Cooper signs TBR off-take manufacturing deal with Sailun Vietnam

FINDLAY, Ohio — Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has struck an off-take production deal with Sailun Vietnam Co. Ltd. for the production of radial truck and bus tires (TBR), giving Cooper a third source for truck tires it sells under the Roadmaster, Dean and Starfire brands.

Cooper also plans to open a 400,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in San Bernardino, Calif., this spring dedicated to distributing commercial tires to its customers in North America.

Sailun Vietnam, a subsidiary of China's Sailun Group, has been producing tires at its plant in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam, since early 2014 and has committed $200 million more for a second plant at that site for radial truck and OTR tires.

Cooper also manufactures truck/bus tires at its Qingdao Ge Rui Da Rubber Co. Ltd. joint venture in Qingdao, China, and from an off-take agreement with Prinx Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. that's scheduled to expire in 2019.

"Cooper has been expanding our TBR business in both the replacement and original equipment segments," Cooper President and CEO Brad Hughes said.

"The Sailun facility in Tay Ninh, Vietnam,…is a state-of-the-art plant with an experienced team that is committed to outstanding product quality. We look forward to working with them as we continue to grow our TBR business and meet customer demand for our products."

Cooper did not disclose financial terms nor the length of the "muti-year" agreement with Sailun.

This is Cooper's second announcement in two days regarding new warehousing/distribution logistics. It disclosed Feb. 7 its intention to open a 1-million-sq.-ft. warehouse near Memphis to help it improve its logistics infrastructure.