An extra US$39 million will go into Cooper Tire & Rubber’s pension plan to cover its obligations when the company’s Albany factory closes later this year. In an agreement made with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., announced on August 12, Cooper will fulfil its $62 million obligation by contributing $39 million to the pension plan and waiving its $23 million credit for past over funding.
Cooper aims to maintain its double digit growth in China over the coming years. The company’s vice president and general manager of Asia operations, Allen Tsaur, reports Cooper’s revenues in China last year to be close to five billion yuan, a figure he describes as contributing a “significant portion of Cooper Tires’ global revenue.”
Cooper Tire is supporting a charity expedition travelling across the world to highlight the plight of children living in poverty. Dubbed the “Rambling Rat”, Tim Dennis has travelled all the way across Europe, Asia and North America in a Toyota Land Cruiser equipped with Cooper’s rugged Discoverer STT tyres, which have successfully taken him some 44,000 miles across the harshest terrains on Earth.
The adoption of automated sort-and-palletise systems and all three of Cooper Tire’s US factories is saving an estimated US$10 million a year, the company reports. Installation of the first of such systems, which use towering gantry cranes and conveyors to sort and stack tyres by bar code, began in Findlay in May 2007 and the final system in Texarkana was signed off in February 2009.
The Findlay automation system has reduced the number of manual tyre lifting touches from five to zero, and pallets of tyres previously handled three times by a forklift are now handled just once. “It’s an ergonomic improvement by having the tyres handled automatically versus people lifting them by hand,” points out Findlay plant engineer Scott Forry. The installation of the system is, comments Forry, “the largest single automation change that the Findlay plant has undertaken.”
Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced that, in response to consumer demand, it has added new sizes to a number of its tyre line-ups. These new sizes, the company states, form part of its effort to ensure replacement tyre buyers have the ability to make the right tyre purchase for their vehicle. The expanded Cooper tyre ranges include the following additions:
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. appointed John Bodart as vice president of its North American tyre manufacturing operations and Alex Perry as plant manager at the Texarkana, Arkansas, manufacturing facility. Bodart will oversee North American tyre plant managers, operations excellence, reliability engineering and lean engineering. A 20-year Cooper employee with experience in plant management, quality assurance, mold operations, tyre testing and product development, he most recently worked as plant manager in Texarkana, Cooper said.
Perry will relocate from Cooper’s manufacturing facility in Melksham, England. Perry previously served in manufacturing operations, assembly operations and production roles in Melksham and Texarkana. Before joining Cooper in 2001, he spent several years in the British Army as a bomb disposal officer, reaching the rank of captain prior to his retirement. He also has prior experience with two other companies in management roles. Perry is the first Cooper employee to become certified as a black belt under the Cooper Tire Lean Six Sigma program, the company said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Maxxis has completed its second Maxxis Rewards prize draw, giving 13 tyre retailers £500 worth of gift vouchers from either Marks & Spencer, Thomas Cook or High Street Gift Vouchers, which they can spend at more than 18,000 stores across the UK, including Boots, HMV, Debenhams, Waterstone’s, M&S, House of Fraser, Carphone Warehouse and Threshers. Under the terms of the Maxxis Rewards initiative, the more Maxxis car, van and 4×4 tyres that accredited retailers purchase during the promotional period, the greater their chances of winning a major prize.
The Maxxis Rewards dealer support programme has been organised in conjunction with Grouptyre, the exclusive Maxxis distributor in the UK. Dealers who sign up are automatically entered into the quarterly prize draws, which run until 11 December. Based on their purchase levels, retailers also have the opportunity to earn Argos vouchers and Maxxis-branded promotional clothing and accessories.
The winning tyre dealers and Grouptyre members who supply them are:
Auchinlea Tyres (dealer) – Cooper Bros. (Grouptyre member)
Baker Tyres – Broadway Tyres
Baldonrie Garage – Kenway Tyres
Carmarthenshire Tyre Services Ltd – King David Tyres
DIY Motorist Centre – WJ Wood & Son
Holderness Tyre Services Ltd – BAB Distribution
Hometyre Services – Car Tyrestore
Homend Tyres – ETB
K&M UK Ltd – EG Wholesale
Leeds Commercial Vehicles – NE Wholesale
Lurgan Tyre Company – MT Wholesale
Tyre Care Ltd T/A Havers Tyres – We Sell Tyres (Wholesale)
Wheels ‘n’ Tyres – Oak Tyres
Cooper Tire Europe has announced the launch of the second generation of its Discoverer Discoverer range of 4×4 tyres, the UK-built Discoverer M+S2. Replacing the existing Discoverer M+S product, the new tyre is designed to offer superior grip and braking ability, particularly in wet, snowy or icy conditions.
With nearly a third of all road accidents happening on wet, snowy or icy road surfaces – a figure provided by the DfT in its 2007 Road Casualties of Great Britain report – having a tyre that grips the road is imperative, says Cooper. The Discoverer M+S2 has a new directional tread pattern to attempt to achieve greater grip in the slippery conditions described. It is also stud-able and the optimised offset stud pattern help maximise grip on icy roads, when studs are fitted.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced that, in response to consumer demand for greater vehicle fuel efficiency, it has launched its first low-rolling resistance tyre line – the Cooper GFE (Greater Fuel Efficiency). The new range is already available in dealerships across the US.
“With the recent volatility in gasoline prices, customers are looking for ways to improve their vehicle fuel economy,” said Chuck Yurkovich, Vice President of Global Technology. “Tyre rolling resistance has a significant impact on vehicle fuel economy, so Cooper responded with a new tyre specifically designed for fuel-efficient vehicles.”
Cooper Tire states that the ‘Cooper Way’ includes such values as ‘doing the right thing’ and to ‘be a good community citizen’. These qualities were recently displayed when more than 60 Cooper employees, retirees and family members donated their time on two simultaneous Habitat for Humanity building projects in the company’s home town of Findlay, Ohio.
The new 54-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Claw TTC is an “ultra-aggressive off-road performance tyre with an advanced bias belted construction specially designed for rugged off-road use including rock crawling, mud, snow, sand, dirt and gravel,” said the marketer.
The Baja Claw TTC, a complete redesign of the original Baja Claw, features directional “SideBiters,” deep shoulder lugs, integrated concave blades to disperse mud, multi-angle sipes, and a highly cut-resistant tread compound. The 19.5/54-20LT Baja Claw TTC weighs 201 pounds, and has an inflated tyre diameter of 53.8 inches with 26/32nds of tread depth, Mickey Thompson officials said. The division of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. said the new tyre would be available in the third quarter of 2009. (Tire Review/Akron)
Avon Tyres is celebrating all that is ‘Best of British’ on two and four wheels, with a competition and poster campaign. All you have to do to is log on to www.avon-tyres.co.uk. Bikers can win a trackday at Castle Combe on Avon VP2 tyres, while visitors to the car site can win VIP hospitality tickets to the season finale of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Brands Hatch on 20 September. Runners-up from each competition will be given the chance to win exclusive limited-edition Avon watches.
Cooper Tire Europe (Avon’s parent company) managing director, Julian Baldwin, said: “We are extremely proud of Avon Tyres’ British heritage, both as a manufacturer and a prime mover in the world of motorsport. Two years ago, our parent company’s faith in the quality of our British engineering skills was illustrated by the siting of the firm’s entire European design and technical centre in Melksham.”
Cooper Tire intends to close its Cedar Rapids, Iowa distribution centre later this year, local newspaper The Gazette reports. According to an article published on June 4, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the representative union for employees at the site, has been informed and union representatives have begun negotiations over severance payments.
Deb Hansen, president of the local union chapter, says that no definite date has been given for the centre’s closing, and further commented that the union wasn’t surprised when Cooper announced its intention to close the site. “They had been tossing it around for some time, even when we were negotiating,” Hansen said, adding that the economic has probably also contributed to the decision.
Melksham landlord Eddie Schofield has been named as the new manager of the Cooper Avon Sports & Social Club, based at Melksham House in the town. Schofield, currently landlord of the Pickled Pilot pub in Bowerhill, will take up his new post at the end of June, when current manager Terry Gregory retires. Gregory, 69, has managed the popular club, which is just off Market Place in the centre of Melksham, for 26 years.
“Terry has been a regular presence at our Sports & Social Club for over quarter of a century, and he’s one of the most popular faces in the town,” said Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe managing director Julian Baldwin. “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Terry for his long and faithful service. We’ll miss him.”
In the US Cooper’s Mastercraft brand is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and the tyre-maker plans to use the milestone to reinvigorate the brand for future success. “Very few brands can say that they have been around for 100 years,” said Hal Gardner, Cooper vice president of marketing. “The Mastercraft brand has built a lasting commitment to quality, dependability and durability, and it’s that level of product dependability that has built trust with our Mastercraft dealers and consumers throughout the past 100 years.”
Cooper said it is implementing several programmes in honor of the milestone including the creation of a 100th anniversary logo, rebate programme and sweepstakes. For example, consumers purchasing four select Mastercraft Courser and Mastercraft Avenger tires between 1 June and 31 July can receive a rebate up to $50. A full list of eligible tires, rebate amounts and rebate forms are available at MastercraftTires.com. Consumers can also enter the 100 Days of Summer Celebration sweepstakes for a chance to win a Yamaha FX SHO WaveRunner with trailer, free Mastercraft tires for life and gift cards to Bass Pro Shops.
“The 100 Days of Summer Celebration is a tremendous opportunity to re-energize the Mastercraft brand and remind people of the quality that goes into each one of our tires,” said Gardner. “And going forward, we will continue to apply that same innovative approach to technology and marketing that has made us successful for a century.” (Tire Review/Akron)
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