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BFNAT Super Bowl Spots Set

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire’s sponsorship of the NFL and the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show will certainly give the company’s Bridgestone brand massive exposure. And BFNAT plans to leverage the opportunity with two commercial spots during the game on February 3.

Even though BFNAT had bought two 30-second commercial spots for the broadcast, the tyremaker produced three TV spots. The two schedule spots – entitled “Scream” and “Unexpected Obstacles” – will air during the second and third quarters. The third spot – “Lucky Dog,” a 60-second commercial – will now be used in movie theatres nationwide, and will begin rolling after the Super Bowl.

Rocker Alice Cooper and weight loss guru Richard Simmons appear in the Scream spot. The Richards Group developed and produced all three commercials. (Tire Review/Akron)

28th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Lawsuit Families Given Access to Cooper Files

Legal proceedings against Cooper Tire in the US have, in the manufacturer’s opinion, the potential to compromise the company’s trade secrets. The plaintiffs arguing that a Cooper tyre contributed to a fatal 2005 van accident have been granted wide access to documents belonging to Cooper Tire & Rubber. This court decision, reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, has been described as “breathtaking” by Cooper. A company lawyer wrote in an affidavit that the scope of the search the plaintiffs will be permitted to carry out is “broader than has ever been applied to Cooper in any product-liability lawsuit.”

28th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyremakers, Safety Group Cannot Appeal TPMS Decision

An attempt to challenge a NHTSA rule that allows vehicle manufacturers to fit US market cars with indirect TPMS systems rather than a direct system has been dismissed by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The plaintiffs – consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, tyre manufacturers Goodyear, Bridgestone Firestone, Cooper and Pirelli, plus the Tire Industry Association, argued that the final NHTSA regulations fell far short of those intended by Congress. However, after examining paperwork submitted by Public Citizen following a similar decision six months ago, the court on January 22 again decided that it can see no compelling evidence that the shortcomings of indirect systems – the additional time taken to signal a loss of pressure, and compatibility issues – would create an injury risk for consumers.

25th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Avon Tyres Back in Expanded GT Championship

Avon Tyres is heading into its third year of title sponsorship of the high profile UK sports car racing championship, the British GT Championship. Since 2006, iconic cars including the Aston Martin DBRS9, Ferrari 430 and Dodge Viper have battled it out for the British GT Championship, with 500bhp machines racing at the UK’s top circuits on Avon tyres.

This year, a new category has been introduced. To be known as GT4, the category features sports cars based more closely on production models than the race-bred GT3 machines that spearhead the series. “Last year’s championship was fantastic as it went down to the final round, and 2008 looks set to be even better,” said Julian Baldwin, managing director of Cooper Tire Europe. “As well as a good entry of GT3 cars already signed up to fight for the overall title, there has been a lot of interest in the GT4 category, both from new and existing teams. It all helps to add even more evocative sports cars to the grid and showcase our products in the most spectacular way.“

10th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Makes More Mexico JV Appointments

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reshuffled its finance team following the recently announced formation of its joint venture company in Mexico. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company de Mexico, is responsible for the marketing, sales and distribution of Cooper and Pneustone brands. Currently, the Pneustone brand is the house brand of Llanti Systems, a division of Grupo Dexel, a Mexico company with entities involved in transportation, energy distribution, auto parts, specialty equipment and tyre production.

The headquarters for Cooper Tire & Rubber Company de Mexico is in Querétaro, Mexico, the site of the headquarters for Grupo Dexel. A management team has been put into place under the leadership of Jim Smith, the newly appointed general director. Smith was formerly Cooper’s plant controller at the Texarkana, Arkansas, tyre manufacturing plant. Chris Barbara, formerly Cooper’s manager of sales training, will assist Smith as director of marketing. These two individuals, along with Hugo Ybarra, director of sales, will lead the core team primarily responsible for all activities associated with the new trading company.

3rd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Roy Armes Becomes Cooper Chairman

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has made Roy V. Armes Chairman of the Board in addition to being President and CEO of the company. Along with that change, the Board dissolved the Office of the Chairman and appointed John Meier as Lead Director for the Board. Since August 2006, the Office of the Chairman has consisted of directors Byron Pond, Art Aronson and John Shuey. Armes was appointed President and CEO on 19 December, 2006.

21st December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper to Increase Prices

(Tire Review/Akron) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. announced a price increase of up to 5%, which will vary between product lines for all customers, effective February 1, 2008. The increase will cover passenger and light truck tyres.

18th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Dealer Fights Against Human Trafficking

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company European dealer, Sinton Tyres, has joined forces with an expedition that delivered five 4×4 vehicles to Sierra Leone in the fight against modern-day slavery. The Hull Freedom Trail group drove the quintet of Mitsubishi L200s from Hull to the town’s twin town of Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, and delivered them to four aid agencies working in the city with the child victims of human trafficking. The mission celebrated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the UK, a movement spearheaded by Hull native, William Wilberforce.

UK Cooper dealer Sinton Tyres donated Cooper’s rugged Discoverer STTs, which were fitted to the L200s to help them cross the difficult terrain the expedition faced on its 5,180-mile journey. “The asphalt roads pretty much ran out in Guinea,” explained expedition leader, Jonathan Richards.

18th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Appoints New Asia Executives

At the start of the New Year Allen Tsaur will take over as vice president and general manager of its Asian Operations, replacing Ron Shield, who took on the role in an interim capacity and is retiring at the end of 2007. Tsaur, who joined Cooper Tire in January 2007, is currently general manager of Cooper’s operations in China. The role of deputy general manager for the Asian Operations, a new position, will be filled by Michael Cati. The former director of Asian Operations sales and marketing will report directly to Tsaur.

4th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Proliance Chief Picked to Head MEMA Board

(Tire Review) Other MEMA board officers include Vice chairman – Terry R. McCormack, president and director, Affinia Group; Vice chairman – James S. McElya, CEO, president and director, Cooper Standard Automotive; and Treasurer – Eugene E. Ezzell, chairman and CEO, Mikronite Automotive Technologies. Al Stecklein, group president, worldwide aftermarket division, Gates Corp., will remain on the board as immediate past chairman.

New members of the board are Terry Keating, CEO and chairman, Accuride Corp.; Gordon Ulsh, president, CEO and director, Exide Technologies; and Dennis Welvaert, president, global automotive aftermarket, Dayco Products.

30th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire & Rubber Announces 143rd Quarterly Dividend

On November 15 Cooper Tire & Rubber announced a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents per share on its common stock, payable December 28, 2007, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 3, 2007. This latest payment will mark the 143rd consecutive quarterly dividend paid by the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. The company, which went public in 1960, has increased the dividend it has paid annually since 1980.

19th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Thomas P. Capo Named Director of Cooper Tire & Rubber

Cooper Tire & Rubber announced on November 15 that its Board of Directors has named Thomas P. Capo as a director of the company. Mr. Capo serves as chairman of the board for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc, a $1.7 billion car rental company, and also serves as co-chairman of the board of Microheat Inc., a privately held tier-one supplier to the automotive industry. Mr. Capo is an advisor on business, financial and investment strategy to various companies and organisations. He previously served on the boards of JLG Industries Inc., a $2.3 billion access equipment producer, and Sonic Automotive Inc., an $8.0 billion automotive retailer.

Mr. Capo served as senior vice president and treasurer of DaimlerChrysler Corporation from 1998-2000. Prior to 1998, he held the positions of vice president and treasurer of the Chrysler Corporation and vice president and controller of Chrysler Financial Corporation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, a master’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in economics, from the University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan.

19th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts Question Cooper’s Underlying Performance

In an analytical note entitled “When Will Nonrecurring Items Not Recur?” Deutsche Bank market watcher Rod Lache remarked he was disappointed with Cooper’s “underlying performance.” The manufacuturer’s recently published third quarter earnings per share results were, however, in line with estimations.

North American earnings improved $28 million year-on-year. But the analysts suggested that there are still problems with the company’s cost structure. The note stated: “While we believe that the inefficiencies being experienced by Cooper Tire may in fact be temporary, CTB must execute cost reductions, and management needs to specifically identify those improvements, before the market begins to buy into the sustainability of the company’s turnaround plan.”

8th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Reports Q3 Profit & Record Sales

Cooper Tire & Rubber has reported a net income of US$30.2 million or 48 cents per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, a marked contrast with last year’s third quarter loss of just under $25 million. Income from continuing operations increased by more than $41 million from a loss of $23.5 million for the same period last year, resulting in earnings per share of 29 cents from continuing operations. Income from discontinued operations also contributed $12.4 million, or 20 cents per share, for the quarter. The continued growth in earnings was accompanied by a new record of $767.7 million in sales for the quarter, an 11 per cent increase over the same period last year.

The company attributes its more positive quarterly results to improved pricing in North America and increased tyre unit sales for its international segment. The improvement was also supported by Cooper’s ongoing cost and profit improvement initiative implemented throughout the year. As a result, operating profit improved to $32.7 million in the third quarter of 2007, compared with an operating loss of $5 million in the third quarter of 2006. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, the company’s net income improved to $68.6 million on $2.2 billion of sales. This is a $119 million improvement in net income over the same period a year ago.

7th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Appoints Quality VP

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has appointed Carl R. Montalbine to the newly created position of vice president of Global Quality and Operational Excellence, reporting directly to Cooper President and CEO Roy V. Armes.
“One of Cooper’s competitive advantages is its continuing emphasis on quality,” Armes said. “Carl’s background and experience in the areas of six sigma, lean strategy deployment, black belt and green belt training and other focus areas of operational excellence will help us continue manufacturing tires that exceed customers’ expectations.”

6th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors