TIA selects Lampe, Marangoni to its hall of fame

Sept. 17, 2004

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has selected John Lampe and Mario Marangoni as its 2004 Tire Industry Hall of Fame inductees.

JOHN LAMPE

Lampe, the retired chairman, CEO and president of Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc., and Marangoni, chairman, CEO and president of the Marangoni Group, were chosen by a TIA selection committee for achievements and leadership that have helped shape the tire industry.

Lampe retired March 31, 2004, after more than 30 years with Bridgestone/Firestone. Starting as an international trainee with the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., he steadily climbed the corporate ladder by taking on various key management positions.

He took over the top position in October of 2000 when the company was facing a public relations crisis resulting from the recall of more than six million Firestone tires linked to fatal rollover accidents.

Bridgestone/Firestone was engulfed in a storm of negative publicity, which was eroding public confidence in its products and bringing on scrutiny from regulators and elected officials.

Lampe faced these challenges head on. He met with thousands of dealers and reassured them of the company’s commitment to quality. Firestone did not loose even one dealer.

He took responsibility for the situation and formulated a specific plan to improve product quality and customer service, which was called "Making it Right." He testified before Congress and met with regulators to explain the situation and Bridgestone/Firestone’s commitment to safety and the company’s plans to address the concerns raised by the recall.

He appeared in national television commercials to explain the "Making it Right" program and rebuild the company’s reputation. It was his vision, and it set the tone for how the company would respond to the crisis.

Well liked, highly credible and trusted by both employees and tire dealers, Lampe provided the steady and sound leadership Bridgestone/ Firestone needed to regain its position in the highly competitive U.S. tire market.

In just his second year as CEO, Bridgestone/Firestone overcame huge losses and began posting a profit again. The company built on that foundation and has continued to post profits. He rebuilt employee morale and reorganized the company to pave the way for its current success.

Lampe’s resolve, humility and determination helped to stabilize and rebuild a company with more than 50,000 employees and saved the 100-year-old Firestone brand.

Today, Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including automotive and commercial vehicle equipment manufacturers and those in agricultural, forestry and mining industries.

The company, through its BFS Retail and Commercial Operations LLC subsidiary, operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers.

MARIO MARANGONI

Marangoni is the founder of the Marangoni Group. He began his business in 1950 as a retread company, which pioneered the European retreading and waste tire-to-energy business. He grew the business to become the European and world leader in retreading systems, manufacturing proprietary retreading equipment and European retreading.

Marangoni recognized that the waste we generated as an industry needed to be addressed. He always took an innovative approach, which usually included significant risk to help solve a problem. Under Marangoni’s leadership, the company developed the following:

* Ringtread System of retreading;

* Kontur System of retreading;

* proprietary earthmoving retreading equipment;

* calendar/extruder combination in strip application to earthmover, truck and passenger tires;

* proprietary Scarp Incineration System used in the United Kingdom, Italy and Scandinavia;

* proprietary system used in manufacturing Marangoni industrial tires.

Along with his many achievements, Marangoni has received several honors, including the American Retreaders´ Association "Leadership Award." He also has received the "Cavaliere del Lavoro," a major recognition given by the President of Italy to only a few entrepreneurs who have substantially contributed to the economic progress of Italy.

He received an honorary M.B.A. degree from CUOA, the prestigious Italian Business School in Vicenza, Italy, in 2004.

The company makes and distributes retreading machinery and sells new and retreaded tires. The company sells its Ringtread system to other tire retreaders.

The Hall of Fame Inductions will take place during TIA’s Breakfast with the President, scheduled from 7 a.m. 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004, during the Performance Tires and Wheels sponsored by TIA/SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nev. Tickets for the event are $30.

The Special Events Registration form is available on-line at www.tireindustry.org.