Where Are Cooper Tires Made, And Who Owns The Company Today?
Cooper Tires are made in a variety of manufacturing plants located around the world. While Coope is one of the many tire brands that are manufactured in America, a substantial amount of the company's tires do come from plants located outside of the U.S., though the company also has plants in Findlay, Ohio; Tupelo, Mississippi, and Texarkana, Arkansas.
Cooper's non-U.S. factories can be found in San Luis Potosí, Mexico; Hangzhou, China, and Kruševac, Serbia. Cooper tires are also sold all over the world, with sales operations located in the U.S., the UK, France, the Middle East, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and a few others. Today, Cooper is one of the many cheap tire brands with high-mileage options.
Cooper also makes tires under a few different brand names. These include Mickey Thompson racing and high-performance tires, Dick Cepek off-road tires, Mastercraft tires, Starfire budget tires, Avon tires, and Dean commercial truck tires.
Who owns the Cooper Tire Company today?
The Cooper Tire and Rubber Company began in Akron, Ohio in 1914. This was when Claude E. Hart and John F. Schaefer, who were brothers-in-law, purchased the M and M Manufacturing Company. Business was doing great for tire patching and repair kits, due to the fact that early pneumatic tires were very prone to punctures.
There was also a large market for rebuilt tires at the time, so the brothers-in-law purchased a business that rebuilt tires, The Giant Tire & Rubber Company, also in Akron. In 1917, the merged companies moved to Findlay, Ohio, located about 130 miles west of Akron.
The Cooper Corporation, named after company director Ira J. Cooper, was formed in 1920 for the production of new tires. The company committed to the "Cooper Creed," which focused on the principles of fair play, good merchandise, and a square deal.
A period of tire industry consolidation in the 1920s and 1930s saw another merger, which led to Giant Tire and Cooper Tire merging with the Falls Rubber Company of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to form the Master Tire and Rubber Company. The company first operated under the Cooper Tire and Rubber Company name in 1946, to recognize Ira Cooper's contribution to the company.
In 2021, Cooper was purchased by the much larger Goodyear Tire and Rubber company, in its largest acquisition to date. Cooper is now just one of the many tire brands owned by Goodyear.