This autumn has been relatively mild, yet despite this so-called “Indian summer” Cooper Tire Europe has reminded motorists that ice and snow covered roads may be just around the corner and therefore they should prepare their vehicles for the winter weather sooner rather than later.
Negotiations on a new labour agreement for unionised workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Findlay, Ohio factory failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion before the existing agreement’s expiry on October 31, and local newspaper The Courier says talks between the tyre maker and United Steelworkers representatives are still ongoing.
Yokohama says that its 2011 motorsport season ranks as “one of the most successful” for the Japanese tyre manufacturer. It has supplied tyres to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the World Touring Cars Championship at the highest levels of circuit racing and rallying, while also helping “grass roots” level competitors to “clinch a huge variety of championships in almost every conceivable form of motorsport”.
The 2011 Avon Tyres British GT champions, Jim and Glynn Geddie, and the 2011 Cooper Tires British F3 Series champion, Felipe Nasr, have been honoured at the SRO awards evening in Oxfordshire. Cooper Avon has enjoyed another successful season of supporting the events, celebrating a joint landmark with the British Formula Three International Series – Cooper Avon’s thirtieth and the championship’s sixtieth – and seeing busy grids for the GT series. Cooper Avon is signed up with both championships until at least 2014.
To better target female consumers, Cooper Tire & Rubber has signed a parternship with well-known North American online automotive resource AskPatty.com. This formal agreement continues the tyre maker’s relationship with AskPatty, which began in July with a series of online articles supported by AskPatty’s social media outlets to help educate women on the importance of tyre care.
Avon Tyres has revamped its website and the new version is now live at www.avon-tyres.co.uk. The updated site features “a completely re-designed layout to give improved access to information on products for cars, 4x4s, motorcycles and vans.” According to the company, the site points to local Avon Tyres outlets through the “Find A Dealer” section. It also links to Avon Motorsport’s website, which has also been enhanced as one of the company’s chief marketing tools.
Although the United States tariff on imported Chinese consumer tyres is scheduled to end next year and import duties will thus drop from 29 to four per cent, Chinese manufactured tyres are not expected to regain the massive competitive advantage they once held over their US-made counterparts. During a quarter results conference call, Cooper Tire & Rubber chairman, chief executive officer and president Roy Armes commented that tyres produced in China held a 15 to 20 per cent cost advantage over locally produced tyres in the US market in early 2009. “Now it is in that 10 per cent to 15 per cent range,” he shared. Chief financial officer Brad Hughes added that the cost advantage for a landed tyre from China in the US was “moving towards” 10 per cent.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has announced it will once again issue a quarterly dividend. This time the US-based tyre manufacturer is offering 10.5 cents per share on common stock, payable 30 December 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business 2 December 2011. This will mark the 159th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
The shuttered Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. tyre plant in Albany, Georgia, has been sold to an Illinois developer, according to Tire Review. No details of how much was paid have yet been released.
Following last week’s news that Graham Matcham left Cooper Tire Europe’s Avon two-wheel tyre operation, it has now been announced that he has joined leading two-wheel tyre wholesaler,Cambrian Tyres in the new position of Continental brand manager, motorcycle.
Shares in Cooper Tire & Rubber Company hit a new 52-week low on Monday 12 September trading at $10.36, below the previous 52-week low of $10.50. According to a report at thestreet.com, Cooper Tire & Rubber has a market capitalisation of $696 million and shares were down 53.6 per cent year-to-date at the close of trading on Friday 9 September.
Three members of the board of KRT have completed a management buy-out of the group – UK & Ireland (financed by GE Capital). The new company – Kings Road Tyres Group Ltd will be led by Adrian Bader (managing director), Mark Cooper (commercial director) and Simon Lister (financial director). Bader told Tyres & Accessories that the transition of company ownership is proceeding “seamlessly”, since “most of the people that were running the company before will be running the new company”.
Following two harsh UK winters, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is predicting a further move towards cold weather tyres this year, and a continued increase in the related sales of tyres designed to perform at optimum level at temperatures of less than 7 degrees Celsius. Cooper reports that it is working closely with tyre dealers to be ready for the surge in demand and will extend production of certain tyre lines to help meet these needs.
The latest data from the US shows that shipments, what we might call sell-in sales, of light vehicle replacement tyres fell 12 per cent for RMA members and 10 per cent for the overall industry in July. This follows falls of 8.6 per cent in June and 10.7 per cent in May. Commenting on the figures, Deutsche Bank analysts pointed out that “the weakness was significantly more pronounced for broadline (economy) tyres,” with volumes down more than 20 per cent year-on-year in this segment.
Although a regimen of over-cautiousness seems de rigueur in parenting these days, when it comes to children and road safety the average mother takes a more casual attitude. A recent US survey conducted by Cooper Tire & Rubber in partnership with the websites Cars.com and MotherProof.com showed only one per cent of mums consider automotive maintenance as a priority in "keeping their children safe" – and none specifically mentioned tyre maintenance as a priority.
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