years ahead of our business plans,” Mr. Cates said. Delta World Tire photo

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. had sought for the past few years to update both its image and products, but with the August resignation of CEO Thomas Dattilo and deepening losses, some dealers told Tire Business this year they’re no longer sure what the future holds for Cooper. “They tried to create a new image and really just failed and just increased their costs,” said Steve Craven, owner of Craven Tire & Auto in Fairfax, Va. “If they had focused on controlling costs and producing a value, high-tech product, I think they would have succeeded tremendously.” TB file photo

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. interim CEO Byron Pond took over the reins—and executive search—following Thomas Dattilo’s departure in August. In early September, Mr. Pond outlined a “soft restructuring” plan aimed at bolstering the tire maker’s profitability. The plan’s goals include enhancing profits by $100 million, reducing inventories by $100 million and cutting costs by $70 million a year.

Thomas Dattilo, CEO and chairman of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., resigned unexpectedly to “pursue another opportunity” Aug. 3, the same day the Findlay, Ohio-based tire maker posted a $20.7 million net loss in the second quarter. Mr. Dattilo had joined Cooper in 1999. Asked whether there was a difference of opinion between the board and Mr. Dattilo, interim CEO Byron Pond responded: “There was not. The board is a firm believer in the strategies and the fundamental course the company has set. And we think that being able to have a better cross-position as a result of this investment in China is absolutely the right thing to do, and that is the cornerstone of our strategy. And there is no disagreement.” Cooper photo

The convoy re-enacting then-Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1919 trip across the U.S. by truck stopped June 26 at the Akron Technical Center of Bridgestone/Firestone, an event sponsor. Andrew Firestone, great-grandson of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. founder Harvey Firestone, and Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, great-grandson of President Eisenhower, attended the Akron festivities marking the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower establishing the national interstate highway system. The tour made its way to Washington, D.C. from San Francisco.

On June 10 in Paris, Michel Rollier, CEO of Group Michelin, said the tire maker’s No. 1 goal following the May 26 death of Edouard Michelin was to execute the strategy the company had worked out under Mr. Michelin’s direction. “The strategy is in place,” Mr. Rollier told reporters during the Challenge Bibendum forum held near Paris. Mr. Rollier also said the Challenge Bibendum program—an initiative personally led by Mr. Michelin for eight years—would continue.

Edouard Michelin—CEO of Group Michelin since 1999 and the primary architect of the firm’s transformation into a more globally active company—died May 26 at age 42 in a boating accident off the coast of France. Michel Rollier, co-managing partner with Mr. Michelin since 2005, stepped into the leadership role following the tragedy, which the company described as an “immense sadness for his family” and the firm’s employees. Mr. Michelin, the son of former managing partner Francois Michelin and great-grandson of company co-founder Edouard Michelin, was laid to rest May 31 in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Michelin photo

But as Continental Tire North America Inc. realigned its North American production, the tire maker’s supply by August was falling short of some dealers’ expectations. “People drive in and like (the original equipment tires) they had, but we can’t get them, so we turn them over to something else,” said Alpio Barbara, owner of Redwood General Tire in Redwood City, Calif. Mr. Barbara said at the time his fill rate from Conti was only 50 percent. Conti executives said the firm experienced some supply problems but not across all market segments. Redwood General Tire photo

Continental Tire North America Inc. faced off often this year with the United Steelworkers over the tire maker’s plans to phase out production at its Charlotte, N.C., plant and close the scaled-back Mayfield, Ky., plant. The animosity between the company and the union simmered throughout the year as Conti said $32 million in annual labor costs must be cut at the site while the union rejected that number and insisted greater efficiencies at the plant would result in most of the cost-cutting needed. When the two sides couldn’t agree on a pact, Conti declared an impasse in May and scheduled Charlotte to stop manufacturing tires by September—a move that led the union to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. In May, Alan Hippe, president of Conti, said the Charlotte decision was “all about costs.” Continental Tire North America Inc. photo

Art Campagnoni, executive director of North American commercial sales for BFS, said at the tire maker’s annual Bizcon commercial dealer conference in April in Washington, D.C., that the company planned to go all out to reinforce the separate brand images of its Bridgestone and Firestone truck and bus tire lines. Mr. Campagnoni used Timex and Rolex watches to illustrate his point about different brand perceptions. Later in the year at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, BFS unveiled to its retail tire dealers a new slogan: “It’s Bridgestone or nothing.” The company had not yet decided on a Firestone slogan though it was considering “Then. Now. Forever. Proud. Firestone.”

Then in July, Goodyear christened the blimp the “Spirit of Innovation.” The winning name was chosen by Matthew Harrelson of Uniontown, Ohio, who received use of the blimp for a day as his prize. “(The name) validates what we’ve been doing these past few years,” Chairman and CEO Robert Keegan said at the time.

With construction and tests of its newest blimp complete, Goodyear left one detail unfinished: a name. In April the tire maker unveiled both the blimp and a naming contest for the public to suggest and vote on potential names. The blimp replaced the Stars & Stripes of Pompano Beach, Fla., which crashed in 2005 during a thunderstorm.

Fran Boyd, vice president of Thompson Tire Co. Inc. in Christiansburg, Va., was elected the first woman president of the Virginia Automotive Association (VAA) in March. In her two-year term, Ms. Boyd plans to focus on six main goals, including keeping the association financially sound; improving communication between directors and members; growing the membership; working with program vendors; addressing issues through committees; and expanding training programs.

Robert Keegan, chairman and CEO of Goodyear, said at the tire maker’s annual dealer meeting in February in Nashville, Tenn., that he felt “confidently paranoid” about the firm’s turnaround as it headed into its second phase. “And don’t be nervous about that,” he told dealers. “That’s exactly where you want me to be, that’s exactly the attitude you want me to have.” Goodyear photo

Maurice “Morry” Taylor Jr., chairman and CEO of Titan International Inc., in January launched a “Buy American” ad campaign to celebrate its late 2005 purchase of Goodyear’s North American farm tire business. In the ads, he said putting Firestone and Michelin tires on American farms was like putting a beret on a cowboy and a kimono on a farmer. “We’re going to hit the airwaves, and we’re going to tell everybody that we are American-made and we are American-owned,” Mr. Taylor said at the time. Screenshots from Titan ads

The off-the-road tire shortage that plagued tire makers, dealers and customers continued into 2006. OTR retreaders, however, saw huge increases in business, as long as they could get the casings. Mike Jacobsen, assistant plant manager of Purcell Tire & Rubber Co.’s Potosi, Mo., retread plant, stands in front of some 50/80R57 tires. The company’s president and CEO, Bob Purcell, said he believed the demand for OTR retreads will remain strong even after the availability of new tires increases because—in part—retreads can cost half the price of a new tire. Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. photo