Kaine Helps Goodyear-Danville Expand Business With U.S. Navy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced that the U.S. Navy awarded a 40% share of its aviation tire business to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company under a 3-year agreement. The tires will be manufactured at Goodyear’s tire factory in Danville, Virginia. 

Senator Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, helped open the Navy’s tire-bidding process so that other manufactures, like Goodyear, could be considered. In collaboration with Senate colleagues Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS), Kaine has long advocated for a change to the National Defense Authorization Act that would make the Navy’s tire procurement process more transparent and competitive. They successfully negotiated a change to the Act which ended the Navy’s practice of restricting tire procurement to a limited number of manufacturers and allowed all manufacturers to bid for the work.

“Goodyear-Danville is a critical economic driver for the region, and I’m thrilled the plant will be able to grow its business. After hearing about obstacles Goodyear-Danville faced in doing business with the Navy, I went to work on the Senate Armed Services Committee to find ways to help. I’m proud that we were able to assist Goodyear in expanding its support of our military and its service members,” Kaine said.  

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to provide aviation tires to the U.S. Navy and for every opportunity we have to support those who serve our country,” said Goodyear’s Glenn Leonardi, general manager-aviation. “Goodyear has made products for the U.S. armed forces for more than a century, and we look forward to continuing to build on this legacy for many years to come.”

Senator Kaine visited Goodyear-Danville in 2017 to learn more about the plant’s industry-leading products and technologies (view photos here). During Kaine’s visit, the company shared that they were pushing the Navy to address concerns surrounding its tire procurement process. After the visit, Kaine raised this issue again with the Navy.

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