Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has entered into an agreement to purchase a majority stake in China-based Qingdao Ge Rui Da Rubber Co., (GRT). Cooper will own 65% of the entity, which will be renamed Cooper Qingdao Tire Co., (CQT).
The transaction will cost approximately US$93m including the acquisition and initial investments in the operation. It is expected to close during the first half of 2016 pending certain permits and approvals by the Chinese government.
CQT will serve as a global source of truck and bus radial tire production for Cooper including its Roadmaster brand tires for the North American market as well as TBR tires for Asia and other markets.
Passenger car radial tires may also be manufactured at the facility in the future. It is estimated that at full capacity, CQT will be capable of producing approximately 2.5 million to 3 million TBR tires annually and nearly the same number of PCR tires within the existing 1,000,000,000ft² production facility, with room for further expansion at the location.
GRT is located north of Qingdao in northeast China and currently employs approximately 600 workers.
January 12, 2016
