In late December Cooper Tire & Rubber announced the appointment of Brenda S. Harmon to the position of senior vice president, Global Human Resources and Communications. In her new role, Harmon is leading all human resource and employee relations activities for the company.
The controller of Cooper Tire’s Cooper Chengshan Tire joint venture in Rongchen City, China, William Wang, has been named the new controller of Cooper Kenda Tire Co., Cooper's manufacturing joint venture in Kunshan, China. Wang replaces Mark Ehren, who is on medical leave, and in his new position will be responsible for financial planning, preparation of the operation's financial statements, budgeting, internal controls and review and oversight of the general ledger to ensure the integrity and accuracy of accounts. In addition to his new role, Wang will continue responsibility for leading the enterprise resource planning initiative and key information technology projects in Cooper Chengshan to ensure the effective and efficient recording of accounting transactions.
Reports indicate Cooper Tire & Rubber wishes to increase the share of its global sales generated in China from 25 to 30 per cent in the next three years. "That's our minimum target,” said Allen Tsaur, general manager for Cooper Tire's Asia operations during an interview with Reuters. “The Chinese domestic market is explosive and the pie is expanding. We have to grow fast to keep up the pace.”
Avon Tyres has announced that it will be utilising what it terms “eco-friendly” or “clean oil” in its tyres from 2010. According to the manufacturer, the new tyres will be “eco-friendly with no effect on grip and indeed, in the case of some high-performance range tyres, will actually have increased levels of grip.”
Christmas arrived early for 13 lucky tyre retailers who will receive a luxury hamper and £400 in Argos gift vouchers after winning the final Maxxis Rewards quarterly prize draw of 2009. “The Maxxis Rewards programme helped promote the brand, not only boosting Maxxis PCR sales throughout the year, but also helping us to develop key relationships, as retailers contacted us to find out more about adding Maxxis to their range and some of those that already offered Maxxis were encouraged to recommend it to their customers as a quality, value for money tyre,” says Grouptyre sales director Paul Hollows.
Tyre manufacturers in the US are likely to follow Goodyear in raising prices to offset tariffs on Chinese made tyres and rising raw material costs. This is the opinion disseminated by Associated Press, which reports KeyBanc analyst Saul Ludwig’s view that prices will be up some five to ten per cent by January. Goodyear, which will increase consumer replacement market prices by six per cent in December, imports around two per cent of its tyres from China. Its price increase, thus, could offset the extra costs.
A US$10 million investment is being made to increase capacity at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Findlay, Ohio factory. The funds, says Cooper, will be directed towards increasing capacity through automation, cost improvements and retooling to support market trends. The investment will also enable up to 100 new people to be hired at Findlay.
Cooper Tire has announced that it will become the exclusive tyre supplier and first sponsor of the newly-revived USF2000 National Championship, which is being re-launched for the 2010 motorsport season as a feeder category to the US-based Indy Racing League. Tyres for the series will be joint-branded COOPER/F2000 and supplied by Avon Tyres Motorsport in the UK. “The USF2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires” will launch in the Spring, as a single-seater racing category with races expected to take place on road courses, street tracks and ovals. Cooper will also present the winner of each race’s pole position with $500, which will be called the “Cooper Tires, Don’t Give Up a Thing Award”.
An entertainment package comprising an iPod, Nintendo Wii and DSi consoles, and a portable DVD player awaits the winners of the latest Maxxis Rewards quarterly prize draw. Tyre retailers who sign up for the dealer support programme are automatically entered into a series of quarterly prize draws and also have the opportunity to earn Argos vouchers and Maxxis branded promotional clothing and accessories. Entries are linked to a retailer’s purchase of Maxxis car, van and 4×4 tyres during the appropriate promotional period, and previous Maxxis Rewards winners have enjoyed LCD or Plasma TVs and £500 worth of gift vouchers. The prize for the final quarterly draw has been confirmed as gift vouchers to the value of £400 and a Christmas hamper.
Cooper Tire Europe will compete in next year’s Dakar Rally after sealing an agreement with Dakar veteran, Spaniard Xavier Foj. Along with co-driver, Argentine Pablo Jaton, Foj will compete in a Toyota Cooper Tire team Land Cruiser KXR built by Jaton’s brother. The rubber of choice for the arduous 9000 kilometre event is to Cooper’s rugged Discoverer STT.
Cooper Tire & Rubber had a busy week at SEMA, revealing plans for a series of new tyres for some of its associate lines and talking up its green tyre success. Cooper officials said that sales of its first green line, the Cooper GFE, have been outstanding, and dealer and consumer feedback have been positive. The tyre was introduced earlier this year.
The Cooper Kenda Tire joint venture factory in Kunshan, China has become the fourth Cooper Tire & Rubber facility to gain ISO 9001 certification. The plant’s ISO 9001:2008 quality management system certification follows last year’s certification of Cooper’s three US manufacturing facilities, Findlay, Ohio, Texarkana, Arkansas, and Tupelo, Mississippi.
Cooper Tires has launched a ‘cashback’ promotion for the final two months of 2009, offering customers up to £50 when they buy two or four qualifying tyres. The offer applies to the Cooper Zeon 2XS and Cooper Zeon CS6 performance car tyres, as well as the new Cooper Zeon 4XS, Cooper Zeon XST and Cooper Zeon XST-A range of 4×4 tyres. Products in the Discoverer STT and Discoverer S/T 4×4 line-ups are also included.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has appointed Brad Hughes as vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Hughes succeeds Phil Weaver who retires at the end of the year. Weaver has served Cooper 19 for years and has been CFO since 1999.
Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Texarkana facility in the US state of Arkansas has received this year’s ‘Diamond Award for Excellence in Environmental Leadership’ from the Arkansas Environmental Federation. The award, states the tyre maker, recognises companies that demonstrate initiative or leadership in managing their environmental affairs.
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