Goodyear Expands in Canada

Goodyear has announced that it will expand and modernize its plant in Napanee (Ontario, Canada) to meet demand from electric and off-road vehicle owners.

Investments will be made in partnership with the country's and province's governments and will create 200 new jobs, and besides, the enterprise, which has already switched to zero waste, will implement technologies to further improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the company noted.

According to Goodyear's CEO and President Mark Stewart, the new investments will "increase the flexibility of Goodyear's production system in Canada and help better meet the changing needs of customers now and in the future".

The project has been implemented since the beginning of 2024, and it is planned to be completed by the middle of 2027, after which the Napanee plant, thanks to the installation of new, modern equipment, will become a "leading tire manufacturer, supplying products that meet the future needs of a rapidly changing market".

More than 575 million Canadian dollars (about 420 million US dollars) will be invested in the enterprise, and the Government of Canada will support the project by allocating 44.3 million Canadian dollars through its Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). The province's authorities intend to allocate another 20 million Canadian dollars to "support the development of innovative technologies and workforce growth".

The Goodyear enterprise was visited by the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who noted: "Companies from around the world are choosing Canada, and the modernization of the Goodyear plant in Napanee, announced today, will create new production jobs and accelerate the development of our electric vehicle industry, and modern technologies will improve air cleanliness".

Goodyear has been producing tires in Canada since 1910, and the Napanee plant was opened in 1988.

Photo: The Canadian Press.