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.