SRI Realigns North American Business, Falken Gets New Name

As a result of the dissolution of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ alliance, SRI’s North American business units will be realigned.

As part of this realignment, Falken Tire Corp. will be changing its name to Sumitomo Rubber North America (SRNA), Inc. effective Jan. 1, 2016.

Richard Smallwood, current CEO and president of Falken Tire Corp., will become CEO and president of SRNA.

“Having gained a manufacturing facility, test track, and enhanced technical resources, coupled with our new multi-year sponsorship agreement with Major League Baseball and eight new product lines, we feel very confident in our ability to provide our customers the tools they need to profitably grow their business over the long term,” said Smallwood.

Other changes for SRI’s North American business include a name change for Goodyear Dunlop Tire North America (GDTNA) to Sumitomo Rubber USA, LLC (SRUSA) in March 2016. During that time, responsibility for Dunlop branded light vehicle tires to Japanese OEMs and sales of Dunlop Motorcycle Tires will transfer from GDTNA/SRUSA to SRNA, SRI said.

Under the new corporate structure Sumitomo Rubber North America will operate three separate sales divisions; Dunlop Motorcycle, Falken Tire Corp. and SRNA OE sales. Dunlop Motorcycle, located in Tonawanda, N.Y., will be responsible for Dunlop Motorcycle sales to both the OE and replacement markets, SRI said. Falken Tire Corp., located in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., will be responsible for replacement sales of Falken, Ohtsu and private branded products for the light vehicle and commercial markets. SRNA OE sales, located in Detroit, Mich., will be responsible for Dunlop branded light vehicle tires for Japanese OEMs, and Falken branded OE sales for all North America OE customers, SRI said.

In addition, starting Q1 2016, SRNA will also take over sales and distribution responsibility for the Caribbean and Mexico.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Ryan Waldron as president of the company's Americas business unit, reporting to Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart. He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1.

"At Goodyear, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and in Ryan Waldron, we have a customer-centric, execution-focused business leader with a deep understanding of both the marketplace and all aspects of our business, as well as a proven track record of delivering results," Stewart said. "I am thrilled to announce him as president of Goodyear's Americas business and have enormous confidence that under his leadership, both the company and our customers will reach even greater levels of success."