Cooper Tire to Reach More Than 10,000 Students Nationally at Manufacturing Day Events Throughout October

Cooper marks second year in Dream It. Do It. program; hosting Cooper
Manufacturing Experience events and working to enhance the image of
manufacturing careers

FINDLAY, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Marking its second year as a member of the National Association of
Manufacturers’ (NAM) and Manufacturing Institute’s (MI) Dream It. Do It.
program, Cooper Tire will connect with more than 10,000
students—primarily eighth graders—for Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) events
throughout October. Cooper will focus on the communities where the
company has major facilities—Findlay, Ohio; Texarkana, Ark.; and Tupelo,
Miss. In addition to participating in community-wide efforts, the
company will host its own Cooper Manufacturing Experience events. These
highly interactive, hands-on events have been planned by the company’s
Dream Team, a group of 40 employees from across Cooper who work with
students and others all year long in efforts to educate and improve the
image of careers in manufacturing to help strengthen the future
workforce pipeline.

“If we want students to think about a career in manufacturing, we need
to help them understand how exciting and technology-driven today’s
manufacturing industry really is,” said Brenda Harmon, Cooper’s Chief
Human Resources Officer. “There is an entire generation of young people
who have been steered away from manufacturing or at least not encouraged
to explore working in manufacturing. As a result, many good jobs, which
may or may not require a college or technical degree, go unfilled at
American manufacturers, including Cooper. We are working to change this
dynamic starting with young people at the ages where they are forming
their impressions of what they may want to do and where they may want to
work.”

Elizabeth Taylor, a Chemical Engineer for Cooper in Tupelo, said, “I am
excited to be a part of Cooper’s Dream Team because this effort gives us
the opportunity to positively impact young people in our communities in
many different ways including making them aware of careers in
manufacturing. Manufacturing today is very dynamic and technical and it
is important for kids, their parents and teachers to understand this.
Our Dream Team brings people who actually work in manufacturing out to
schools, universities and other venues where students can get to know us
and hear about our personal experiences in manufacturing while also
learning about manufacturing and careers in the field.”

While MFG Day is officially Oct. 7 this year, the Cooper Manufacturing
Experience will be offered to students throughout the entire month.

Findlay, Ohio, Oct. 4-7

• In Findlay, where Cooper’s global headquarters, technical facilities
  and a tire manufacturing/distribution facility are located,
  approximately 950 students from 11 schools will visit Oct. 4 to 7 to
  experience eight different interactive stations ranging from raw
  materials and tire design—including 3D modeling—to tire assembly, mold
  design and curing, as well as tire finishing and testing. Safety will
  be emphasized and Human Resources and Marketing, as well as several
  other functions will also be presented to give students an
  understanding of the dozens of various roles involved in the design,
  production, distribution, and sales and marketing of Cooper tires.

Texarkana, Ark., Oct. 17-19

• In Texarkana, Ark., where Cooper has a tire manufacturing/distribution
  facility, approximately 1,500 students from six middle and junior high
  schools will come to the Texarkana Convention Center Oct. 17 to 19 to
  experience the same interactive stations that will be featured as part
  of the Findlay event with an expanded number of additional stations
  including engineering, IT, lab, and warehousing/distribution.

Tupelo, Miss., Oct. 4-6 and Oct. 11-12

• In Tupelo, Miss., where Cooper has a tire production/distribution
  facility, the company will participate in the local Imagine the
  Possibilities Career Expo Oct. 4 to 6 at the BancorpSouth Arena and
  Conference Center. Approximately 7,000 eighth grade students will
  attend the Expo, which is an annual local event that will feature
  dozens of area businesses giving students a glimpse into many
  different career options, including manufacturing and Cooper. In
  addition, the Cooper Dream Team will host the Cooper Manufacturing
  Experience on site at Tupelo High School on Oct. 11 and 12, when some
  1,200 students will experience many of the same interactive stations
  that Findlay and Texarkana will offer.

Students who attend the Cooper Manufacturing Experience in all three
communities will be encouraged to share their experiences through social
media using #cooperiscool and #mfgday16, which will expand awareness of
manufacturing to family and friends across the U.S.

About Dream It. Do It.

Today’s manufacturing is about advanced technologies, state-of-the-art
facilities and fast-paced work environments. But most of all,
manufacturing is about people who like to see the product of a hard
day’s work. However, this is not the impression of manufacturing that is
held by many Americans today. Only 35 percent of parents say they would
encourage their children to pursue careers in manufacturing despite the
advanced skills and high pay that are characteristic of work in today’s
advanced manufacturing industry. This is due to a perception of
manufacturing that existed a generation ago, but does not represent the
current reality.

To put an end to this misperception, the Manufacturing Institute (MI)
launched Dream It. Do It. in 2005. The program works to inspire
next-generation workers to pursue manufacturing careers. Members of the
Dream It. Do It. network gain access to national support and resources
to aid their pro-manufacturing efforts and join a network of industry
leaders that implement activities to meet local, regional and statewide
workforce needs.

The initiative offers local manufacturers, schools, community-based
organizations and other stakeholders the opportunity to partner with a
respected, national platform to promote manufacturing as a top tier
career choice in the United States. Dream It. Do It. promotes
manufacturing to three distinct audiences: students, parents and
educators. In 2015, the network successfully engaged 426,000 students,
76,000 influencers (parents and educators) and 8,600 manufacturers.

About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) is the parent company of a
global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture,
marketing and sale of passenger car and light truck tires. Cooper and
its subsidiaries also sell medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires.
Cooper’s headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales,
distribution, technical and design operations within its family of
companies located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For
more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com,
www.facebook.com/coopertire
or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

Contacts

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Anne Roman, 419-429-7189
alroman@coopertire.com