Big news in tyre land. The Swedish-based Trelleborg Group has sold its Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) business to Yokohama Rubber Company. The €2.1b transaction is expected to be completed before the end of this year.
The purchase will enable Yokohama Rubber Company to add Trelleborg, Mitas, Maximo, Cultor and Interfit brands to its portfolio, providing it with a complete line-up of agricultural and construction machinery tyres and TWS’ strong European sales network will complement Yokohama’s strengths in Japan, North America and Asia.
With 14 manufacturing plants; seven in Europe (Italy, Latvia, Serbia, Slovenia, and three in the Czech Republic), two in the US, one in Brazil and four in Asia, about 70% of TWS sales are in Europe. Agricultural tyres account for about 60% of production. The remainder is for industrial and construction machinery and motorcycles.
TWS is developing a remote system for monitoring tyre air pressure and temperature. Yokohama has been developing a similar system, and the two companies will join forces to develop a more convenient and efficient concept.
