ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. -- Goodyear and the U.S. Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories will work together to develop new and more efficient manufacturing processes under a new cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA).

This is the fifth cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) between Goodyear and Sandia since 1993. "Several computational analysis tools in tire mechanics, materials and manufacturing have been developed by our cooperative efforts," said William J. Sharp, Goodyear president of global support operations. "As a result, we are shortening product development time, allowing us to bring new products to market faster."

The $17 million pact allows Goodyear and Sandia to share technology. As a Department of Energy (DOE) national lab, Sandia is responsible for designing and manufacturing oversight of components used in the nation's defense programs.

"Technology developed under this project will greatly advance manufacturing processes critical to our national security," said Secretary of Energy Federico Peña. "Working with Goodyear, we can leverage scarce tax dollars while advancing U.S. global competitiveness and preserving jobs for Americans.'

Signing the agreement were Sharp, of Goodyear, and Sandia President C. Paul Robinson.

Focus areas of the new CRADA are advanced process technologies, according to Sharp. 'We place a very high value on our work with Sandia and are pleased to continue it by making this investment. Sandia will help us develop more efficient manufacturing processes which are absolutely essential along with accelerated new product development in order to compete in today's global marketplace.'

Robinson said Sandia has been delighted with its previous cooperative R&D projects with Goodyear. "The resulting technology is proving useful to our laboratory, to the Department of Energy, and to Goodyear," he said. "These CRADAs have allowed us to put together the very best computational methods from industry and government labs to solve important problems."

Goodyear is funding approximately 90 percent of the joint work - about $7 million directly and $8 million to fund facilities and labor costs for its own researchers.

In addition, the tire company recently announced it would invest $26 million to hire 125 new engineers and scientists for its technical centers in Akron and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, to spur new product development.

Based in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear manufactures tires, chemicals and engineered rubber products in 81 facilities around the world, including 34 plants in the U.S. and 47 in 27 other countries. It employs more than 90,000 associates worldwide.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram DOE laboratory, operated by a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation. With about 7,500 employees and facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy, environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness. Sandia is one of 20 DOE research labs throughout the nation.

Like most CRADAs, details of the projects are proprietary and protected by the 1989 National Competitiveness Technology Transfer Act.