Cooper and Pirelli restructure alliance

FINDLAY, Ohio (April 5)—Effective July 1, Pirelli Tire Worldwide will reassume responsibility for the sales and customer service of its Pirelli brand in the U.S. under the terms of its restructured alliance with Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. While the results of the 3-year-old alliance generally were positive, "it was agreed that a new approach would be beneficial in pursuing separate brand strategies," Cooper said in a written statement. The two will remain technical partners. Cooper will continue to manufacture selected lines of Pirelli products for sale in the U.S. and manage logistics support for Pirelli here, while Pirelli's international group considers supplementing Cooper's performance tire product offering by manufacturing selected ultra-high-performance sizes or lines. In February, Cooper Tire President D. Richard Stephens said the tire maker is planning to launch improved high-performance tires under the Cooper brand in the U.S. "in the near future."