PULANDIAN, China, Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) today announced it has broken ground on a $485 million expansion of its state-of-the-art tire factory in Pulandian, Dalian, China. Goodyear Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Richard J. Kramer took part in a ceremony with Lu Lin, deputy mayor of Dalian, China.

When completed in 2020, the expansion will increase the plant's capacity by about
5 million tires a year, enabling Goodyear to meet the strong and growing market demand for premium, large-rim-diameter consumer tires in China and the Asia Pacific region. By 2020, Goodyear expects tires with rim diameters of 17 inches or greater to account for nearly
60 percent of its replacement tire sales volume in China.

"This investment in our Pulandian factory speaks to our long-term strategy of pursuing sustainable growth in the Asia Pacific region and increasing Goodyear's presence in high-value segments of the global tire market that are growing at rates above the total industry where we can capture the value of our brand," Kramer said. "The city of Dalian has been supportive of our developments here, and we look forward to continuing this fruitful partnership."

"Goodyear's latest investment in Pulandian strengthens our presence in China. As one of our most important and key growth markets, our global brand and innovative product portfolio in China will gives us a competitive edge," said Chris Delaney, president, Asia Pacific.

Goodyear was the first global tire manufacturer to enter China when it invested in a tire manufacturing plant in Dalian in 1994. The company moved production to the new Pulandian factory in 2012 and opened its new China Development Center on the Pulandian campus in 2015 to increase the speed and efficiency of developing high-quality premium tires for China-based auto manufacturers.

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs approximately 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 49 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.  GT-FN

Certain information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, that affect our operations, performance, business strategy and results and could cause our actual results and experience to differ materially from the assumptions, expectations and objectives expressed in any forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: our ability to implement successfully our strategic initiatives; actions and initiatives taken by both current and potential competitors; foreign currency translation and transaction risks; a labor strike, work stoppage or other similar event; deteriorating economic conditions or an inability to access capital markets; work stoppages, financial difficulties or supply disruptions at our suppliers or customers; the adequacy of our capital expenditures; increases in the prices paid for raw materials and energy; our failure to comply with a material covenant in our debt obligations; potential adverse consequences of litigation involving the company; as well as the effects of more general factors such as changes in general market, economic or political conditions or in legislation, regulation or public policy. Additional factors are discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.

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SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company