The Cooper Tire and Rubber Company will close the UK’s only operational tire factory, also ending Avon tire production in the UK.
The Cooper Tire and Rubber Company, manufacturer of Avon car and motorcycle tires, has announced it is closing its last remaining UK production facility in Melksham.
The closure is due to “increasingly difficult” conditions to maintain the plant’s operations in the current business climate. Started in 1904, Avon prospered in the 1950s and 1960s, when one and a half million car and motorcycle tires were produced each year.
In 1997, Avon was acquired by the American firm Cooper Tire and Rubber Company, which in turn was acquired by Goodyear in 2021.
Things have gradually gone downhill since the takeover and Avon has seen its profits shrink. While a profit of £4.3 million was made in 1993, in 2020 it was only £6,873. The proposed closure is scheduled for the end of 2023.
With the closure of the factory in Melksham, 350 employees will lose their jobs. It is not known whether Goodyear will move production to other factories, or whether the end of Avon motorcycle tires has now also been heralded with the closure of the only remaining British factory.
“It is with deep sadness that we have announced our intention to initiate a consultation process on the proposed closure of our tire manufacturing facility in Melksham.”
“Our Melksham site has struggled to be competitive for some time and everyone involved has worked extremely hard to keep the business going for as long as possible. However, in the current business climate, this has become an increasing challenge.”
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.