Cooper Tire Asia held a formal dedication ceremony June 12 for a new Asia Technical Center (ATC) in Kunshan, China, which is also the site of the Cooper Kunshan Tire (CKT) manufacturing plant, approximately 30 miles from Shanghai.
The ATC was relocated to Kunshan from Shanghai to a new facility constructed specifically for Cooper’s research and development activities and staff of 65 material scientists and tire engineers. The ATC is one of four technical centers the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company family of companies operates on three continents around the world. It features state-of-the-art testing equipment and expanded research and development capabilities focused on designing and developing new passenger and truck tires primarily for China and the Asia market.
The dedication ceremony for the new, 54,000-square-foot facility included remarks by Allen Tsaur, Vice President and General Manager of Cooper Asia; Chuck Yurkovich, Vice President, Global Research and Development; and Gavin Edwards, General Manager of the ATC.
“The new Asia Technical Center is a key investment to support our growth in China and throughout Asia,” Tsaur said. “Our two strategic focus areas for Asia are passenger/truck tire growth and continued expansion of our successful work within the original equipment (OE) market. Working with OEs such as Great Wall and BAIC, ultimately translates to consumer demand for replacement tires, and it is the best way to continue to grow our brand as we simultaneously expand distribution points to serve consumers throughout Asia.”
Yurkovich added that “since 2007, Cooper has continued to improve our technical capabilities, placing a strong emphasis on speed to market and the launch of exceptional products,” he said. “We develop ‘ready-to-use’ advanced technology that we call upon when needed to introduce new products around the world, and we also pursue select innovative technology to achieve a competitive advantage through developing new and enhanced tire and materials technology. Cooper leverages this technology globally, and designs, builds and tests tires at technical centers in Asia, Europe and North America to enable us to provide superior customer value by tailoring products to meet the needs of customers region by region.”
“Locating the new ATC on the grounds of the CKT manufacturing plant offers many advantages including speed,” Edwards said. “With a plant nearby, we have the opportunity to test and interact with the people and equipment that actually produces our tires. It allows us to respond quickly to all of our customers, particularly OE vehicle manufacturers, which have high levels of technical demands, as we evolve to create and manufacture the best tires for drivers in China and throughout Asia.”
