‘Supporting the food industry’ – Titan International’s tyre plants stay open

Titan International, Inc., manufacturer of the Titan tyre brands as well as the Goodyear agricultural tyre lines sold in the UK, Europe and North America, says its plants are operating as normal during the COVID-19 crisis. The company describes its decision to maintain production as a “commitment to keeping its US manufacturing facilities operating as normal in order to support the food and agriculture industry.”

In a statement, Titan International shares that the decision to remain in operation “comes with great responsibility to protect the company’s employees.” In addition to practicing social distancing and preventative measures to reduce the spread of germs within its facilities, the company says it remains dedicated to upholding its own internal safety and cleanliness protocols. Titan is taking additional precautions as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and local governments.

On 19 March, the US Department of Homeland Security issued guidelines on workers who should keep normal schedules because they are in a “critical infrastructure industry” related to public health and safety, the economy and national security. Workers falling into this category include “employees engaged in the manufacture and maintenance of equipment and other infrastructure necessary to agricultural production and distribution.” These as well as other provisions of the guidance and of the recent Executive Order issued by the Governor of the State of Illinois – where Titan is headquartered and maintains a substantial manufacturing presence – support the continued operation of the company’s US. manufacturing facilities.

“Titan is proud of our role in the nation’s food supply chain, especially in challenging times like this with the coronavirus pandemic now hitting most communities across the US,” said Paul Reitz, president and chief executive officer of Titan International. “The tyres and wheels we manufacture are on many types of equipment that farmers use to plant, maintain and harvest crops.”

The Titan facilities maintaining normal operations are in Des Moines, Iowa; Freeport and Quincy, Illinois; Bryan, Ohio; Jefferson, Georgia; and Union City, Tennessee.

“At this point we are more thankful than ever to be a company that produces American engineered, American manufactured tyres and wheels,” said Reitz. “Currently, we are not experiencing infrastructure or supply chain issues that could impact the fulfillment of customer orders in the United States. We continue to monitor this extremely fluid and unprecedented situation and will keep our customers and dealers informed of any updates or changes.

“Titan’s leadership team is meeting continuously to appropriately respond to this pandemic as it evolves, and our COVID-19 response team is meeting multiple times a day to monitor the situation and execute plans that will continue to keep our employees safe and help our teams adjust accordingly without impacting production plans,” Reitz concluded.