Cooper Tire reopening US and Serbia tyre factories

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is set to open its manufacturing plants in the United States and Serbia next week (the week commencing Monday 27 April). The facilities have been temporarily closed for approximately five weeks due to coronavirus and its impacts. The company’s plant in Melksham, UK remains temporarily closed. And Cooper’s Mexico plant is to close temporarily.

US plant locations that are reopening include Findlay, Ohio; Clarksdale and Tupelo, Mississippi and Texarkana, Arkansas.

Cooper’s plant in Serbia is located in Kruševac.

To help safeguard the health and safety of employees, the company has put in place “a comprehensive set of return to work procedures that include required employee disclosures, increased cleaning and disinfecting of equipment, social distancing and physical barriers, visitor restrictions, and other measures.”

According to the company, similar procedures have been effective at Cooper’s two plants in China, which reopened and began ramping up production in mid-February.

The company also announced that the federal government in Mexico has now determined that Cooper’s manufacturing plant there is a non-essential business, and is requiring Cooper to temporarily close the plant beginning April 28.

Cooper had successfully reopened its Mexico plant 13 April after it had been temporarily closed due to coronavirus and its impacts. The company will continue to monitor the situation and prepare to reopen as soon as appropriate.

In the meantime, Cooper reports that its distribution centres around the globe continue to operate and “flow product to customers”.