Cooper gains grant for fuel-efficient tyre development

Goodyear is not the only US tyre maker amongst the 40 companies that received grants from the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Vehicle Technology; Cooper Tire & Rubber is another beneficiary, and has been awarded US$1.5 million towards its project to develop a new class of fuel efficient tyres for the replacement market. The tyres Cooper develops, the Department of Energy explains, are expected to utilise innovative materials technology and tyre design concepts in order to improve overall fuel efficiency by three per cent.

Announcing Cooper Tire’s receipt of the funds, Ohio state senator Sherrod Brown said “fuel-efficient tyres made in Ohio can help to create a new generation of energy efficient vehicles made right here in the United States. By investing in American manufacturers, like Cooper Tire, we can drive a new generation of smart economic growth and energy independence while creating new jobs throughout the manufacturing supply chain.”

Brown’s support for the grant and the project is unsurprising; the senator describes himself as an outspoken advocate for Ohio’s automotive industry and was amongst those who testified to the US International Trade Commission in 2009 in support of tyre workers at Cooper’s Findlay plant whose future was threatened by the growing quantity of imported Chinese tyres entering the US market.