Cooper is investing $6.5 million in the project, which is expected to add 35 jobs. The decision to expand the Tupelo plant is a direct result of Cooper shutting down its Albany, Ga., plant late last year. In addition to Tupelo, Cooper still operates plants in Findlay and Texarkana, Ark.
Cooper currently employs 1,200 people in Tupelo.
David Rumbarger, director of the Tupelo Community Development Foundation, said the company will begin accepting bids from contractors in August and construction will begin some time in the first quarter of 2010.
“The decision helps stabilize one the area’s largest employers and that’s a real boon for the community,” Rumbarger said. (Tire Review/Akron)