FINDLAY, Ohio (July 27)—Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. will begin making race tires at its Athens, Ga., plant, supplementing production from its Melksham, England, factory.
The tire maker will invest $11 million in the factory and add nearly 30 engineering, technical, compounding specialist and manufacturing jobs. Production of development tires is slated to begin in early 2005, the company said.
Cooper's recently announced plans to consolidate pre-cure retread manufacturing at its Asheboro, N.C., site from the Athens facility will create the space needed for the conversion to racing tires and other products as needed, the company said.