Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and Sailun Vietnam Co. Ltd. recently celebrated production of the first tire at ACTR, their new joint venture facility located near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Cooper owns 35% of ACTR, which will produce truck and bus radial (TBR) tires for global markets. The ceremonial first tire was the centerpiece of a special event held at the facility on Nov. 18 to celebrate construction of the plant. The facility is expected to be operational and producing tires on a commercial level by early 2020. At full capacity, production is expected to be approximately two million tires annually. "Cooperation between Cooper and Sailun has been outstanding, and we thank our partner Sailun for working so closely with us over the past several months to construct this facility," says Cooper President and CEO Brad Hughes.