Titan, Goodyear in farm tire licensing agreement

QUINCY, Ill. (Nov. 6, 2015) — Titan International Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with Goodyear involving distribution of Goodyear-brand farm tires in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States countries.

The pact also allows Titan to distribute and sell, as well as manufacture such farm tires in parts of the licensed territory outside the European Union. In addition, Titan said it has purchased certain Goodyear molds and other assets currently located in Poland, Turkey and South Africa.

The expansion of the Goodyear-brand farm tire licensing, according to Titan, includes more than a hundred countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, San Marino, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia).

Titan Chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor said the company is “very excited to expand upon our existing licensing arrangements in North America and Latin America to now include licensing of the Goodyear-brand farm tires in these additional, important agricultural regions.

“From the time when Goodyear exited EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) farm tire business in 2014, Titan has suffered the loss of business relating to new equipment being exported from North America to Europe. In fact, we estimate over $100 million in U.S. sales were lost.

“Titan will work to get all that business back plus more, but it will take time. This agreement puts Titan ‘back in the game' and significantly expands our footprint, market strength and visibility with Goodyear-brand farm tires in EMEA region.”

Mr. Taylor called the agreement a “positive for all of our existing tire facilities as they support production of the Goodyear-brand as well as the expansion of Titan's LSW (low sidewall) technology to these new regions.

“We plan to add manufacturing of Goodyear-brand farm tires to our facility located in Russia to go along with our existing production in the US and Brazil. By adding production to our Russian facility, it will enable us to provide our customers with a very competitive product offering in these new markets.”

The agreement also will allow Titan to add to its “unique competitive advantage” by offering complete tire and wheel assemblies to customers within the markets it serves, he added.

Earlier this year Titan restarted production of Goodyear-brand ATV and UTV tire designs at its Freeport, Ill., factory for the first time since 2009. The move — in line with an agreement with Goodyear signed in August 2014  — included run-flat versions of the tires for the first time. Titan has nearly 70 sizes and styles of Goodyear ATV tires in production at the Freeport plant.

Titan International is a holding company that owns subsidiaries supplying wheels, tires, assemblies and undercarriage product for off-highway equipment used in agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer applications.