FINDLAY, Ohio (May 6, 2014) — Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is evaluating an investment of perhaps as much as $140 million to modernize its Tupelo, Miss., car and light truck tire plant, aided by up to $39 million in state and local funding.
The project to make the plant more competitive came to light recently when Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bond issue bill that would authorize the state to borrow $230 million for a variety of industrial projects, including $20 million over three years to support Cooper's plans to modernize the 30-year-old Tupelo plant.
In addition, Lee County's board of supervisors has approved a plan to give Cooper $18.8 million in property tax breaks over 10 years, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
Cooper acknowledged it is making an investment to modernize equipment in Tupelo, but declined to discuss specifics or comment on details that have been published widely in Mississippi.
The company did say: “We are grateful to have the support of the government there as we work to make our plants even more competitive. We do not provide specifics on the equipment modernization as it represents proprietary information.”
