G O O D Y E A R ' S F U T U R E

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Mar 10, 2002 by Capital-Journal

The future of Goodyear in Topeka may hang in the balance as state officials try to top off a local package of incentives.

Big incentive

If the local Goodyear plant is facing a life-and-death situation, its fate may ultimately come at the hands of the surgeons at the Kansas Legislature.

The plant is competing within the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. for a new product line supplying an innovative new tire to the mining industry. Topeka is competing with Virginia and several other unnamed states, as well as Luxembourg, Japan and Brazil.

While the new product line wouldn't necessarily result in new jobs here, it would fortify the 1,600-plus jobs, and $100 million payroll, already here; a multiyear investment in a new product line would help ensure the relevance of the Topeka plant.

Doug Kinsinger, president and CEO of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, is blunt about the gravity of the situation.

"If we don't get it, we are not optimistic about the future of that facility," he said. "This is life and death for this plant."

That'll get your attention.

It certainly got the attention of the local Joint Economic Development Organization, a group of city and county officials responsible for administering economic development funds. JEDO last week sweetened a package of incentives for Goodyear. Local officials also plan a delegation to Goodyear headquarters in Akron, Ohio, in April to pitch the package. They hope even Gov. Bill Graves can attend. It's that important.

Meanwhile, state officials are working hard to help. Several bills are now pending in the House and Senate to clarify and even enrich incentives for businesses such as Goodyear to invest in Kansas.

Writing the legislation is most difficult work; so much meaning, and therefore millions of dollars, can hang on every word. And it's critical that our laws make it exceedingly clear that existing businesses are to receive the same opportunities for incentives that new businesses do.

We applaud Kinsinger and his Chamber team for their doggedness in doing what must be done for Topeka to compete on a global basis. We thank Mayor Butch Felker, Shawnee County Commission chairman Vic Miller, JEDO and other city and county officials for grasping the gravity of the situation. And we encourage Gov. Graves, Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer, state lawmakers and other state officials to continue going to bat for job growth and investment in Kansas.

Much delicate work remains to be done at the Statehouse to top off the package going to Goodyear. Our state simply must offer laws and tax policies conducive to investment and growth; and our state officials seem to fully realize this.

Kinsinger's attitude is a good one --- that failure is not an option.

Our city, county and state officials seem to be working, perhaps as never before, with that same attitude.

We wish them Godspeed.