(Akron/Tire Review) NHTSA has launched a “preliminary evaluation” into a certain size of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s Dominator Sport A/T tyre line produced between 2003 and 2005. According to NHTSA, the agency has received a number of consumer complaints about problems with the tyre in question.
Cooper Tires has made another tough addition to its renowned Discoverer off-road range of tyres with the new Super Traction Tread (STT). Designed with the adventurous pursuits of rock-climbing, mud-eating and terrain-taming in mind, the Discoverer STT also offers great traction, enhanced durability and increased puncture resistance on the road thanks to its innovative and uncompromising design and tread compound. The bold, aggressive tread of Cooper’s new tyre has been extended down the sidewall to enhance soft surface traction and provide additional clawing power in rocky, off-road situations. The notched shoulder lugs have been scalloped, guaranteeing that one part of the tyre always has a clear shot at fresh ground.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. plans to unveil its second quarter and first half financial results before the market opens on Thursday, 3 August. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has not said when its second quarter/first half figures will be issued.
(Akron/Tire Review) Standard & Poor’s has dropped Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. from its S&P 500 index. The Findlay, Ohio, tyremaker will be replaced by telecommunications firm Windstream Corp. According to S&P, Cooper was the smallest member of the 500 in terms of market capitalization. In November 1999, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was cut from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which considers the performance of 30 stocks.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is teaming up with Speed, Style & Sound (S3) magazine to find “a cool car” to appear on the cover of the publication’s November 2006 issue. Cooper is inviting enthusiasts to post photos of their vehicles – including all modifications – on coopertire.com. Deadline is Aug. 31. Entrants must include the name and location of their local Cooper tire dealer.
Following earlier reports that Cooper Tire & Rubber will idle its Texarkana, Arkansas production facility, the company now says it has decided to suspend production at all of its US plants for two weeks. Cooper Tire & Rubber Europe’s production facility at Melksham, UK, is not expected to have any shutdowns. However, sources within the company report that production here has also been cut back slightly. As the problem is due to oversupply, deliveries are not expected to be adversely affected. Cooper Tire & Rubber Europe sources all of its 4×4 lines from the US production plants.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s manufacturing facility in Texarkana, Arkansas, will shut down production for two weeks, according to a report in the Texarkana Gazette.
Cooper Tires has expanded its Discoverer off-road family of tyres with the addition of the ‘Discoverer ATR’. Designed exclusively for use on 4x4s, light trucks and SUVs, the Discoverer ATR delivers outstanding traction and versatility thanks to a radically new tread pattern, construction and compound, according to Cooper.
As Cooper’s hardest-working all-terrain tyre, the Discoverer ATR arrives with the promise of uncompromising performance regardless of the surface. The rugged five-rib tread pattern extends over the shoulders to enhance off-road traction. Combined with wide and deep saw tooth circumferential grooves, and lateral slots, the Discoverer ATR is said to provide “a solid all-terrain performance advantage and enhanced all-weather traction.”
Anyone who visited the Essen Reifen Messe will know that walking around all of the world’s largest dedicated tyre exhibition requires marathon-esque stamina. Despite this, next month Tyres & Accessories will report on all the breaking news from the show. From the recent influx of new Chinese companies, to Cooper and Marangoni’s decision to launch their passenger car run-flat technology, we hope to bring you all the information you need if you didn’t attend, and more detail if you did. Look out the comprehensive exhibition review in July’s Tyres & Accessories.
Deutsche Bank analysts lowered their estimates on Goodyear and Cooper following what the was reportedly an “abysmal April” for the US tyre business. “Anecdotal reports from our tyre industry contacts suggest that US replacement tyre demand was down again in May following an abysmal April (-9.6 per cent). Weak demand comes at a bad time for tyre producers, many of which were already brimming with finished goods inventory at the end of the first quarter and experiencing huge spikes in raw material costs,” the analysts reported.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has announced that Dick Stephens, president, North American Tire Division, will retire from the Company. Stephens’ impressive career at Cooper spans 28 years.
“Dick has made a great and significant contribution to the growth and success of the company as well as advancement of our technology around the world. His guidance, expertise and determination will be missed and we wish him well,” said Tom Dattilo, Cooper’s chairman, president and CEO.
(Akron/Tire Review) Recent television news reports concerning Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. using an ex-con to conduct accident site investigations were more than they appeared to be, according to Cooper. According to a Cooper spokesman, the tyre maker did employ Frank Ruggier to investigate vehicle accidents on its behalf, but fired him “over a year ago” when the company discovered Ruggier had previously been convicted of insurance fraud and grand theft.
(Akron/Tire Review) Television news reports in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Detroit over the last week allege that Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. hired an ex-convict to investigate some allegedly tyre-related accidents on its behalf, collect evidence and deliver the accident site evidence to Cooper headquarters in Findlay, Ohio. In the televised reports, Cooper denied that its tyres are faulty or are to blame in tread separation accidents.
Cooper will be unveiling its new run-flat technology at the Essen show. The Cooper Zeon 2XS run-flat tyre is designed and manufactured to handle typical air loss situations, allowing motorists to drive on safely for up to 50 miles to their destination or suitable service station. Cooper Tire will be at stand 3-322, exhibiting products including Cooper, Avon and Mickey Thompson tyres.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has taken the first steps toward closing its Athens, Georgia, retread rubber and racing tyre plant by the end of summer. The news comes after the yremaker filed paperwork with the Security and Exchange Commission outlining the write-down it expects to take as a result of the action.
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