Goodyear Receives Innovation Award in Europe

AKRON, Ohio.– The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company recently received the 2008 Award for Industrial Innovation from the Luxembourg Business Federation (FEDIL). The company was honored for its Goodyear OptiGrip® tire with SmartWear® Technology.

The OptiGrip tire, developed at Goodyear’s Luxembourg Technical Center, was designed with SmartWear Technology to provide European motorists with exceptional wet grip and to resist aquaplaning throughout the tire’s life by employing a tread surface that reveals new grooves as the tire wears down.

The award was presented at a special ceremony in Luxembourg City by Jeannot Krecke, Luxembourg’s Minister of Economics, and Francois Biltgen, Luxembourg’s Minister of Labor, Culture, Higher Education and Research. The award was accepted by Goodyear’s Vice President of Global Product Development Joe Zekoski.

“It is a great honor for Goodyear to receive this prestigious award,” said Zekoski. “I believe that Goodyear’s new SmartWear Technology will change the way people view tires and will create a new appreciation for the technology that is built into them.”

Founded in 1918, FEDIL is comprised of more than 500 companies that share knowledge and learning concerning economic, industrial, financial and social affairs, research and development, and information technology. In an effort to encourage creativity and innovation, FEDIL introduced the Award for Industrial Innovation in 1983. The award is bestowed every two years.

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. Goodyear employs about 70,000 people and manufactures its products in more than 60 facilities in 26 countries around the world.