The British Hillclimb Championship (BHC) organising team has received an important piece of news from our friends at Avon Motorsports. The following two paragraphs are a direct quote from the communication received:
“I would like to inform you that Cooper Tires Europe will enter a consultation period on a proposal to close the tire production site in Melksham, UK, and gradually phase out all Melksham-based operations, including the Cooper and Avon Motorsport program, by the end of 2023. The proposal is subject to consultation with relevant employee representative bodies. We are determined to act responsibly and fairly, and to provide appropriate support for everyone affected.”
“It is important to stress that nothing changes today – it remains business as usual, for us and for our customers. We will be working through what this proposal means for us individually, for our customers, and for our business partners. I would like to assure you that we will continue to serve our customers and meet our existing commitments, as you would expect. In the coming months we will put maximum efforts in place to avoid any service disruptions and to honour our supply obligations.”
For those of you who have been following developments, Cooper who own Avon, were purchased by Goodyear back in June 2021. As a result of this the integration of both the Cooper and Avon businesses into the Goodyear family has been worked on actively over the past two years. The above announcement, that was made public on Thursday 13th October, is the result of this work.
The BHC organising team has already been in contact with senior staff in the Avon Motorsports team to discuss this and any impact that it may have on our sport. As the announcement stresses nothing is changing for 2023 and it will be business as usual. The BHC organising team are committed to staying close to this as things work their way through the consultation process over the coming months. Further updates will be issued in due course.
The BHC Organising Team