FINDLAY, Ohio (Sept. 22, 2009)—Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. broke ground today on a $7 million expansion project at its Tupelo, Miss., tire factory.
Cooper's plant there covers more than 1.6 million square feet and employs more than 1,250 workers. Dyersburg, Tenn.-based RFW Construction will design and build the 32,000-sq.-ft. addition.
The ceremony drew officials from the Mississippi state legislature, Mississippi Development Authority, the Lee County Board of Supervisors, Tupelo's mayor and city council, officials from the Community Development Foundation and Cooper Tire's executive management.
The addition is the result of an incentive/retention agreement that was reached with the city and the state earlier this year, Cooper said. The project is expected to be completed by April 2010 and calls for a new mixing building that will be added to the southwest corner of the plant.