Cooper to market Kenda tyres in North America

By Liz White, ERJ staff

Findlay, Ohio-Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is to be the exclusive marketer of Kenda radial passenger and radial light truck tyres in the US and Canada, following an agreement between Cooper and the US arm of the Taiwanese firrn, American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd (Kenda USA Corp.).

According to Phillip Caris, Cooper's vice president, sales and marketing, the deal is “a logical extension of our ongoing relationship with Kenda Tire." Caris added that the strategy "provides Cooper with additional flexibility in the range of products we offer to meet the needs of today's tyre consumers.”

Cooper indicated recently that it was selling all the tyres it could make and that its US capacity could not be expanded fast enough to meet demand.

All the tyres involved are new products, jointly developed by Kenda and Cooper, designed to complement the current product offerings of both companies. Kenda USA will continue to market its existing range of speciality tyres, a statement from Cooper added.