Goodyear Earns Perfect Quality Scores

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 29, 2006 -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced that recent independent quality audits of three of its tire manufacturing plants found the company to be in 100 percent compliance with its quality standards.

NSF Industrial Strategic Registrations, one of the nation's leading independent quality auditors, conducted full audits at three of Goodyear's plants affected by the USW strike against Goodyear that began on Oct. 5. The audits found Goodyear's systems to be in 100 percent compliance to international quality systems standards.

"As we have always said, Goodyear will never compromise quality," said Joe Gingo, Goodyear's chief quality officer. "We fully expected to meet the international quality standard as usual, and we are pleased with -- though not surprised by -- the result.

"The bottom line is that the public can be confident in the quality of Goodyear tires." NSF-ISF audited Goodyear's tire plants in Buffalo, N.Y.; Danville, Va., and Fayetteville, N.C., between Oct. 9 and Nov. 8. It determined Goodyear's quality processes, management processes, procedures and controls to be operating effectively and no corrective action was needed.

In each case, Goodyear's operations were measured against either or both of the international quality standards, ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949. All three audits had been scheduled prior to the beginning of the strike. Continuous auditing will continue, as all of Goodyear's plants are scheduled for such audits every six months, whether the strike continues or is settled.