Just a thought.....?

[Jeff Niceswanger]

Originally Posted by Dan Bennett

A few years back I was reading an industrial trade maqazine and noticed an ad from an offshore supplier. They touted their "one stop" capabilities in that all the manufacturer had to do was provide them with the specs for the part or assembly. They would then engineer it and produce it.

This ad showed a complete headlight capsule. According to the text, the manufacturer would do anything electrical. Ever since I read that, I've looked at replacement parts in a different light. Even though it may have been produced on a US assembly line, the engineering was done by a company I'd never heard of.

This just added to the unease I got a few years earlier when a Goodyear engineer told me that no tire company designed their own tread configurations - there were outside "styling" companies who would sell the designs to the tire manufacturers. The selection evidently hinged on what they felt they could promote the best.

This is a good thread....On a related note...Goodyear just opened a R&D Facility in Hebron Ohio, just a few miles from National Trail Raceway...3 of our Maintenance men just quit (2 weeks ago) and went to work for them .Started them out @ 62 thou and pretty nice benefit package, Good for our area to say the least, they will employ about 50 to 60 people to start....Will be engineering new styles of Goodyear's tire designs....