A lengthy report of a speech by Goodyear boss Sam Gibara, in which he tells of the group’s return to the position of number one tyre manufacturer. The speech encompasses a range of subjects affecting Goodyear – the importance of the Goodyear family and the Goodyear culture, above all the importance of people. The example of Nokian Tyres is held up as, size for size, it is probably the most profitable tyre manufacturer in the world. What Nokian can do, Goodyear subsidiaries can surely do? It is important to get the right mix of products and to shorten the time to market, it is important too to be able to supply customers with what they want, when they want it, and Mr. Gibara acknowledges that, in the past, fill rates have not been all they might be. A decisive factor in Goodyear’s success will be the effectiveness of its multi-brand strategy. Other tyre manufacturers have successfully developed such strategies and Goodyear, with its own name and that of Dunlop, has two very powerful brands in its armoury. Customers differ in their driving habits and incomes and thus they need different tyres to fulfil these various needs. Goodyear has the brands to satisfy all these customers. Finally, Mr. Gibara reiterated Goodyear’s goal to be not only be the number one tyre manufacturer in the world, but the most profitable one. And then he closed the meeting. Except that he didn’t; there was no meeting and there was no speech from Mr. Gibara. The article which can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 2.84 Mbyte, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) is, in fact, an imaginative piece written by Klaus Haddenbrock, outlining what Mr. Gibara could have said on such an occasion. And Mr. Gibara’s reaction? See his letter in reply in TYRES & ACCESSORIES’s April issue.