Cooper expects Kenda venture in China on-stream in ´06

Findlay, Ohio -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. expects its tyre

production joint venture in China with Taiwan´s Kenda Rubber Industrial

Co. Ltd. to come on stream by year-end or early in 2007, slightly

behind schedule.

Cooper expects to get 1 million to 2

million units in 2007 from the venture, in Kunshan, China, according to

Philip Weaver, chief financial officer, speaking to analysts about

Cooper´s second quarter results.

The companies broke ground on the $200

million plant in July 2005. The factory originally was scheduled to

come on stream by late 2005, according to the firm´s statements in late

2003 when they announced the venture.

Cooper and Kenda are 50-50 partners in the

venture, but Cooper will get the plant´s entire output for the first

five years of production.

Cooper earlier said it anticipates

importing more than 1 million medium truck and economy passenger tyres

this year from China from off-take agreements. It called these sourcing

initiatives "important to the segment´s ability to profitably provide

tyre products to its customers in North America."

Cooper is sourcing medium truck radials and radial passenger tyres from China´s Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd.