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Goodyear Picks Texas Site for Chemical Expansion

4 May 1998

Goodyear Picks Texas Site for First Phase of $600 Million Chemical Expansion

    AKRON, Ohio, May 4 -- As part of a $600 million investment
and the largest one-time expansion of its chemical business in company
history, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced plans today
to build a new chemical plant in Beaumont, Texas.
    The plant will produce advanced-technology specialty polymers for Goodyear
businesses and other customers in the rubber industry.
    Goodyear will invest $144 million in the project and create approximately
120 new jobs for the startup of the plant with the potential for additional
jobs as the plant reaches full production.
    The new facility will be built adjacent to Goodyear's synthetic rubber
plant located seven miles west of downtown Beaumont bordering Interstate
Highway 10.
    Goodyear, with its new plant, increases its total facilities in Texas to
six.  In addition to the current facility in Beaumont, the company has
chemical plants in Houston and Bayport, tire proving grounds in San Angelo and
a tire plant in Tyler.
    Beaumont was selected from among several sites in the Gulf Coast area and
Europe, according to Dennis Dick, vice president and general manager of
Goodyear Chemicals.
    "Beaumont offers the right combination of transportation, accessibility of
chemical raw materials, educated workforce, environmental safeguards and
support of the local government and community that we need to ensure this new
specialty polymer plant will provide a competitive advantage for us," said
Dick.
    Texas Gov. George Bush applauded Goodyear's decision in a statement
released from his office.
    "I am delighted that Goodyear is locating another manufacturing facility
in Texas," Bush said.  "Texas works hard to make sure our business climate is
healthy and vibrant.  Our ability to attract business and business expansion
means jobs for our citizens."
    Dick agreed and said the new plant "will help increase global production
to supply the company's growing tire and engineered product businesses as well
as to support our diverse external customer base, all vital to the success of
Goodyear's Mission into the 21st Century -- to be the undisputed industry
leader."
    The specialty plant will meet changing industry needs by producing a wide
variety of solution elastomers to meet specific performance requirements of
future-generation consumer and industrial products, he said.
    Groundbreaking for the new facility is planned for the second quarter and
operations are scheduled by early 2000.  When completed, the chemical plant
will serve customers worldwide.
    An additional investment of $45 million is being made in the existing
Beaumont plant for expansion of isoprene and polyisoprene as well as
cogeneration capacity.

SOURCE  The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company