By 1 January 2025 at the latest, Paolo Pompei will conclude his current remit with Yokohama TWS and take on the role of President and Chief Executive Officer at Nokian Tyres. Jukka Moisio will continue in this capacity until Pompei starts in the position.
Yokohama Rubber Co. is reportedly in “advanced talks” to buy Goodyear’s OTR tyre business. And what’s more, the Japanese tyremaker is said to be willing to pay “at least $1 billion”, according to Bloomberg reports which cite “people familiar with the matter”. The latest news confirms reports Tyres & Accessories obtained a month ago which suggested that four suitors had been particularly interested in the purchase.
GRI has appointed Ydo Doornbos as director of North America. The former Trelleborg Wheel Systems executive has 29 years’ tyre industry experience in various management roles. The Sri Lankan agricultural and speciality industrial tyre maker says Doornbos brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to GRI’s North American business operations.
In May, Yokohama officially completed the acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems. As a result, the well-respected off-highway tyre and wheel manufacturer rebranded as Yokohama TWS. With any acquisition, questions of integration are front-and-centre. In Yokohama’s case, the previous acquisition of Alliance Tire Group, which now runs under the Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) banner, brings with it further questions relating to the integration of the businesses and their respective brand portfolios as well as how the different operations will be organised and practically structured in relation to one another. With all this in mind, Tyres & Accessories recently spoke to Paolo Pompei, president and CEO of Yokohama TWS, in order to hear the latest on the integration process.
There are many changes in our latest leading tyre manufacturers ranking. The 2023 table, which lists the world’s leading tyre companies according to their full-year 2022 financial results, particularly highlights the shifts that have taken place this year in the second half of the top 20. Meanwhile, the top nine tyremakers appear to be an increasingly stable group. Between places nine and 10, there is still a gap of some 1 billion euros, something that is clearly hard to overcome for newcomers. However, as insurmountable as it appears, the gap is obviously narrowing.
Yokohama Rubber has released its business and financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, reporting a 4.4% decrease in profit compared to the same period last year, to 9.7 billion yen (£57.0 million). Operating profit declined by 2.4% to 13.2 billion yen, while business profit decreased by 4.8% to 13.0 billion yen. However, sales revenue saw a significant 10.1% increase, reaching 204.3 billion yen (£1.2 billion), the highest ever for Yokohama Rubber in the January-to-March quarter.
As of today (2 May 2023) The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has completed the acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems Holding AB (TWS), the Swedish off-highway tyre (OHT) manufacturer, news of which we broke on 14 December 2021 and was confirmed three months later on 25 March 2022. Following the successful completion of regulatory requirements, the combined business will now be known as Yokohama TWS and Yokohama Rubber’s consolidated accounts will include TWS business from the second quarter of the 2023 financial year.
Mitas is extending Touring Force tyre range with 15” sizes which can be used on modern maxi scooters as well as innovative and powerful three-wheelers. Two new sizes, 120/70R15 56V front and 160/60R15 67V rear, will be available on the market from May 2023.
Trelleborg CX940 is a new tyre for equipment such as reach stackers, straddle carriers and top picks. Trelleborg Wheel Systems says the tyre is “made for maximum resistance in handling high intensity jobs” and reports that it “brings greater stability and comfort to operators.”
Six well-known tyre manufacturers have teamed up to provide their customers with easier access to agricultural tyre pressure indications. Information from Apollo Tyres, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, Nokian Tyres and Trelleborg Wheel Systems is now available in a single app, Agro Tyre Pressure. Swiss firm Anura Associates developed the app for the tyre makers.
As of this morning, The Yokohama Rubber Company has received clearance from all relevant authorities to acquire the Trelleborg Wheel Systems business from Trelleborg. The final hurdle, approval by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK, has now been cleared and Yokohama and Trelleborg can begin finalising the necessary documentation required to formally close the transaction.
On 24 March, the European Commission granted The Yokohama Rubber unconditional antitrust clearance to acquire all outstanding shares in Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK is currently reviewing the proposed acquisition and will announce its decision soon.
Trelleborg Group has moved its 2023 Capital Markets Day from 21 March to 23 May. We don’t normally report on such perfunctory announcements, but the reason for the above postponement is what makes this particular news of greater interest. According to an official statement published on 9 March, the reason is that “the divestment of group’s tyre operation” that is Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) “is not yet finalized”.
Mitas has launched a tubeless version of the SW-07 Speedway tyre, one of the world’s most-used tyres in speedway racing. The new tyre is specifically designed for tubeless rims at the highest level of the sport. The newly developed construction of the SW-07 Speedway delivers excellent start acceleration, outstanding traction throughout a race, and superior lap times. It is easily recognizable by two orange stripes on the tread pattern.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into the proposed merger of Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd of Trelleborg Wheel Systems Holding AB (TWS). Writing in a statement published on 31 January, CMA officials stated that “pursuant to section 96(2A) of the Act that the merger notice provided by Yokohama [and TWS]…” meets “the requirements of section 96(2) of the [relevant] Act.” In other words, the CMA investigation is a formality for a merger of this kind.
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