On Monday, state and local economic development officials submitted their proposal to Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. officials in the company’s headquarters in Findlay, Ohio.
Cooper is undergoing a “network capacity study" that likely means the closing of one of its U.S. plants, which includes Tupelo. Cooper’s other sites are Findlay; Albany, Ga.; and Texarkana, Ark.
Cooper had asked the four cities to submit information packages to the company by Monday.
"Everything is in. We’ll now go into a quiet period to evaluate the proposals," said Cooper spokeswoman Patricia Brown.
Groups representing Tupelo and Findlay met with the capacity study group last week, Brown said, and meetings were planned this week with Albany and Texarkana officials.
The incentives package for the Tupelo plant is a 20-point plan that has the strong support of Gov. Haley Barbour, who said in a letter to Cooper that "we stand ready to assist Cooper Tire."
David Rumbarger, president of the Tupelo-based Community Development Foundation, flew to Findlay last week with Mississippi Development Authority officials, including Executive Director Gray Swoope.
The meeting lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, after which Rumbarger and Swoope finalized the proposal that was sent to Cooper Tire.
"The state did a great job of addressing the issues at the state level and they did a great job in presenting our case," Rumbarger said. "I really can’t say enough for what they were able to accomplish. They’ve been a true partner in this from the start."
Rumbarger said MDA and state officials approached the situation much like they do in recruiting a new industry – pulling out all the stops and giving detailed information on why doing business in Mississippi makes sense.
"There were two major areas that we addressed – retention and growth incentives," Rumbarger said, without getting into much detail. He did say that the incentives offered would have no direct cost to taxpayers.
The MDA also was mum on details and said, "the state is working with the community on this and, as with all economic development projects, we cannot comment on an ongoing project."
Cooper hopes to make a decision by Jan. 19, but company officials indicated last month that it could be made before then, or even after. The company will use 10 major criteria in determining which plant to close, although how those factors are weighted is unknown.
Rumbarger said Cooper officials were very hospitable but gave no indication about how the study was going.
"We did hear that we are more competitive with China, which is good and bad," he said. "What’s bad is that we produce almost exclusively passenger tires. What’s good is that so far, we’ve been very competitive with imported tires, and that passenger tires are selling better than truck and SUV tires."
Cooper says it is the only tire company that still has most of its tire manufacturing – about 75% – in the U.S. Competition from imports, along with slackened demand, has cut into profits. With too much capacity, the company announced in October it would review its manufacturing operations.
"The challenge for us is to do as well as we can, but also anticipate and prepare for the future as well," Rumbarger said.
Cooper Tire is the third-largest employer in Lee County. It employs about 2,000 people directly and indirectly, with about $150 million in annual payroll. The company sits on about 40 across on South Green Street, occupying the former Penn Tire facility. (Tire Review/Akron)
