Founded by Frank Seiberling in 1898, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was inspired by the inventor of patented rubber, Charles Goodyear. Goodyear had discovered the process of vulcanization by accident, but was never interested to earn a profit from his invention. Instead he died a penniless man with debts amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was only 38 years later that the company made Goodyear a household name. During World War One, embargoes and dislocation of the shipping, trade and financial system for crude rubber in Europe fundamentally affected Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company's strategies. Goodyear and other manufacturers began to establish their purchasing organisations and plantations in Southeast Asia. Through the establishment of its own buying operation in Singapore called Goodyear Orient (Private) Company Ltd. (GOPCL) in 1917, Goodyear bypassed the British trading company, Wadleigh and Company, to ensure continual access to plantations and smallholding outputs in the region.
Beginnings
Before the establishment of its own buying operation in Singapore called Goodyear Orient (Private) Company Ltd (GOPCL) in 6 December 1917, Goodyear had been buying rubber in the Far East through a British trading company called Wadleigh and Company. GOPCL managed the purchasing, delivery, financing and quality control of natural rubber for worldwide operations associated with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company along with Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI). The Memorandum of Association stated that the objectives of the company was "to carry on business as rubber produce and Eastern merchants" and "to carry on in the Straits Settlements, the Malay Peninsula and elsewhere, the business of planters, manufacturers, importers, exporters, treaters of and dealers in metals, oil, minerals...". The Memorandum also permitted prospecting, entry in associated fields such as insurance, shipping, general agents, brokers, auctioneers, carriers, removers, packers and generally to carry out all business whether wholesale or retail, manufacturing or trading which are usually performed by eastern merchants.
The formation of GOPCL in Singapore was carried out in tandem with Goodyear's acquisition of lands for the setting up of plantations in the region. Goodyear was visited by Dutch syndicates who were hoping to sell lands in Sumatra, Indonesia. In 1916, Jack Blandin, Goodyear Singapore's buyer, purchased 20,000 acres in Dutch-ruled Sumatra which was outside British influence and embargo, and developed the plantations. The firm's investment increased from US$0.3 million in 1917 to US$1.7 million in 1918, though only 1,500 acres were actually cultivated at first. These responses from Goodyear and other manufacturers ensured access to the continual expansion of plantations and smallholding outputs which led to a consequent decline in rubber prices between 1915 and 1918. By contrast, commodity prices rose. The shift to rubber planting in Southeast Asia and central America transformed Goodyear into a multinational company. This aspect of its multinational operations though, was relatively insignificant to the company's well-being. Goodyear's overseas manufacturing attempted to reduce the additional transactions costs imposed by tariffs. The strategy involved a regional approach where plants serve local demand and provide an export base. This strategy was implemented at a time when manufacturers emphasise the relative unimportance of plantations. For Goodyear, its plantations in 1925 provided 20% of the firm's rubber consumption with a further 25% supplied by reclaimed rubber.
GOPCL was originally registered as the Orient Company Limited on 6 December 1917 but this changed ten years later. The original registered office was at 2 Finlayson Green, Singapore. It occupied a godown in the port area. In the early 1930s, depressed demand weakened all of Goodyear's plants. Further protectionism increased the national value of factories but reduced their regional potential. Rapid changes in key variables such as demand, competition, and scale of production highlighted the uncertainty involved in any investment, while the absence of detailed information on costs and prices hindered evaluation of the results of forward integration. In early 1942, during the Japanese Occupation, staff members stopped reporting to work. As operations ceased, the staff shifted many old records to the company property on Swiss Club Road for safe-keeping.
Postwar Developments
After the war, the company resumed operations in 1946 in the port area. In 1956, the Port of Singapore Authorities (PSA) took over the godown and Goodyear moved to a new packing godown built to modern design on Lee Rubber Company property along Kallang River in Geylang. A complete packing operation included receiving, weighing, inspection, selection, packing, stacking and finally shipping. The baled rubber was loaded onto lighters alongside the godown before being transferred to ocean carriers. Goodyear became known as one of the leading developers of shrink-wrap packing. In 1964, Goodyear opened a sales office in Singapore to supply tyres to the local market and the regional aviation industry. There were other changes that compelled Goodyear to keep up with new demands. With the advent of new block rubbers, visual grading of sheet and crepe rubber became less important. As a result, the operation scaled down as the company switched largely to the new block rubbers in 1970. In 1977, Goodyear shipped almost 50,000 tons of shrink-wrapped units via container and lash barge.
In total tonnage, Goodyear Orient bought and shipped to its affiliates more rubber than the new rubber consumed by any industrial country except the United States and Japan. Today, Goodyear Singapore Tyres (GS Tyres), a division of Goodyear Orient (Company) Private Limited continues to supply the local passenger market through distributors, support the regional aviation industries, and perform various export activities for the region.
Author
Kartini Saparudin
References
French, M. J. (1987). The emergence of a US multinational enterprise: The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, 1910-1939. Economic History Review, 2nd ser. XL, I,
pp. 64-79. Retrieved May 25, 2007, from JSTOR website.
Goodyear Singapore (2007). The story of Wing Foot Innovation Milestones Goodyear's History. Retrieved May 24, 2007, from www.goodyear.com.sg/aboutgoodyear.html.
Rodengen, J. L. (1997). The legend of Goodyear: The first 100 Years (pp. 14-32, 50, 121, 135-136, 148). Fort Lauerdale: Write Stuff Syndicate.
(Call no.: 338.76273 ROD-[BIZ])
Beginnings
Before the establishment of its own buying operation in Singapore called Goodyear Orient (Private) Company Ltd (GOPCL) in 6 December 1917, Goodyear had been buying rubber in the Far East through a British trading company called Wadleigh and Company. GOPCL managed the purchasing, delivery, financing and quality control of natural rubber for worldwide operations associated with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company along with Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI). The Memorandum of Association stated that the objectives of the company was "to carry on business as rubber produce and Eastern merchants" and "to carry on in the Straits Settlements, the Malay Peninsula and elsewhere, the business of planters, manufacturers, importers, exporters, treaters of and dealers in metals, oil, minerals...". The Memorandum also permitted prospecting, entry in associated fields such as insurance, shipping, general agents, brokers, auctioneers, carriers, removers, packers and generally to carry out all business whether wholesale or retail, manufacturing or trading which are usually performed by eastern merchants.
The formation of GOPCL in Singapore was carried out in tandem with Goodyear's acquisition of lands for the setting up of plantations in the region. Goodyear was visited by Dutch syndicates who were hoping to sell lands in Sumatra, Indonesia. In 1916, Jack Blandin, Goodyear Singapore's buyer, purchased 20,000 acres in Dutch-ruled Sumatra which was outside British influence and embargo, and developed the plantations. The firm's investment increased from US$0.3 million in 1917 to US$1.7 million in 1918, though only 1,500 acres were actually cultivated at first. These responses from Goodyear and other manufacturers ensured access to the continual expansion of plantations and smallholding outputs which led to a consequent decline in rubber prices between 1915 and 1918. By contrast, commodity prices rose. The shift to rubber planting in Southeast Asia and central America transformed Goodyear into a multinational company. This aspect of its multinational operations though, was relatively insignificant to the company's well-being. Goodyear's overseas manufacturing attempted to reduce the additional transactions costs imposed by tariffs. The strategy involved a regional approach where plants serve local demand and provide an export base. This strategy was implemented at a time when manufacturers emphasise the relative unimportance of plantations. For Goodyear, its plantations in 1925 provided 20% of the firm's rubber consumption with a further 25% supplied by reclaimed rubber.
GOPCL was originally registered as the Orient Company Limited on 6 December 1917 but this changed ten years later. The original registered office was at 2 Finlayson Green, Singapore. It occupied a godown in the port area. In the early 1930s, depressed demand weakened all of Goodyear's plants. Further protectionism increased the national value of factories but reduced their regional potential. Rapid changes in key variables such as demand, competition, and scale of production highlighted the uncertainty involved in any investment, while the absence of detailed information on costs and prices hindered evaluation of the results of forward integration. In early 1942, during the Japanese Occupation, staff members stopped reporting to work. As operations ceased, the staff shifted many old records to the company property on Swiss Club Road for safe-keeping.
Postwar Developments
After the war, the company resumed operations in 1946 in the port area. In 1956, the Port of Singapore Authorities (PSA) took over the godown and Goodyear moved to a new packing godown built to modern design on Lee Rubber Company property along Kallang River in Geylang. A complete packing operation included receiving, weighing, inspection, selection, packing, stacking and finally shipping. The baled rubber was loaded onto lighters alongside the godown before being transferred to ocean carriers. Goodyear became known as one of the leading developers of shrink-wrap packing. In 1964, Goodyear opened a sales office in Singapore to supply tyres to the local market and the regional aviation industry. There were other changes that compelled Goodyear to keep up with new demands. With the advent of new block rubbers, visual grading of sheet and crepe rubber became less important. As a result, the operation scaled down as the company switched largely to the new block rubbers in 1970. In 1977, Goodyear shipped almost 50,000 tons of shrink-wrapped units via container and lash barge.
In total tonnage, Goodyear Orient bought and shipped to its affiliates more rubber than the new rubber consumed by any industrial country except the United States and Japan. Today, Goodyear Singapore Tyres (GS Tyres), a division of Goodyear Orient (Company) Private Limited continues to supply the local passenger market through distributors, support the regional aviation industries, and perform various export activities for the region.
Author
Kartini Saparudin
References
French, M. J. (1987). The emergence of a US multinational enterprise: The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, 1910-1939. Economic History Review, 2nd ser. XL, I,
pp. 64-79. Retrieved May 25, 2007, from JSTOR website.
Goodyear Singapore (2007). The story of Wing Foot Innovation Milestones Goodyear's History. Retrieved May 24, 2007, from www.goodyear.com.sg/aboutgoodyear.html.
Rodengen, J. L. (1997). The legend of Goodyear: The first 100 Years (pp. 14-32, 50, 121, 135-136, 148). Fort Lauerdale: Write Stuff Syndicate.
(Call no.: 338.76273 ROD-[BIZ])
The Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (1979). From Early Days (pp. 193-194). Singapore: The Singapore International Chamber of Commerce.
(Call no.:RSING 380.1065595957 SIN)
The information in this article is valid as at 2007 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.
The information in this article is valid as at 2007 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.
