Kenda Archives - Page 8 of 8

Cooper Drops Starfire Brand in North America

Cooper Tire & Rubber has reportedly ceased production of its Starfire associate tyre range in North America, and the company may further reduce the number of brands it sells. Manufacture of Starfire tyres ended last year and, as inventories are now mostly depleted, Cooper has begun recommending ‘suitable alternatives’ for dealers that formerly sold the brand.

Cooper launched the Starfire brand in 1994 to fit between the Cooper and Mastercraft brands, and the range was produced in sizes for passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks. The range continues to be sold in Asia.

13th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

New Process Improvement Chief Named by Cooper

Product News

(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. appointed Jeff Endicott as its new process improvement director, where he will oversee quality improvement, cost control and waste reduction for Cooper’s North America plants.

Most recently, Endicott served as technical director of the Cooper/Kenda Tire joint venture manufacturing facility in Kunshan, China.

21st September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Sales, Profits Up for Quarter

Product News

(Akron/Tire Review/T&A) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. posted record second quarter sales and quarterly and first half profits. Cooper’s quarterly sales hit US$751 million, up 20 per cent from the same period last year, and first half sales finished at $1.4 billion. Net income from second quarter sales were $17.6 million, up from a loss of $21 for the second quarter of 2006. For the first half, Cooper posted net income of $38 million, up from a loss of $26 million through the first six months of 2006.

Cooper said its North American tyre operations reported sales of $554 million in the quarter, up 20 per cent versus $463 million in the second quarter of 2006. The tyremaker said the increase was driven by improved pricing, increased unit sales across all market segments, and strong sales of private brand tyres. Operating profit for the unit was $23 million, compared to a net loss of $30 million in the second quarter last year. For the first six months of 2007, North American operations generated $51 million of operating profit on $1.09 billion of sales, up $36 million in profit year over year.

7th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Two New China Execs for Cooper Tire

Product News

Cooper Tire has named two new executives for its operations in China. Andrew Weiwen Chen has been appointed the new deputy general manager for Cooper Chengshan Tire Company, as well as director of finance for Cooper China. Mr. Chen’s primary association will be with Cooper Chengshan, although he will also have some financial responsibilities for Cooper’s China operations.

Reporting to Chuck Taylor, Cooper Chengshan’s general manager, and Jerry Long, chief financial officer for Cooper Asia, Mr. Chen will manage business planning and analysis, accounting and reporting, budget preparation, and treasury requirements.

13th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Turns-Out $21 million Net Income in First Quarter

Product News

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reported net income of $21 million or 33 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. The dramatically improved earnings were achieved as total sales increased by 16 per cent to a new first quarter record of $689 million. This compares to a net loss of $5 million generated on sales of $597 million in the first quarter of 2006.

During the quarter the company continued to benefit from the cost reduction and profit improvement initiatives it announced in September 2006 as well as improved price and mix in North America, and increased tyre unit sales in Europe and Asia. As a result, operating profit improved to $30 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared to an operating loss of $4 million in the first quarter of 2006.

4th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Sales Up, But Cooper Still Posts Larger Loss

Product News

(Akron/Tire Review) Despite seeing positive returns from its new operations in China, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. still posted a large loss for fiscal year 2006. The company reported full-year sales of $2.7 billion, up 24% from the year prior, but a net loss of $79 million, compared to a 2005 net loss of just $9 million.

1st March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Kenda JV Making Progress in China

Product News

Seven months after officially starting the project construction workers building Cooper/Kenda’s joint venture manufacturing plant have almost finished. The 800,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is situated in an industrial park in Kunshan, a suburb west of Shanghai. This first phase of the project is expected to be completed by December.

18th September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Names Sheng to Head China Operations

Product News

(Akron/Tire Review) With its operations in China growing quickly, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. brought in an outside expert to head that business. Margaret Sheng was named vice president of Cooper’s China operations and will be based in Shanghai, China.

Most recently, Sheng was regional executive director for Lear Corp. in central and southern China, and she has worked as director, general manager and operations manager for automotive manufacturers in China, Spain, the Philippines and US.

16th March 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Kenda Launches New Snow Tyre

Product News

Kenda Tires has completed the long-term test of its latest snow tyre. According to the company, the Polar Trax KR19 is designed to supply the grip and traction on the ice, snow, and wet road conditions. The new product will now be launched into the European market.
Kenda reports that it has produced its latest offering with winter road conditions in mind. The Polar Trax features what the company called a “premium twine construction” and drainage grooves for more efficient water clearance. Handling ability is said to have been enhanced by a special silica compound, which Kenda claims is an essential element when it comes to preventing aquaplaning. The tyre’s zigzag sipes also provide traction and grip to cope with the winter roads.

12th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Strike Update

Product News

(Akron/Tire Review) Workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Texarkana, Arkansas, tyre plant remained on strike today, as talks between the tyre maker and United Steelworkers of America (USWA) negotiators are said to be continuing. USWA represented employees walked off the job 12 March when their contract with Cooper, which had been extended from an earlier 6 March deadline, finally expired.

16th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper and Kenda in joint venture

Product News

Cooper has expanded its Far Eastern presence with a joint venture with Taiwanese tyre manufacturer Kenda. The two companies will build a plant to make radial passenger and light truck tyres, which will be situated in the Jiangsu Province of the People’s Republic of China and jointly owned by the two manufacturers. Construction will begin in the middle of next year, with tyre production starting late 2005. The tyres will be aimed at markets outside China. Speaking of the deal, Cooper’s Thomas A. Dattilo said: “It will allow us to add capacity and lower costs in our tyre business. It also gives us a base for sales in China down the road as the Chinese market increases significantly over the next decade.”

18th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooperation Between Cooper-Avon And Kenda

Product News

An agreement has been reached whereby Taiwanese tyre manufacturer Kenda will make passenger car radials for Cooper-Avon. Cooper says that a number of brand names will be manufactured, including Cooper and Avon, initially T-rated tyres and, again initially, for sale in Europe. The agreement frees up valuable capacity for high performance tyre production at Cooper-Avon’s Melksham plant, says Managing Director Ron Shield.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

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