FINDLAY, Ohio — Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is planning to restart production starting April 27 at its idled plants in the U.S. and Serbia, while at the same time idling its plant in Mexico a second time due to a Mexican government ruling.
The U.S. and Serbian plants have been idled for the past five weeks due to the coronavirus and its impacts.
U.S. plants to reopen are in Clarksdale and Tupelo, Miss., Texarkana, Ark., and at the company's headquarters in Findlay. Cooper's plant in Serbia is located in Kruševac. The company's plant in Melksham, England, remains closed for now.
To help safeguard the health and safety of employees, the company has put in place a comprehensive set of return to work procedures that include required employee disclosures, increased cleaning and disinfecting of equipment, social distancing and physical barriers, visitor restrictions, and other measures.
Similar procedures have been effective at Cooper's two plants in China, which reopened in mid-February and have been ramping up production since.
In Mexico, the federal government in Mexico has determined that Cooper's plant there is a "non-essential" business, forcing Cooper to close the plant temporarily beginning April 28.
Cooper had reopened that plant, in El Salto, on April 13 after it had been idled for four weeks due to coronavirus and its impacts. The company will continue to monitor the situation and prepare to reopen as soon as appropriate.
Cooper said its distribution centers around the globe continue to operate and deliver product to customers.