Goodyear plant in Oklahoma to optimize product mix

In response to changes in the North American automotive industry, Goodyear is optimizing the product range of its 46-year-old plant in Lawton (Oklahoma, USA), which will increase the production of premium tires to 10 million units per year. According to the company's CEO, Mark Stewart, the additional volumes of premium products should allow for an increase in sales in the high-margin segment.

The new facilities are expected to be operational in 2025-2026, and the plant will produce, among other things, tires for electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. The company does not specify the schedule of work, impact on the number of employees, and investment volumes.

In 2023, the Comanche County Industrial Development Authority (CCIDA) advocated for the approval of a $1 million loan to finance the project, under which Goodyear intended to modernize the Lawton plant over four years, investing around $320 million in production. Currently, the 270,000 m2 plant employs 2,900 people, and its capacity is 88,000 tires per day, making it the largest among all Goodyear sites.

In 2021-2023, Goodyear invested $50 million in the plant, and new equipment for rubber mixing was installed, which, as the company noted, allows for the production of products that meet the higher requirements for electric vehicle and drone tires. During the groundbreaking ceremony for the new rubber mixing facility, Lester Brooks, the plant's production director, said that this project is part of a long-term plan to develop the Lawton facility.