One of the three largest tire manufacturers in the world, with a well-recognized brand name. Good geographic diversity and strong distribution channels, which should allow the company to take advantage of vehicle ownership growth in emerging markets. High operating leverage that requires ongoing heavy maintenance spending as well as research and development costs, which could limit the company's ability to adjust its short-term production. Exposure to volatile raw material costs, which could offset the company's ongoing efforts to reduce its cost structure and improve productivity. We expect the company's debt-to-EBITDA metric to stay below 4x and its free operating cash flow (FOCF)-to-debt ratio to be at least 10% over the next two years. Significant ongoing capital expenditure requirements of about
