Cooper Tire Europe has launched a new product for van drivers. Called the Cooper Evolution Van All Season, the tyre is approved for year-round usage in countries with seasonal tyre regulations and bears the 3PMSF snowflake within a three-peaked mountain logo on the sidewall as evidence of this.
The completion of Goodyear’s takeover of Cooper on 7 June this year brought with it the first indications of the scale of Cooper’s sales in the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market. Before that point, Cooper only reported sales figures for their “International Tire Operations”, which includes sales generated worldwide outside EMEA.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has published figures that show its third-quarter 2021 sales were $4.9 billion, up 42 per cent compared with a year ago. Of course, much of this increase was driven by the company’s acquisition of Cooper Tire, but growth still came in at 16 per cent with the benefits of the Cooper merger excluded. At the same time, Goodyear executives also reported that the company now expects circa 50 per cent greater Cooper merger-related synergies than before. Specifically, this means a benefit of $250 million in run-rate synergies by mid-2023 up from an initial forecast of $165 million. And what’s more, the company expects to realize approximately $20 million of these savings in 2021. No estimates for 2022 synergies are being released until at least the end of 2021 and more likely February 2022 when full-year 2021 data has been processed.
Mickey Thompson’s Baja Legend EXP off-road have claimed 2021 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show Best New Product Awards in the Tire and Related Product category. Mickey Thompson’s ET Street Front drag tyre and Cooper Tire’s Discoverer Snow Claw were also named runners-up.
Cooper Tire Europe has presented a unique Rally Sprint event at the 78th Goodwood Members’ Meeting in a new partnership. Delayed since March 2020, the eagerly awaited Members’ Meeting took place on 16-17 October. The Goodwood Rally Sprint Presented by Cooper Tires showcased Cooper’s rallying heritage with a spectacular selection of World Rally Championship (WRC) machinery. It is currently a supplier to the North American Rally Championship and the Mobil Rally Chile, as well as being the sole tyre supplier to the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the sister FIA European Rallycross Championship.
Goodyear has announced the appointment of Jaap van Wessum as Goodyear sales general manager Consumer UK & Ireland and Cooper Europe. Van Wessum will lead Consumer Sales within the UK & Ireland alongside leading the Cooper Europe business. He will also have responsibility for Goodyear’s legal entity within the UK and Ireland.
One of the world’s largest tyre companies, Goodyear employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 55 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centres in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. Recently, Goodyear completed the acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber, which is a great place to start this month’s Torque from the Top Q&As – an ongoing series of interviews with leading executives. Our interviewee this month is Pravesh Amtha, recent sales general manager Consumer UK & Ireland at Goodyear, who has now moved onto “an expanded leadership role managing a portfolio of strategic business projects across Goodyear’s EMEA business”.
Goodyear has increased operating income considerably in the second quarter of 2021, thanks in part to its merger with Cooper Tire, completed on 7 June. Net income totalled $67 million (£48.45 million at today’s exchange rate $1.00 = £0.72) versus a loss of $696 million (£503 million). Second-quarter sales were $4 billion (£2.89 billion), a rise of 86 per cent versus the second quarter of 2020, which was heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the year to date, Goodyear has sold 40 per cent more tyres than in the same period of 2020, with both replacement tyres (41 per cent) and original equipment tyres (39 per cent) assisting in this rise. Cooper sales between the merger completion date and 30 June (the end of the second quarter) totalled $256 million (£185 million). This figure excludes calculations relating to Cooper inventory and assets.
While the world is still adjusting to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been no small measure of disruption in the standings of the world’s leading tyre manufacturers, according to our latest top 25 table. Six of the top 10 have changed places this time round, with the headline news being that Michelin has regained pole position after several years of having Bridgestone in first place. At the same time, Continental has stepped up into third position, leapfrogging the previous incumbent Goodyear.
Cooper Tire Europe has become an official partner of the FIA Pure Motorsport documentary series. Launched in November last year and supported by the FIA Innovation Fund (FIF), Pure Motorsport shines the light on the broad and diverse world of FIA competitions.
Cooper Tire has “officially joined the Goodyear team”. That’s how Cooper Tire general manager EMEA, Jaap Van Wessum characterised the takeover of the company by fellow US tyremaker Goodyear, which was completed on 7 June 2021. Van Wessum also offered further details of what Cooper’s integration into Goodyear means for Cooper suppliers and partners.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has confirmed that it has completed its acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, finalizing the merger agreement announced on 22 February 2021. The announcement brought with it one or two more hints of how the synergisation of the two businesses might work.
13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard has slammed the current generation of Formula One tyres, which are supplied by Pirelli. Speaking in an interview with RaceFans.net, Coulthard said Pirelli era tyres resulted in boring races: “This whole Pirelli era is just confusing to me and boring to me to have to talk about, and super-boring for me to have to listen to the drivers going ‘I was trying to avoid pushing too hard on the tyres’.”
Cooper Tire Europe says that as of the 2021 season, its rally tyres will be an official tyre option for the Motorsport UK British Rally Championship (BRC). As such, it will offer competitors six patterns and a total of 19 sizes for 13- to 18-inch rim diameters from its refreshed rally tyre range.
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Andrea Piacquadio; Pexels
Cooper Tire