Goodrich Corporation

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The Goodrich Corporation, formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, was an American manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, the company name was changed to B.F. Goodrich Company in 1880, to BFGoodrich in the 1980s, and to Goodrich Corporation in 2001. Originally a rubber manufacturing company known for automobile tires, the company diversified its manufacturing businesses throughout the twentieth century and sold off its tire business in 1986 to focus on its other businesses, such as aerospace and chemical manufacturing. The BFGoodrich brand name continues to be used by Michelin, who acquired the tire manufacturing business in 1988. Following the acquisition by United Technologies in 2012, Goodrich became a part of UTC Aerospace Systems.

In 1869, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich purchased the Hudson River Rubber Company, a small business in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The following year Dr. Goodrich accepted an offer of $13,600 from the citizens of Akron, Ohio, to relocate his business there.

The company grew to be one of the largest tire and rubber manufacturers in the world, helped in part by the 1986 merger with Uniroyal (formerly the United States Rubber Company). This product line was sold to Michelin in 1988, and more than a decade later the company merged with Rohr (1997), Coltec Industries, and TRW Aeronautical Systems (formerly Lucas Aerospace) in 2002. The sale of the specialty chemicals division and subsequent change to the current name completed the transformation. In 2006, company sales were $5.8 billion, of which 18%, 16% and 12% of total revenues were accounted for by the U.S. government, Airbus and Boeing, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1988, the Goodrich Corporation sold its tire business and rights to the Goodrich name to French company Michelin. During the 1970s, Goodrich ran television and print ads to distinguish themselves from the similar-sounding Goodyear tire company. The tag line was, "We're the other guys. Remember?" The company was also sometimes confused with Mr. Goodwrench as the two last names were similar, especially since B.F. Goodrich tires were featured on many General Motors cars and trucks.

History

The roof of historical B.F. Goodrich Company Building of New York (with nameplate), Jacobean Revival architectural style.
File:GoodrichCar.jpg
Goodrich dealer's decorated car in Salt Lake City c. 1913
File:B.F. Goodrich Corporation of New York Building.jpg
The 12-story historical building of B.F. Goodrich Corporation of New York
File:Goodrich Silvertown Tires 1920.jpg
1920 advertisement for Goodrich Silvertown Tires

Early history

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In 1869 Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich purchased the Hudson River Rubber Company, a small business in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The following year Goodrich accepted an offer of $13,600 from the citizens of Akron, Ohio, to relocate his business there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1909, the company constructed a 12-story building with a facade influenced by Jacobean Revival style and Vienna Secession for its New York Headquarters, located at 1780 Broadway, New York. which is now become one of the historical landmarks.

In March 1912, the Diamond Rubber Company, founded by the owner of the Diamond Match Company, was bought out by and merged with the B.F. Goodrich Company. The Diamond brand name and product line were retained and a subsidiary Diamond Rubber Company created for the marketing and manufacturing of them.Template:Citation needed

The company helped found and start the Yokohama Rubber Company on Oct 13, 1917, in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

B.F. Goodrich sold radios from the 1930s to the 1950s, under the brand name "Mantola". These radios were actually made by a variety of manufacturers for B.F. Goodrich.Template:Citation needed

In 1936, the company entered the Mexican market in a joint venture, Goodrich-Euzkadi (now part of Continental AG).Template:Citation needed

Goodrich ranked 67th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.<ref>Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p.619</ref>

The Troy, Ohio plant was purchased in 1946 from Waco. Since then, Goodrich has manufactured wheels and brakes for a variety of aircraft. Among these are commercial, military, regional, and business programs. This successful operation lies at the core of Goodrich's business. Competitors include the aerostructures divisions of companies such as Honeywell, Messier-Bugatti, Aircraft Braking Systems, (Howmet/Huck) and SNECMA. The Hood Rubber Company was sold before the Great Depression<ref>Filmmaker documents the impact of Hood Rubber on Watertown's Armenian history Template:Webarchive, Jen Thomas, Wicked Local Watertown, 7 January 2007 (retrieved 8 September 2010)</ref> as a division of the B.F. Goodrich Company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1980–1990s

By 1986, B.F. Goodrich had become an S&P 500-listed company in diverse business, including tire and rubber fabrication. B.F. Goodrich made high-performance replacement tires.<ref name="UW">Uniroyal, Inc. Eau Claire Plant Records, 1917-1990 Template:Webarchive, UWEC.edu</ref> In August 1986, one of its biggest competitors in the tire business, Uniroyal Inc., was taken private<ref name="Siegel">Jeremy J. Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run, Second Edition, 1998, Template:ISBN</ref> when it merged with the tire segment of the B.F. Goodrich Company, in a joint venture private partnership, to become the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company. B.F. Goodrich Company held a 50% stake in the new tire company.<ref name="nytimes883q">Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co reports earnings for Qtr to Sept 30, New York Times Archive, Published: October 14, 1988</ref>

The new Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company headquarters was established at the former B.F. Goodrich corporate headquarters, within its 27-building downtown complex in Akron, Ohio which contained Goodrich's original factory. In the autumn of 1987 B.F. Goodrich Company shut down several manufacturing operations at the site, and most of the complex remained vacant until February 1988, when B.F. Goodrich announced plans to sell the vacant part of the complex to the Covington Capital Corporation, a group of New York developers. The complex is now known as Canal Place.<ref name="nytimes880218">COMPANY NEWS; Goodrich to Sell Complex in Akron, AP, New York Times, February 18, 1988</ref>

In 1987, its first full year of operation, the new Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company generated almost $2 billion in sales revenue, with profits of $35 million.<ref name="nytimes883q"/>

The merger soon proved to be difficult.<ref name="UW"/> In June 1988 B.F. Goodrich sold its 50% stake for $225 million. The buyers were a group of investors led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice a private New York investment firm.<ref name="nytimes883q"/><ref name="nytimes880624">Company News; Goodrich Outlook, REUTERS, New York Times Archive, Published: June 24, 1988</ref> At the same time, B.F. Goodrich also received a warrant to purchase indirectly up to 7% of the equity in Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company.<ref name="nytimes900503">COMPANY NEWS; Goodrich Gains In Uniroyal Sale, REUTERS, New York Times Archive, May 3, 1990</ref>

As part of the June 1988 sale deal, the new privately held tire company acquired publicly held debt of $415 million.<ref name="nytimes891q">Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co reports earnings for Qtr to March 31, New York Times Archive, Published: April 25, 1989</ref><ref name="nytimes880617">FINANCE/NEW ISSUES; Uniroyal Goodrich Sets 2-Part Offer, New York Times Archive, June 17, 1988</ref><ref name="nytimes894q">Uniroyal Goodrich Tire reports earnings for Qtr to Dec 31, New York Times Archive, Published: February 23, 1990</ref>

Also in 1988, Michelin Group, a subsidiary of the French tire company Michelin et Cie proposed to acquire the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company and took actions towards acquiring a stake.<ref name="UW"/> By May 1990, Michelin Group had completed its buyout of Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company from Clayton & Dubilier of New York. The deal was valued at about US$1.5 billion.<ref name="nytimes890923">INSIDE, New York Times, Published: September 23, 1989</ref> B.F. Goodrich surrendered its 7% warrant to Michelin Group, and received $32.5 million additional revenue from the sale.<ref name="nytimes900503"/>

Leaving tire business

File:BFGoodrich logo.svg
B.F. Goodrich Tires logo. The Goodrich Corporation sold off its automotive tire division to Michelin in 1988.

B.F. Goodrich by then exited the tire business entirely, in line with its plan to build its chemicals and aerospace businesses through reinvestment and acquisitions.<ref name="nytimes880624"/> In 1997, it acquired Rohr, a maker of jet aircraft engine nacelles, expanding its presence in integrated aircraft components industry.<ref>Template:Cite news </ref>

In 1999, it acquired Charlotte, North Carolina–based Coltec Industries for $2.2 billion in stock and assumed debt, making the former tire maker the No. 1 supplier of landing gear and other aircraft parts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Headquarters were moved to Charlotte following this merger.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2001, the company divested its specialty chemicals business to focus on aerospace and industrial products and, to signify the completion of its transformation, it was renamed Goodrich Corporation and adopted a new logo.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

In October 2002, Goodrich acquired TRW Aeronautical Systems, this division was mainly the former Lucas Aerospace activity, mostly based in the UK and France.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2010, Goodrich opened a large new manufacturing centre in Krosno Rzeszow, Poland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fate

In September 2011, United Technologies Corporation announced a deal to buy Goodrich for $18.4 billion, paying $127.50 per share and assuming $1.9 billion in debt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On July 26, 2012, United Technologies Corporation purchased Goodrich. Unsold divisions of Hamilton Sundstrand and Goodrich were then merged to create UTC Aerospace Systems. Rocketdyne, Hamilton Sundstrand's industrial pumps and compressors operations, Clipper Windpower, and UTC Power (United Technologies' fuel-cell business) would be sold off to raise cash for the deal. <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On October 16, 2012, United Technologies Corporation secured an agreement to sell the Power Systems division of Goodrich (Twinsburg Ohio, Pitstone Green Buckinghamshire) to Safran for $400 million. The sale of this business unit was a condition that the Chinese competition regulators set in approving UTC's purchase of Goodrich. The Power Systems division had to be divested by December 16, 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ultimately, the sale was completed on 27 March 2013.<ref name="Fox">Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2020, the remaining portions of Goodrich became part of the Collins Aerospace subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, a firm which resulted from the merger of United Technologies and the Raytheon Company. Raytheon Technologies is now known as RTX Corporation.

Technologies

Actuation and landing systems

  • Actuation systems
  • Aircraft wheels and brakes
  • Aviation technical services
  • Landing gear
  • Engine components

Electronic systems

  • Sensors and Integrated systems
  • Engine control and electrical power systems
  • ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) systems

and

Nacelles and interior systems

  • Aerostructures
  • Interiors
  • Customer services

Platforms

Civil

Military

Restatements

On Feb 24, 2004, Goodrich restated its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results for 2003 after Pratt & Whitney notified the company that it was drastically cutting its order for engine casing components.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable employees

References

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Further reading

  • Blackford, Mansel G. and K. Austin Kerr. B. F. Goodrich: Tradition and Transformation, 1870–1995; (Ohio State University Press, 1996); Template:ISBN.
  • Blackford, Mansel G. "B. F. Goodrich Becomes a Multinational Corporation, 1910-1929," Essays in Economic & Business History (1996), Vol. 14, pp 365–373.

Template:Commons category Template:UTC Aerospace Systems Template:Aircraft seat manufacturers Template:Authority control

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