Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has inked an exclusive deal to market, sell and distribute Kenda radial passenger and light truck tires in the United States and Canada.
American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd., which does business as Kenda USA, will continue to market its existing specialty tire lines in North America.
"This is a logical extension of our ongoing relationship with Kenda Tire," says Phillip Caris, Cooper´s vice president of sales and marketing. "This strategy provides Cooper with additional flexibility in the range of products we offer to meet the needs of today´s tire consumers."
Jimmy Yang, president of Kenda USA, says Cooper´s reputation and innovative outlook "will help grow the Kenda brand in North America."
Kenda says all the consumer tires associated with the agreement are new products jointly developed by Kenda and Cooper and designed "to complement the current product offerings of both companies."
Initially, H- and T-rated Kenetica passenger radials will be available only in the U.S. Additional lines will be added incrementally and extended into Canada.
In December of last year, Cooper and Kenda USA´s parent company, Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd., formed a joint venture to build a radial passenger and light truck tire plant in China.
