(Danville, Va.) — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced Thursday that the U.S. Navy awarded a 40% share of its aviation tire business to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company under a 3-year agreement. The tires will be manufactured at Goodyear’s tire factory in Danville, Virginia. 

Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, helped open the Navy’s tire-bidding process so that other manufactures, like Goodyear, could be considered. In collaboration with Senate colleagues Mark R. Warner, Kaine has advocated for a change to the National Defense Authorization Act that would make the Navy’s tire procurement process more transparent and competitive. They successfully negotiated a change to the Act which ended the Navy’s practice of restricting tire procurement to a limited number of manufacturers and allowed all manufacturers to bid for the work.

“Goodyear-Danville is a critical economic driver for the region, and I’m thrilled the plant will be able to grow its business. After hearing about obstacles Goodyear-Danville faced in doing business with the Navy, I went to work on the Senate Armed Services Committee to find ways to help. I’m proud that we were able to assist Goodyear in expanding its support of our military and its service members,” Kaine said.