B.F. Goodrich
The Goodrich Corporation (formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company) is an American aerospace manufacturing company. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company name was changed to the "B.F. Goodrich Company" in 1880, and to the "Goodrich Corporation" in 2001.
The company has a history of innovation and was responsible for introducing the zipper. As B.F. Goodrich, the company became one of the largest tire and rubber manufacturers in the world. This product line was sold to Michelin in 1988, and the company acquired Rohr (1997), Coltec Industries, and TRW Aeronautical Systems (formerly Lucas Aerospace) in 2002. The sale of the specialty chemicals division and subsequent change to the current name completed the transformation. As of 2003, company sales were 4 billion dollars. Goodrich stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GR."
Goodrich provides parts or completed subassemblies for the Boeing 777 and F/A-18 Hornet, and many other aircraft. The company will, in the future, provide components for the Boeing 7E7 and Airbus A380. Competitors include the aerostructures divisions of companies such as Alcoa (Howmet//Huck) and SNECMA.
Further reading
- Mansel G. Blackford; "B. F. Goodrich: Tradition and Transformation, 1870-1995"; 1996, Ohio State University Press; ISBN 0814206964.
