Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was recognized recently for its success in developing fuel efficient tires. Representing the military were United States Senator John Warner (R-Va.), former U.S. Navy Secretary; and Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn (Ret.), vice chairman of the CNA Military Advisory Board.
The visit to Goodyear’s world headquarters in Akron, Ohio, was part of a nationwide tour sponsored by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate, a group dedicated to highlighting critical linkages between national security, energy independence, the economy and climate change.
Warner and McGinn met with Goodyear officials to discuss initiatives underway at the company to improve the rolling resistance of tires, thereby improving the overall fuel efficiency of civilian and military vehicles. Goodyear is doing this through the following:
* lightweight tire construction,
* tire profile shape,
* tread design,
* innovative materials and compounds, and
* new manufacturing processes.
“Tires are highly engineered products and can play a critical role in helping improve fuel efficiency of consumer, commercial and military vehicles,” said Joe Zekoski, Goodyear’s vice president of global product development. “Goodyear is committed to continuing to develop innovative fuel efficient technologies. To date, we have improved overall rolling resistance of our tires by 30%.”
Zekoski said Goodyear offers its Fuel Max Technology in tires for both consumer and commercial vehicles, helping reduce the amount of imported oil needed to power these vehicles.
During the visit, Goodyear displayed a prototype military tire built for the Fuel Efficient Demonstrator (FED) project initiated by the Office of Secretary of Defense. The tire was designed for an experimental vehicle under development by Ricardo Inc., a Detroit-based company charged with creating a fuel efficient replacement for the current military Humvee.
For more information about Goodyear and its products, visit www.goodyear.com.
