Going Strong
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The firm's story of success started in 1998 when one of the world's leading tyre manufacturers Goodyear and Sava d. d. made a joint venture - Sava Tires d. o. o. started its march to becoming one of the most thriving companies in Slovenia on July 1 1998. Since 2004, Sava Tiers has been 100 % owned b Goodyear and in 2011 the company was renamed to Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires in order to enhance its identity, align the name with other companies within Goodyear Dunlop, reflect the reality as they manufacture and sell all Goodyear brands with an increasing number of Goodyear and Dunlop units, and become recognized as a very successful and profitable Slovene company.
Impressive Performance
The firm employs more than 1400 people and constantly places among the largest, most successful and most respected Slovenian companies. The factory in Kranj is one of the most complex Goodyear factories in Europe and is focused on manufacturing of high performance and ultra high performance tyres while its production line is based on passenger and truck tyres. The brands made in the Slovenian company are Goodyear, Dunlop, Fulda, Sava and Debica, all highly acclaimed and trusted trademarks.
Since 2006, Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires is part of the Goodyear Dunlop Central and South-Eastern Europe (CSEE), uniting markets of 13 countries. Today, Kranj is the "home base" of the CSEE organisation as the company moved its headquarters there back in 2010-
In 2010, the company increased its productivity as the number of manufactured tyres reached 7.12 million which was nearly 1.5 million more than the year before; also the company sold over 1 million tyres more than in 2009. It was an outstanding year for Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires because it also increased its sales by 25 % and earnings by more than 28 %. The company's net sales were almost 374 million €, the majority of it was generated in the EU markets. The results for 2011 will not be disclosed before spring, but the company officials stated they achieved all their goals for the past year.
Smart Investments
Long-term business strategies the company employs also encompass investments which are constantly on Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires' agenda. Since 1998, investments worth more than 170 million € were made, nearly 11 million of those in 2010 which resulted in enhanced productivity, increased safety at work, improved working conditions, and emphasised environmental awareness. Safety at work is one of the company's greatest concerns and due to its active approach to constant improvement in this field, the firm decreased the incident rate by over 90 % in the last 13 years. Its commitments to environmental protection are visible in its economical use of water, energy and waste while one of their most important achievements is the reduction of the usage of solvents to zero. Moreover, with their policy of deliberate waste separation they also managed to reduce waste for 85 % in the past decade.
Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires is actively engaged in the local community, initiating ecological campaigns for children such as Pozor(!)ni za okolje, road safety campaigns such as Safety Ambassadors, supporting local fire departments and ambulances. The company's efforts have been recognised in 2011 when it received a special FDI award (Foreign direct investor of the year, organised by The Slovenia Times and JAPTI) for long-term commitment. The campaign Pozor(!)ni za okolje received Prizma award for excellence in corporate communication.