Cooper Tire building new research center in Shanghai

Cooper is ramping up its global presence with the new Cooper Tire Asia Technical Center in Zhudi Town, Minhang District in China's Shanghai suburbs. The facility augments the company's existing North American and European research and development centers.

The new technology center will position technology and intellectual resources closer to Cooper's key customers in the region, its Asia production facilities and the Asia-Pacific marketplace. In addition, having a local technical center will enhance the firm’s ability to support the North American and global markets, and will strengthen its position as an emerging global competitor, according to the company.

The Asia Technical Center building is located about 22 miles northwest of the center of Shanghai in Zhudi Town and is situated in a campus designated for light industry/research. The operation will include test wheels, a tire forensics laboratory, tire and rim storage, a vehicle lift, support workshops and materials laboratory plus offices, conference rooms and work rooms. It is estimated that more than 50 Cooper engineers, chemists and technicians will work in the facility.

It will be used for developing new products, tire constructions and tire designs. It will also have the capability to optimize existing products for performance, quality and manufacturability. For tire applications, the center can institute test programs for optimizing customer value, product improvements, alternative tire constructions and alternative materials evaluations.

In addition, it will be used to maintain tire engineering specifications, conduct competitor benchmarks, and will lend support to plant operations, and marketing and sales activities. The Technical Center will also help determine tire design parameters of mold profile shape, bead tie-in configuration and tread pattern design.

Headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper has 67 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities located around the world.