Goodyear is 'on right path' to hit targets, says Kramer

In a conference call to discuss Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s second quarter results, Richard Kramer, president and chief executive officer, said the company’s growth in the second quarter “demonstrates that we pulled the right levers during the economic downturn.”

“From an operational standpoint, our performance was driven by our ability to capture the benefits of recovering industry demand in terms of both sales volume and factory utilization.”

 Kramer notes that in its North American business, Goodyear continued to focus on innovation, price mix, productivity and improving manufacturing efficiency, which were all disrupted by the recent recession.

"Our results reflect progress in these areas and give us confidence in our ability to achieve our 5% segment operating income margin target. Certainly we have more actions planned, but we absolutely are on the right path."