QUINCY, Ill.— Titan International Inc. has sold a former tire plant in Brownsville, Texas — which has sat empty since 2003 — to an affiliate of Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based real-estate firm.
Titan, which consummated the deal in November, did not disclose the purchase price.
The 1-million sq.-ft. facility, which sits on 108 acres, was built in 1997 and produced tires until the tire-maker closed the plant in 2003.
In recent years, several tenants have leased space there.
Paul Reitz, president and CEO of Titan, said the tire maker has "highlighted the sale of non-core assets as an important initiative throughout 2020 and the sale of this facility was certainly a part of that process. This sale, along with the completion of other smaller transactions, will put us within the $16 million to $20 million range for non-core asset sales expected to be completed during the fourth quarter as highlighted during our most recent earnings release.
"This transaction further strengthens our balance sheet and helps position us for future growth as we continue to see higher demand levels for our products heading into 2021."
In its most recent financial statement, Titan posted a loss from operations for the third quarter of $6.8 million, compared with a loss of $12.6 million for the third quarter of 2019. Sales for the quarter of $304.8 million were down 11.9% versus 2019.
It was Titan's sixth straight quarter with an operating loss.The net result was a loss of $12.6 million.
Quincy-based Titan attributed the losses primarily to the negative impact of lower sales volume across most geographic regions..
Titan's loss from operations for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was $19.5 million on 18.7% lower sales of $932.4 million. The net loss was $43.2 million.