In what sounds like a honey of a deal for Tupelo while bucking the trend of shipping tire production overseas, Cooper Tire is barreling ahead with a $7 million expansion project at its Mississippi facility.

A recent groundbreaking ceremony featured Cooper executives and Tupelo’s mayor and city council along with officials from the Mississippi State Legislature, Mississippi Development Authority, the Lee County Board of Supervisors and the Community Development Foundation.

“This expansion will enable Cooper to produce more technologically advanced products and will enable the company to improve the competitiveness of its operations,” reports plant manager Pat Jodon.

“The Tupelo facility’s expansion will also allow us to better serve our customers and improve our competitive advantage in the North American market,” he says.

Cooper currently occupies more than 1.6 million square feet and employs more than 1,250 people at the South Green Street site. Construction is set to begin this month on a 32,000-square-foot addition that includes installation of a new mixer.

The project is the result of an incentive/retention agreement reached earlier this year between the company and Tupelo and Magnolia State government officials.

“We are grateful for the community and state support we have received for this project,” says Jodon.

Completion is expected by April of 2010. The designer/contractor is RFW Construction of Dyersburg, Tenn.

For more information, visit www.coopertire.com.