Cooper Tire idles production at Findlay plant

3/7/2013

FINDLAY — Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has temporarily idled production at its Findlay plant this week.

A source told The Blade today that the plant last ran Saturday and is scheduled to resume work this Saturday. The source said the production stoppage was related to high tire inventories and Cooper's implementation of a new software system. 

A company spokesman said Cooper generally doesn't comment on specific production schedules at its plants and declined to comment further. 

However, in Cooper's annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, the company said it anticipated taking down some production days at its U.S. facilities in the first quarter in order to implement the new software. In addition to the Findlay facility, Cooper also makes tires in Texarkana, Ark., and Tupelo, Miss. The company is headquartered in Findlay.

Cooper said it built extra tires in last year's fourth-quarter to offset any lost production this year.

Company officials have previously said the expiration of tariffs on imported Chinese-made tires last fall resulted in higher-than-normal tire inventories, resulting in fewer orders. In the annual report, Cooper said that was expected to affect sales and production in the first and possibly second quarter. However, Cooper said it still expects to meet or beat the industry's unit volume growth in 2013.