Cooper Tire Europe has opened a new 211,000sqft UK warehouse, with the capacity to store 400,000 tyres, in Swindon. Cooper stores Cooper and Avon brand tyres at the Spectrum Building, with the new facility already being fully operational. The Spectrum Building, designed by British architect Norman Foster, first opened in 1982 and was used as a backdrop in the James Bond film A View To A Kill in 1984.
On 1 October, Luis Ceneviz will succeed Jeff Schumaker as managing director – Europe tyre operations at Cooper Tire & Rubber. Ceneviz will hold this position in addition to his current role as managing director – Latin America tyre operations and will increase his area of responsibility to cover Europe, the Middle East and Africa in addition to Latin America, including Mexico and Central and South America. Jeff Schumaker, who has been based in the UK since his appointment as managing director – Europe tyre operations in January 2013, will assume the position of vice-president, global manufacturing.
Avon Tyres has launched two new winter tyres developed to provide a wide range of motorists with 13-18 inch fitment options: the WV7 and WT7. The Avon WV7 is a performance winter tyre, with increased sipe density to improve traction in snow, ice, slush and wet weather.
Derby County has made Avon Tyres its back of shirt and shorts sponsor for the upcoming 2016/17 Sky Bet Championship season. The sponsorship agreement means the Avon Tyres logo will appear on the back of the Rams’ first-team shirts and shorts for the entire campaign. Avon initially teamed up with the club in February 2016 to become the Rams’ Official Tyre Partner. The brand says it opted to increase its involvement for the new season due to the success of the partnership.
Recent initiatives to increase awareness of the Cooper tyre brand in the UK and Europe have yielded positive results, and therefore Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe not only intends to continue these efforts, it has begun extending them to the Avon brand. During Reifen 2016, Tyres & Accessories caught up with Jeff Schumaker, managing director and vice-president of the tyre maker’s European operations, and discussed where Cooper Tire Europe is heading with its two brands in regards to products, positioning and promotion.
A pair of new products – an all-new SUV tyre and a successor to the now eight year old ZV5 – have entered the Avon Tyres portfolio.
Avon Tyres has revamped its “landmark” Avon bridge at Castle Combe Circuit in Wiltshire. The brand is marking more than 60 years of its sponsorship deal with the circuit, which is only 11 miles from Avon’s base in Melksham; in fact, a recent renewal of its sponsorship will take the brand through to 75 years of association with one of the fastest tracks in the country.
Cooper Tire Europe has launched its first full Arabic website, www.coopertire.me. The new site has extensive content including product pages, company information and a dealer locator. The company stated the site demonstrates its continued commitment to the region, coming shortly after Cooper Tire Europe announced that it will be the official tyre sponsor of this year’s Dubai International Motor Show.
Cooper Tire will be the official tyre sponsor of this year’s Dubai International Motor Show. Announced during a visit by the vice president and managing director of Cooper Tire, Europe and the Middle East, Jeff Schumaker, the sponsorship will mark the tyre brand’s first move to increase its presence across the Middle East ahead of a series of new product arrivals over the coming months. The manufacturer has a tangential connection to the region through Arsenal Football Club, for whom it is the Official Tyre; Arsenal’s shirt sponsor is Dubai-based airline, Emirates.