FINDLAY, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) has completed its purchase of a 65 percent interest in China-based Qingdao Ge Rui Da Rubber Co., Ltd. (GRT) under terms that were previously announced.
GRT produces truck and bus radial (TBR) tires for global markets and will manufacture TBR tires to meet Cooper’s customer needs in North America, as well as in Asia and other markets. In the future, passenger car radial tires may also be manufactured at the one-million-square-foot GRT facility, which has room for further expansion.
“Our partnership with GRT is an important step in Cooper’s strategic plan as it diversifies our TBR tire supply beyond a single source,” said President & Chief Executive Officer Brad Hughes. “Cooper is committed to delivering high quality tires with superior value to our TBR customers. In addition to this exciting new partnership with GRT, we continue to actively evaluate other options around the globe for additional sources of supply. We are pleased with the team at GRT as they possess deep industry and technical knowledge and there is a strong workforce in place at the facility, which offers space for expansion to accommodate future growth. We are proud to welcome everyone at GRT into the Cooper family and look forward to many years of success together.”
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains what the company believes are “forward-looking statements,” as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, regarding projections, expectations or matters that the company anticipates may happen with respect to the future performance of the industries in which the company operates, the economies of the United States and other countries, or the performance of the company itself, which involve uncertainty and risk.
Such “forward-looking statements” are generally, though not always, preceded by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “will,” “should,” “believes,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” and similar terms that connote a view to the future and are not merely recitations of historical fact. Such statements are made solely on the basis of the company’s current views and perceptions of future events, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be true.
It is possible that actual results may differ materially from projections or expectations due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to:
- volatility in raw material and energy prices, including those of rubber, steel, petroleum based products and natural gas or the unavailability of such raw materials or energy sources;
- the failure of the company’s suppliers to timely deliver products or services in accordance with contract specifications;
- changes to tariffs or the imposition of new tariffs or trade restrictions, including changes related to the anti-dumping and countervailing duties for passenger car and light truck tires imported into the United States from China; and duties from the ongoing investigation into truck and bus tires imported into the United States from China;
- changes in economic and business conditions in the world, including changes related to the United Kingdom’s referendum on withdrawal from the European Union;
- increased competitive activity including actions by larger competitors or lower-cost producers;
- the failure to achieve expected sales levels;
- changes in the company’s customer relationships, including loss of particular business for competitive or other reasons;
- the ultimate outcome of litigation brought against the company, including stockholders lawsuits relating to the terminated Apollo merger as well as product liability claims, in each case which could result in commitment of significant resources and time to defend and possible material damages against the company or other unfavorable outcomes;
- a disruption in, or failure of, the company’s information technology systems, including those related to cyber security, could adversely affect the company’s business operations and financial performance;
- changes in pension expense and/or funding resulting from the company’s pension strategy, investment performance of the company’s pension plan assets and changes in discount rate, salary increase rate, and expected return on plan assets assumptions, or changes to related accounting regulations;
- government regulatory and legislative initiatives including environmental and healthcare matters;
- volatility in the capital and financial markets or changes to the credit markets and/or access to those markets;
- changes in interest or foreign exchange rates;
- an adverse change in the company’s credit ratings, which could increase borrowing costs and/or hamper access to the credit markets;
- failure to implement information technologies or related systems, including failure by the company to successfully implement an ERP system;
- the risks associated with doing business outside of the United States;
- the failure to develop technologies, processes or products needed to support consumer demand;
- technology advancements;
- the inability to recover the costs to develop and test new products or processes;
- the impact of labor problems, including labor disruptions at the company, its joint ventures, or at one or more of its large customers or suppliers;
- failure to attract or retain key personnel;
- consolidation among the company’s competitors or customers;
- inaccurate assumptions used in developing the company’s strategic plan or operating plans or the inability or failure to successfully implement such plans;
- risks relating to acquisitions, including the failure to integrate them into operations or their related financings may impact liquidity and capital resources;
- changes in the company’s relationship with its joint-venture partners or suppliers, including any changes with respect to the production of Cooper-branded products by CCT, the company’s former joint venture in China;
- the ability to find sufficient alternative sources for products supplied by CCT;
- the inability to obtain and maintain price increases to offset higher production or material costs;
- inability to adequately protect the company’s intellectual property rights; and
- inability to use deferred tax assets.
It is not possible to foresee or identify all such factors. Any forward-looking statement in this release is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the company in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected.
The company makes no commitment to update any forward-looking statement included herein or to disclose any facts, events or circumstances that may affect the accuracy of any forward-looking statement. Further information covering issues that could materially affect financial performance is contained in the company's periodic filings with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper’s headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations within its family of companies located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.