Goodyear on road to success with revamp

Five years ago the future of the historic Goodyear factory in Wolverhampton was uncertain.

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But now the tyre maker is celebrating a transformation of fortunes and has unveiled a £6 million redevelopment.

UK production director Ian Taylor said there had been a fantastic turnaround in performance since Goodyear had teamed up with the Dunlop operation in Birmingham, which had also been suffering at the time.

Mr Taylor said that some people in the local community still believed the factory had shut down. "Now we want to tell the community that we are still here after five difficult years," he added. Mr Taylor said that performance had reached record levels in 2011, which was a credit to the whole workforce.

He added that there was no reason why the factory, which marks its 85th anniversary in October, could not continue to celebrate 100 years.

The factory was the first that Goodyear, based in Akron, Ohio, opened outside the United States and at its peak employed 6,500.

Its success was capped in 1977 when the Queen visited during her silver jubilee celebrations. For many years, racing tyres for Formula 1 were made at the plant and Goodyear still holds the record for a tyre manufacturer for most Grand Prix victories.

The Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Bert Turner, said Goodyear had become synonymous with Wolverhampton and four generations of Wulfrunians had been employed there. "This redevelopment represents a commitment to tyre production on this site into the future," he said.

"I hope Goodyear Dunlop will have a presence here for many generations to come and continue to bring employment to Wolverhampton and make a contribution to the economy of the city."

Wolverhampton North East MP Emma Reynolds said: "The investment in the mixing centre and retreading facility is a commitment by Goodyear Dunlop to its future in Wolverhampton.

It is fitting that Jaguar and Land Rover cars are equipped with tyres made from Wolverhampton rubber, given that JLR is investing in the city.

"Every Goodyear tyre has a little bit of Wolverhampton in it."

In 2007 Goodyear sold off its 88-acre site to developers St Modwen, which is creating a "mini village" including hundreds of homes and an Aldi supermarket. But the company has leased back 18 acres of the land and is continuing to process rubber and retread lorry tyres.

Yesterday its 350-strong workforce was celebrating the completion of a £6m redevelopment programme that signals a bright new future with the potential for new jobs.

Long-serving staff are delighted that the site, off Stafford Road, has been modernised and improved.

Utilities manager Keith Sugden, who retires in April after 26 years, has overseen the redevelopment, which began in 2001. "It has given the site a future," he said.

Purchasing and stores manager Irene Dakin, who has been with the company for 42 years, said they had gone through challenging times with a lot of changes. "We are going in the right direction now and morale is brilliant," she said. "Goodyear has alaways been a family company.

My own father William Parkes worked here for 43 years." Bob Mills, aged 61, of Wednesfield, who marks 43 years working at the factory in December, said he was happy to see the factory continuing. "It has been good working for Goodyear," he said. "I've never wanted to work anywhere else."

Brenda Paxton, 59, from Penn, who is the longest-serving employee after joining in 1969 and is now senior secretary to Mr Taylor, said that when she started, Goodyear employed 6,500 at Wolverhampton. "I started in the glory years, and with the recession and redundancies in recent years I've seen the bad times as well," she said.

"I am proud to still be here to see the re-launch of the site. It has involved a lot of hard work by many people. I am delighted that money has been spent for the future. we are starting to see a new generation come through.

We have just taken on a second group of apprentices."

One of those apprentices is 17-year-old Emily Morgan from Penn. Emily, who started in September is the first female apprentice taken on at Goodyear Dunlop and aims to be an electrical maintenance engineer. "It is an exciting time to be working here and I really enjoy it," she said.