Goodyear celebrates 111 years of innovation
In celebration of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s 111th anniversary, the company is recognizing its most significant moments in history with a compilation of “Goodyear’s top 111 innovations, inspirations and historic firsts.”
The list reflects Goodyear’s pioneering spirit of innovation throughout the years, which has been felt across the earth, the skies and even the moon.
“Innovation is what has made Goodyear what it is today,” said Jean-Claude Kihn, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief technical officer. “Not only is innovation an important part of our past, but it’s even more so our goal for the future.”
More than a century of innovation has secured Goodyear’s place in history. Some of the company’s most memorable contributions include:
1901: Goodyear adopts the wingfoot trademark, saying it will help Goodyear circle the Earth.
1908: Goodyear develops the All-Weather tread design. The diamond-shaped studded pattern would be used for more than 40 years with only minor modifications and become a well-known symbol of Goodyear tire quality.
1918: The Wingfoot Express makes the first cross-country trucking journey from Boston to San Francisco, demonstrating the toughness and reliability of Goodyear tires. It was also the first truck to feature a sleeper cab.
1920: Goodyear Hall (a center containing an auditorium, classrooms, recreational facilities and the state’s largest gymnasium at the time) is constructed in Akron, Ohio. A dream of future CEO P.W. Litchfield, the center made Goodyear a pioneer of employee wellness and education.
1925: Goodyear’s first commercial blimp, the Pilgrim, debuts. The airship is 50,000 cubic feet and is the first non-rigid craft to use helium.
1947: Goodyear establishes one of the earliest industrial programs to encourage protection of the environment, the Goodyear Conservation Awards recognizing resource management. In 1973, Keep America Beautiful Inc. would select Goodyear’s environmental improvement program as the nation’s best.
1963: The Orange Bowl becomes the first live sporting event to be nationally broadcast to television from a Goodyear blimp.
1970: Goodyear tires land on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission.
1977: Goodyear introduces the Tiempo, the first tire designed for year-round use in all climates. The Tiempo would become the most successful tire in company history, selling 3.5 million in the first year.
1991: Goodyear launches the Aquatred, which would become the most award-winning tire in industry history. With its unique, deep-groove aquachannel, the tire set new standards for wet traction and changed the way drivers think about new tires.
2009: Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires help save consumers gas money by reducing rolling resistance compared to the Goodyear Assurance.
For the entire list of Goodyear’s 111 innovations, including historic photos and videos, visit http://tr.im/GoodyearInnovation.
While July Fourth is America’s favorite grilling holiday, other countries celebrate their National Holidays much the same way
While the Fourth of July barbecue is as uniquely American as baseball and apple pie, the first International Weber GrillWatch Survey(TM) shows that outdoor cooks around the globe celebrate their own national holidays in much the same way.
Independence Day is the number one grilling holiday in the United States, according to the Survey, with 88 percent of American grill owners choosing to cook outside during this day. Interestingly, grillers from Canada and Australia also cite their countries’ national holidays as their top days for grilling–as well as those from France and Denmark.
The recent International Weber GrillWatch Survey, the only one of its kind, probes the grilling habits, knowledge, and preferences of 15,614 grill owners in 15 countries across five continents, representing a total of 390 million grillers in countries with populations totaling 2.1 billion people:
Canada / Canada Day: Canada Day commemorates the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act (which united Canada as a single country of four provinces), and is the top grilling holiday with 73 percent of Canadian grillers cooking outside. Labour Day is a close second there at 63 percent, followed by Father’s Day (53 percent), and Victoria Day (50 percent).
Australia / Australia Day: Australia Day is celebrated annually on January 26. It recognizes the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia. According to the Survey, 69 percent of outdoor cooks there grill this day, with Christmas and New Year’s Day as a close second and third (65 and 63 percent, respectively).
France / 14 Juillet (Bastille Day): Fifty-four percent of French grillers cook outside on Bastille Day, the national holiday commemorating the end of the French Revolution and the symbolic storming of the Bastille. Ponts du mois de Mai (long holiday weekends in May) are second at 52 percent.
Denmark / Grundlovsdag: Fifty-two percent of Danish Survey respondents say this is their favorite day to barbecue, making it the number one choice. While not an official holiday, the Danes celebrate this day when King Frederik the VII signed the first Danish democratic constitution on June 5, 1849-putting an end to the absolute monarchy. Coincidentally, it’s also Father’s Day there.
Norway and Sweden / Mid-summer’s Eve: Called St. Hans aften in Norway and Midsommarafton in Sweden, 81 percent of Norwegian and 75 percent of Swedish Weber International Survey respondents cite this June 23 holiday as their favorite. Also according to the Survey, both countries choose their respective national holidays as their second most popular times to cook outdoors: Fifty-eight percent of Norwegians grill on Nasjonaldag (celebrating the 1814 ratification of the country’s constitution) and 40 percent of Swedes grill on Sveriges nationaldag, which celebrates their country’s origins.
Here are some more favorite grilling holidays from other countries that were included in the International Weber GrillWatch Survey:
Mexico / Dia del Padre: Mexican grill owners responded that Father’s Day is a top grilling holiday at 57 percent, but their number one favorite occasion to grill overall is birthdays (77 percent).
Brazil / Ano Novo: New Year’s is a huge grilling holiday in Brazil, with 78 percent of Survey respondents there celebrating around the barbecue.
Germany / An Geburstagen (birthdays): While 76 percent of German Survey respondents cited birthdays as their favorite occasion to grill, Pfingsten, a religious holiday, is second at 56 percent. Pfingsten celebrates Pentecost, 50 days after Easter Sunday.
UK / Summer Bank Holiday: Eighty-two percent of UK grillers cook outdoors on the Summer Bank Holiday that falls on the last Monday in August.
Holland / Verjaardag: The Dutch choose birthdays and anniversaries as their favorite grilling occasions (69 percent) with Pinksteren, a religious holiday celebrating Pentecost, second at 37 percent.
Spain / 15 de Agosto Asuncion: International Weber GrillWatch Survey respondents in Spain choose this August 15 holiday as their favorite day to cook outside (57 percent); it commemorates the assumption of the Virgin Mary.
Italy / Ferragosto: As their top grilling occasion, 76 percent of Italian grillers light the outdoor barbecue on August 15 to also recognize the assumption of the Virgin Mary during the middle of the country’s month-long August holiday.
India / Festival Season: While store-bought barbecues is a slowly burgeoning market in this country, 56 percent of those who grill choose birthdays as their favorite occasions followed by the late summer/early fall “Festival season” at 50 percent.
Methodology
All online fieldwork was conducted by U.S.-based Greenfield Online in 12 countries, while telephone interviews in Mexico and India were conducted by TNS, and in Brazil by Synovate. Final data was analyzed by Denver-based KeyStat Marketing, Inc.