The expansion should be finished by the end of the year, and is part of a three-year project to renovate the plant and update its equipment, with an estimated cost of $125 million.
Company officials who gathered for a groundbreaking at the plant Friday said details of the project were still being worked out. However, it marked a quick turnaround for a plant that had been slated for closing less than a year ago.
"In this global environment, we have to maintain a competitive advantage," said Chris Werner, Goodyear’s vice president of manufacturing for its North American tire unit. "This plant is one of our most outdated facilities with the oldest technology. It had to be refurbished."
The Gadsden plant, with 2.8 million square feet of floor space, produces light truck, passenger and mini-spare tires, and has been a dominant manufacturing presence in Gadsden since its opening in 1929. It is the city’s largest employer, with about 1,200 hourly employees, and state and local officials said it was vital to the city’s image and economy to keep it open.
"In a sense, Gadsden and Goodyear are synonymous," said Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., who attended the groundbreaking announcement. Earlier this year, the Gadsden City Council approved the company’s application for tax abatements for the project and a state commission led by Gov. Bob Riley approved incentives totaling $20 million to help with the renovation.
"We were about a day from shutting this whole thing down," said Sen. Larry Means. "This is probably the biggest thing that this legislative delegation has been associated with."
Dennis Battles, president of the local chapter of the United Steelworkers, said it was only the latest case of plant management and employees working together to keep the plant viable. At least three times over the past 20 years, the plant has been slated to close, only to receive some kind of reprieve.
"A lot of people have made a lot of decisions they might not have wanted to make to keep things going here in the past, and we’re here today because of it," Battles said. "Let’s face it – if they close those doors, there ain’t nothing here to come back to."
