Cooper Saiyang – a new joint venture

Cooper Tire & Rubber’s operating group, Cooper-Standard Automotive, has created a joint venture company with Chinese manufacturer Saiyang Sealing Products.

Together the companies will sell automobile sealing systems under the name Cooper Saiyang Wuhu Automotive.
Located in the Wuhu Economic Development Zone, southeast of Nanjing, the joint facility has complete rubber mixing capabilities, as well as four extrusion lines to produce rubber, rubber/plastic or plastic sealing extrusions.

Cooper Saiyang has already acquired new sealing business with one of China’s automotive OEM’s SAIC Chery Automobile. The plant will also manufacture sealing components for the C307 programme for Changan Ford.

“This joint venture agreement is a key element of our Asian strategy,” commented Jim McElya, president of Cooper-Standard Automotive. “We are now positioned to grow our business in Asia to better serve the needs of our global OEM customers. The opportunities in China are enormous. With over 1,000 new vehicles each day on the streets of Beijing and the high demand for new vehicles in the country, we are excited about our prospects in the Chinese market.”