Titan and Goodyear sign ag tyre license agreement

Titan International, Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.  The agreement allows Titan to distribute and sell Goodyear-brand agricultural tyres in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and other CIS countries, as well as manufacture such farm tyres in parts of the licensed territory outside the European Union. The expansion of the Goodyear-brand farm tyre licensing covers more than a hundred countries, including the UK, Eire, Germany and Italy. In addition, Titan has purchased certain Goodyear moulds and other assets currently located in Poland, Turkey and South Africa.

“We are very excited to expand upon our existing licensing arrangements in North America and Latin America to now include licensing of the Goodyear-brand farm tyres in these additional, important agricultural regions,” stated Maurice M. Taylor, chairman and CEO. “From the time when Goodyear exited EMEA farm tyre business in 2014, Titan has suffered the loss of business relating to new equipment being exported from North America to Europe.  In fact, we estimate over $100 million in US sales were lost.  Titan will work to get all that business back plus more, but it will take time.  This agreement puts Titan ‘back in the game’ and significantly expands our footprint, market strength, and visibility with Goodyear-brand farm tires in EMEA region.

“…We plan to add manufacturing of Goodyear-brand farm tyres to our facility located in Russia to go along with our existing production in the US and Brazil. By adding production to our Russian facility it will enable us to provide our customers with a very competitive product offering in these new markets. This agreement will allow Titan to add to our unique competitive advantage by offering complete tire and wheel assemblies to meet our customers’ needs within the markets we serve.”