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.