Cooper Appoints New General Manager to Mexican JV Operation

In late March Cooper Tire & Rubber announced the appointment of Jeffrey J. Schumaker as general manager of the company’s manufacturing joint venture in Mexico, Corporacion de Occidente. Schumaker joined Cooper in 1988 and has served as tyre testing manager, and sport-utility vehicle and light truck tyre development manager in the US and as technical liaison manager in Melksham. Following his time in the UK he held the position of business unit manager in Albany, Georgia, and, most recently, as director of quality systems. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and master’s degrees in manufacturing management and operations management.

Corporacion de Occidente, which has its headquarters in the city of Guadalajara, operates Mexico’s second largest tyre manufacturing plant. The facility, located on a 17.3-acre site, produces around 2.4 passenger car radials per annum. Expansion plans are in place to bring that capacity to an estimated 4.6 million by year-end 2010, and 6.0 million units during 2011. Currently there are approximately 700 employees involved in manufacturing at the facility.