Kal Tire acquires Tyre Corporation’s South Africa business

The Kal Tire Mining Tire Group has acquired the South African operations of Tyre Corporation. It is hoped that the transaction, which took place for an undisclosed sum, will enable the growth achieved by Tyre Corporation in South Africa over the past decade to continue. It also gives Tyre Corporation’s customers access to Kal Tire services such as its exclusive Ultra Repair process for ultra-class tyres.

“Tyre Corporation is a recognised market leader in underground mining tyre services and sales, and we’re excited to bring their capabilities and strengths to Kal Tire,” says Dan Allan, senior vice-president of Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group division “We’ve been building our business in parts of Africa since 2009, but this acquisition goes a long way for us to ensure a long-term sustainable business in South Africa.”

Tyre Corporation has been operating in South Africa for 12 years and possesses fully equipped branches throughout the country, yet as Kal Tire and Tyre Corporation report in a jointly-released statement, access to capital was essential in order for continued growth to occur. Tyre Corporation expresses confidence that Kal Tire is the “right organisation” to acquire its South African operations and continue to build on the strong reputation it has developed.

“We are very pleased to be joining forces with a company like Kal Tire who has such a strong reputation in the industry and understands the mining tyre business as well as they do,” says Patrick Brown, sales director, Tyre Corporation. Daan Badenhorst, Tyre Corporation’s OTR operations director, adds: “Knowing they believe in customer service with the same passion as we do, our customers can be assured of the high level of service they will continue to receive.”

Kal Tire provides full-service, customised mining tyre solutions across five continents. With 45 years of experience in every type of mining operation, and a strong balance sheet, the organisation sees itself as positioned to “properly support and fund the working capital needs of a venture of this magnitude, as well as continued growth.”

The acquisition brings more than 800 Tyre Corporation employees working at 80 mine sites in South Africa into the Kal Tire fold. “We believe every team member in our organisation is the key to our success and we know our new team members joining us from Tyre Corporation bring invaluable experience with them,” says Robert Foord, president, Kal Tire. “We ensure all team members at Kal Tire have the proper training and learning opportunities available to them. In addition, our new team members will now be able to share experiences and collaborate with our current 5,600 team members in many countries around the world.”

“To be able to bring the reputation Tyre Corporation has created with customers to Kal Tire, along with access to the experienced team members, is very exciting,” says Dan Allan. “It certainly helps us in ensuring we have a sustainable business in South Africa – which remains one of the key mining markets in the world.

“For Tyre Corporation customers, we want to assure them it is business as usual,” the senior vice-president continues. “Our intent is they continue to receive the high level of service they are used to and deal with the same people and products as they have been, in hopes of gaining their trust and earning the privilege of continuing to serve them.”

Kal Tire’s stated focus is to deliver tyre management services and products of measurable value for mining customers around the world. That includes creating alternative commercial models that are focused on aligning the goals of both the customer and Kal Tire, as well as developing innovative and patented solutions and tools. “Through acquisitions like this one, there are many benefits,” concludes Allan. “Kal Tire is able to widen its experience base and we find new ways to do things and new opportunities to serve more customers. For Tyre Corporation team members, they gain access to a wealth of knowledge and capabilities in the Kal Tire network including more resources to get assistance in solving problems or coming up with new ideas. And for customers, we would like to think we are able to bring all of that experience together and provide the service they demand. We are excited to make this investment in the South African mining industry – and the prospects created for Kal Tire through the Tyre Corporation acquisition.”       _sg