Cooper Tires awarded grant, OE contract

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Wabash National Corporation, a manufacturer of semi trailers in North America, is making Cooper Tire & Rubber Company's Cooper Roadmaster RM871 (EM) tires available as on original equipment option on all of its dry freight and refrigerated van models as well as on its Transcraft and Benson brand platform trailers.

/ {" }( ]# K# n3 I  K! P9 XBill Hoban, Roadmaster national truck tire sales manager said, "Cooper Roadmaster tires were previously specified by some of Wabash National's largest customers. Now, all of Wabash National's customers have the option to pick SmartWay-verified Roadmaster RM871(EM) tires when specifying the components they want on their new semi trailers. We are pleased to be selected by Wabash National and look forward to meeting the needs of their customers."

According to Sean Kenney, director of sales for Wabash National, "Cooper Roadmaster tires offer another beneficial tire option for our customers. Its design and compounding provide low rolling resistance and improved fuel efficiency. As well, the tire’s special groove edge provides enhanced traction in wet road conditions.”

( k# T3 q, ]0 r# z; `0 KMeanwhile the US Department of Agriculture has awarded Cooper Tire & Rubber Company and its consortium partners a $6.9 million grant. The four-year grant will focus on research efforts aimed at developing enhanced manufacturing processes, testing and utilizing of guayule natural rubber as a strategic source of raw material in tires, and evaluating the remaining biomass of the guayule plant as a source of bio-fuel for the transportation industry. Yulex Corporation, a company that specialize in guayule crop science and renewable products made from guayule, will be the manufacturer of the material.