Titan International, Inc has moved John Hrudicka from his current position as chief financial officer (CFO) to the operational side of the business. Effective 2 May 2016, Hrudicka’s new position is senior vice president of North American Tire.
Titan International, Inc. has engaged Goldman, Sachs & Co. to advise on the sale of its Italtractor ITM S.p.A. subsidiary on 25 April 2016. The news follows the announcement that the firm had established a special committee of its board of directors to review and analyze the issues relating to the possible sale of ITM. These moves and the language of the legal disclaimers attached to the official statements announcing them suggest Italtractor is now well and truly up for sale.
Titan International has filed petitions with the US International Trade Commission and the US Department of Commerce for relief from imports of off-road tyres from China, India, and Sri Lanka. The petitions were filed jointly with the United Steelworkers union and allege that imports from China and India are being dumped in the US market in violation of international trade agreements and that imports from all three countries are benefitting from improper government subsidies.
Citing “weak market conditions that are not expected to improve during 2016,” Titan International has given word of layoffs that will take place at its Bryan plant in the US state of Ohio. The layoffs will begin on 8 February 2016 and affect at least 130 employees. The tyre maker anticipates these layoffs will be temporary and last a minimum of six months, however some may become permanent should market conditions fail improve.
The Board of Directors of Titan International has approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$.005 per common share for the fourth quarter of 2015. The cash dividend is payable Friday 16 January 2016 to stockholders of record on Thursday 31 December 2015.
Titan International has announced the sale of the assets of its North American brake and actuator business to Dexter Axle. The sale covers an extensive line of brakes, actuators, couplers and hubs for trailer applications; these were produced as part of Titan’s consumer segment.
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.
Titan has launched its latest “Low SideWall Tyres” in the UK, pitching the new product as being designed for harsh environments such as quarries and mining sites.
Titan International is considering an expansion of its wheel business in the coming half year. In the company’s second quarter 2015 results announcement, CEO and chairman Maurice Taylor reports that Titan International is “exploring plans to expand our wheel plant in Turkey” and to “establish a new wheel presence in Brazil to accompany our existing tyre business.” Taylor did not furnish any additional details about the two potential projects.
Titan Tire Corporation recently recommenced production of its complete Goodyear ATV and UTV tyre portfolio. This return to full production is the result of an agreement the company entered into with Goodyear Tire & Rubber in August 2014, and is the first time since 2009 that the full line-up of ATV tyres has been offered.
Shareholder approval for Titan International’s reincorporation in the US state of Delaware was given at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders on 4 June, clearing the way for the off-road tyre manufacturer to take advantage of the state’s more flexible tax laws. Stockholders also elected Anthony L. Soave to serve as a company director for a three-year term and voted to ratify Grant Thornton LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2015.
Titan International is urging its stockholders to approve the reincorporation of the company from the US state of Illinois to the state of Delaware at its annual shareholders meeting on 4 June. This move has already been unanimously approved by the tyre maker’s Board.
The Board of Directors of Titan International has approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$.005 (one half cent) per common share for the first quarter of 2015. The cash dividend is payable Wednesday 15 April 2015 to stockholders of record on Tuesday 31 March 2015.
Details of a difficult 2014 have emerged in Titan International’s full-year financial report, which was published earlier today. The tyre maker’s CEO and chairman, Maurice Taylor, took the eye-watering US$80.4 million loss attributable to Titan on the chin, referring to 2014 as “a year of very real challenges for businesses in the agriculture, construction and mining sectors.” He also reported that Titan International shed at least 1,900 people from the payroll during the year due to lower production output, with the company’s global employee count sinking below 6,500. Other issues that arose during the 12 month period included currency impacts, impairment charges of approximately $76.5 million and a union slowdown.
Titan International Subsidiary Titan Tire Corporation says an above-ground storage tank at one of its facilities in the US has leaked lubricating oil, and this oil has entered the local water system. The leak at the Bryan, Ohio plant flowed into the storm water system and then into the Prairie Creek.
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