4/10/2007  Goodyear's 'Wingfoot Express' Celebrates 90th Anniversary

Goodyear's pioneering interstate Wingfoot Express truck line celebrated its 90th birthday Monday. Back in 1917, a five-ton Packard with a 10-foot-high, specially built body established the first interstate trucking route with regular nonstop runs from the Akron tire factory to the company's tire fabric mill in Connecticut. The one truck eventually blossomed into a fleet of trucks, complete with the industry's first sleeper cab.
Steve McClellan, vice president of Goodyear commercial tire systems, said he appreciates the company's history in trucking, but "is especially proud of our kinship with America's truck drivers.
"Back then, we viewed truck drivers as heroes for making the perilous journeys that kept the flow of goods and raw materials moving. Our perception hasn't changed a bit," McClellan said.
The company still considers truck drivers as heroes of the highway, and for the past 24 years has recognized drivers who help others in a time of need. California FedEx Freight truck driver Ed Regener, the 2006 Goodyear North America Highway Hero, recently was honored for saving two men in a fiery crash on Interstate 10 near Phoenix.
"The Wingfoot Express always has been about the customer and today, it symbolizes 90 years of delivering business solutions for our customers from the time the original tire is placed on a new truck and through its life cycle," he said.
A 1917 Packard Model E 3-ton truck - similar to the models used in the first fleet - symbolizes the original truck fleet. Housed in Fort Smith, Ark., at the headquarters of Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems, the Wingfoot Express truck will celebrate the 90th anniversary this year with stops at Wingfoot Tire Center grand-openings nationwide.
Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems LLC, a subsidiary of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., operates more than 173 commercial tire centers in North America. It is part of a strong national network of tire service centers that serve large nationwide fleets as well as regional and local transport companies. For more information on Wingfoot, visit www.wingfootgct.com.




Supplier News: Related News

11/5/2009 - Electric Vehicles International Opens New Plant in California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with other state and local leaders, was on hand to celebrate the opening of Electric Vehicles International's worldwide headquarters and primary U.S. facility in Stockton, Calif., recently.... More >

11/4/2009 - Transcraft to Consolidate Production Plants Transcraft Corporation, the Wabash subsidiary that produces flatbed, drop deck, dump trailers and truck bodies, has sold its production plant in Anna, Ill., and will consolidate operations into its Cadiz, Ky., facility... More >

11/4/2009 - Kinedyne Opens China Manufacturing Plant Kinedyne Corporation, Branchburg, N.J., has opened a new manufacturing facility in the Jiangsu Province of eastern China.... More >

11/4/2009 - Hayes Lemmerz May Emerge From Bankruptcy With Overhaul Plan A U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has accepted a reorganization plan for Hayes Lemmerz International to come out of bankruptcy... More >

11/3/2009 - Navistar Expands Diesel Power Business Navistar has purchased the engine components business of Continental Diesel Systems US, as part of an effort to produce key fuel injection components for its MaxxForce diesel engines... More >

11/2/2009 - Navistar, Chinese Company Eye Joint Venture to Build Diesel Engines Navistar is eyeing a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Anhui Jianghuai Automobile, or JAC, to build and market advanced diesel engines for commercial vehicles in China... More >

11/2/2009 - U.S. Army Places Three More Orders for Mack Vision Elite The U.S. Army is requesting three additional orders for Mack Vision Elite model tractors worth $6.6 million for its TACOM Life Cycle Management Command... More >

11/2/2009 - ArvinMeritor Completes Sale of MSSC As part of its effort to concentrate on commercial vehicle businesses, ArvinMeritor has completed the sale of its 57 percent stake in the Meritor Suspension Systems Company joint venture to Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing... More >

11/2/2009 - Marangoni Tread to Donate to Cancer Foundation During the month of November, Marangoni Tread North America plans to donate money to The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation for every RingTread "cured," in its new "Cures for the Cure" campaign.... More >

10/29/2009 - Daimler Welcomes Third Quarter Profit While German vehicle manufacturer Daimler AG saw a welcome improvement in its earnings and net profit in the third quarter versus the second quarter, the numbers were still down from the year-ago period... More >

10/29/2009 - Snider Tire Launches New Indiana Retread Plant Snider Tire has launched a new Michelin Retread Technologies plant in Bluffton, Ind., in order to supply its Tire and Retread Asset Control System locations in Blytheville, Ark., and Cambridge, Ohio.... More >

10/29/2009 - SkyBitz to Track 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree SkyBitz is making it possible for the American public to track online the exact location of the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree as it makes its way from Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Eagar, Ariz., to Washington, D.C.... More >

10/29/2009 - Behind the Scenes at Fontaine Fifth Wheel R&D Fifth wheels often get taken for granted. But think about what they have to do: Clamp on to a relatively small metal pin and stay clamped on through all sorts of conditions, even a rollover. If a fifth wheel lets loose of a 60,000-pound loaded trailer going down the highway, you're looking at an expensive mishap at best, if not a fatal tragedy.

"Failure is not an option," says Henry Bell, president of Fontaine Fifth Wheel.... More >

10/28/2009 - Yara Chooses Blue1USA For DEF Dispensing Yara North America, which produces diesel exhaust fluid, has signed a contract to purchase DEF mini-bulk storage and dispensing systems from Blue1USA... More >

10/28/2009 - Paccar Earnings Down 95.6 Percent in 3Q Paccar saw its earnings take another nosedive in the third quarter, falling 95.6 percent to $13 million from $299 million in the third quarter of 2008... More >

10/28/2009 - Mitsubishi Fuso Chooses BlueTec to Meet EPA 2010 Standards Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Logan Township, N.J., will equip its EPA 2010-emissions compliant commercial trucks with BlueTec technology... More >

10/26/2009 - Volvo Announces Third Quarter Loss Affected by continued weak demand in the vehicles market, the Volvo Group said it lost $427.6 million in the third quarter, compared with an income of about $293.57 million for the third quarter of 2008.... More >

10/26/2009 - Volvo Trucks North America to Merge With Mack as New Entity Volvo Group will combine its North American truck operations, Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks North America, into one entity called North American Trucks... More >

10/26/2009 - Zytek to Produce Powertrain For New Navistar/Modec Electric Vehicle Zytek, a U.K.-based supplier of electric vehicle drivetrains, will be developing a 70kW powertrain for a new electric commercial vehicle by Navistar and Modec.... More >

10/23/2009 - Caterpillar Names Owens' Successor Caterpillar has announced that Douglas Oberhelman will take over as CEO of the company following the retirement of James Owens, 63, on July 1, 2010.... More >

10/22/2009 - Eco Global Solutions Makes Distribution Deal With Vipar The distribution partner of Santa Ana, Calif.-based Eco Global Solutions, WSB Industries, has made a deal with Vipar Heavy Duty to introduce its products through the Vipar distribution network... More >

10/21/2009 - Navistar Reaches Agreement With SEC Over Restatement Navistar International has reached a tentative settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the agency's investigation into the company's December 2007 restatement of financial results for 2002 through the first three quarters of 2005.... More >

10/21/2009 - Leland Brake and Wheel Adds U.S. Truck to Distribution Leland Brake and Wheel Parts, DuBois, Pa., has added U.S. Truck to its distribution network... More >

10/20/2009 - Eaton's Sales, Income Down From 2008 While Eaton Corp. showed slight improvement over the second quarter of this year, the company's third quarter saw weak overall income and sales as well as decreased truck sales compared to the year-ago period... More >

10/19/2009 - Lanair Products Acquires Lenan Corp. Lanair Products has purchased Lenan Corp., a niche manufacturer of waste oil heaters and related equipment.... More >

10/16/2009 - Fontaine Fifth Wheel, Parts Connection Open New Headquarters Fontaine Fifth Wheel and its aftermarket parts company, Fontaine Parts Connection, have moved into a new headquarters in Trussville, Ala., which features a 9,000-square-foot research and development lab.... More >

10/16/2009 - Transplace Expands Offerings to Small, Mid-sized Companies Dallas-based Transplace, a non-asset based third party logistics provider, has expanded its customer base to include small and mid-sized businesses... More >

10/12/2009 - Leland Brake and Wheel Adds to Distributor Network Leland Brake and Wheel Parts, a foundation air brake parts supplier based in DuBois, Pa., has added Brockway Truck Sales, Bronx, N.Y., to its distributor network.... More >

10/9/2009 - Cummins Temporarily Rehires Workers at Columbus Engine Plant Cummins is hoping to temporarily reinstate about 270 production workers who had been laid off or transferred to other Cummins facilities from the Cummins Midrange Engine Plant near Columbus, Ind.... More >

10/9/2009 - Accuride Files For Bankruptcy Amid Restructuring Plan Evansville, Ind.-based Accuride Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy within its U.S. entities and announced a plan to restructure its balance sheet... More >

10/9/2009 - ArvinMeritor Prevails in Eaton Antitrust Suit A U.S. District Court jury has ruled in favor of ZF Meritor and Meritor Transmission Corp. in the companies' antitrust lawsuit against Eaton Corp.... More >

10/8/2009 - Military Order Gives 'Second Chance' to Portland Plant "A huge order" for military line-haul tractors is the main reason Daimler Trucks North America will keep open its assembly plant in Portland, Ore., said Martin Daum, the company's president, during Wednesday's webcast... More >