Cooper investing $31 million for joint-venture tire production plant in Guadalajara, Mexico

Jan. 1, 2020
Cooper Tire is investing $31 million in a tire factory located in Guadalajara, Mexico. The facility will be jointly owned by Cooper, IBSA (a Mexican holding corporation) and Cooperativa TRADOC SRL. Cooper's ownership stake is 38 percent.
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Cooper Tire is investing $31 million in a tire factory located in Guadalajara, Mexico. The facility will be jointly owned by Cooper, IBSA (a Mexican holding corporation) and Cooperativa TRADOC SRL. Cooper’s ownership stake is 38 percent.

“We believe this is another example of our commitment toward competitive cost manufacturing to improve our overall global cost positioning of Cooper tires and, more importantly, improve our competitive advantage in the North America market,” says Roy Armes, Cooper’s chairman, president and CEO.

“We are pleased with this opportunity and believe it moves us forward as a stronger competitor in an ever-changing global market. This is an important step in the implementation of our strategic plan and our access to cost- competitive sourcing,” he adds.

“Securing access to a steady source of supply to supplement the production of our U.S. facilities and meeting the customers’ demands in the North American market is critical to our success. Further, this will help us facilitate penetration in the Mexico market with our Cooper brand,” according to Armes.

“This agreement highlights the importance for the company to join with specialized labor with a commitment to high-quality products and efficiency. Further, as this alliance combines all parties’ strengths, the factory is expected to be one of the most reliable and efficient plants in North America,” says Jesus Torres Nuno, president of Cooperativa TRADOC SCP and vice president of Corporacion de Occidente.

Jose Antonio Suarez Hernandez, executive director of Corporacion de Occidente, reports that “Cooper is definitely the ‘world class’ partner we were looking for to succeed in the global tire market. This long-term agreement will allow important synergies that will take our plant to a high efficiency level and the ability to become a quality producer for the world market.”

In October 2007, Cooper announced a 50-50 joint venture to form a trading company with Nemet International, SA de CV, responsible for the marketing, sales and distribution of the Cooper and Pneustone brands in Mexico. The firm will continue to operate as a separate entity, and this latest agreement will replace a previously negotiated “offtake arrangement.”

Corporacion de Occidente, the second-largest tire plant in Mexico, is located on 17.3 acres. It currently produces 2.4 million passenger radial tires per year. Expansion plans are in place to bring that capacity to an estimated 4.6 million by year-end 2010, and 6 million units during 2011. At present there are some 700 employees involved in manufacturing at the facility.

Cooper, based in Findlay, Ohio, has 67 global locations.

For more information, visit www.coopertire.com.

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