The United Soybean Board is recognizing The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for expanding its use of soybean oil across a growing lineup of Goodyear- and Cooper-branded consumer tires. Incorporating soybean oil into tire compounds helps improve tread flexibility in colder temperatures, enhancing traction on snow- and ice-covered roads while also delivering dependable grip in wet driving conditions.
Goodyear currently incorporates soybean oil into a variety of consumer tire models, including:
Goodyear: Wrangler Workhorse HT (Hard Metric and LT), Wrangler Outbound AT (Hard Metric and LT), Wrangler Workhorse AT2 (Hard Metric), Assurance WeatherReady 2, Assurance ComfortDrive, Reliant All-Season, Eagle F1 All Season, ElectricDrive 2, and Eagle Enforcer All Weather.
“Goodyear’s continued expansion of soybean oil across its tire portfolio demonstrates how Soy Checkoff investments are creating valuable new markets for U.S. soybean farmers,” said Barry Alexander, a Kentucky soybean farmer and United Soybean Board farmer-leader. “By incorporating renewable soybean oil into its products, Goodyear is delivering performance benefits for drivers while supporting demand for American-grown soybeans.”
Goodyear first introduced soybean oil into commercially available tires in 2017 following a collaborative research effort with U.S. Soy. The innovation earned international recognition the following year when the company received the 2018 Tire Technology International Award for Environmental Achievement at the Tire Technology Expo in Hannover, Germany. The award recognized Goodyear’s development of a tire tread compound that replaces a portion of petroleum-derived processing oils with renewable soybean oil.
The technology also provides an important new industrial use for soybean oil, helping create additional demand beyond traditional food applications. As interest in renewable and biobased materials continues to grow, soybean oil is finding expanded use in products ranging from tires and asphalt to lubricants, plastics, and other industrial applications.
U.S. soybean farmers have invested millions of dollars through the Soy Checkoff to research, develop, and commercialize innovative biobased products that create new value-added markets for soybeans. Those investments continue to support partnerships with manufacturers that are incorporating renewable soy-based materials into everyday products.
About U.S. Soy
U.S. Soy represents the farmers, organizations, and industry partners working to expand the global use of soybeans grown in the United States. Supported by the Soy Checkoff, U.S. Soy promotes sustainable agriculture, advances research and innovation, develops new markets, and encourages the use of soy-based products across a wide range of industries. Through continued investment in new technologies and applications, U.S. Soy is helping position soy as a renewable solution to many of today’s economic and environmental challenges. For more information, visit USSOY.org.
Adapted from a post originally shared by the United Soybean Board. Image Credit: