Camso Serves as a ‘Major Enabler’ to Michelin’s Strategy

July 17, 2018

By November 2018 Michelin Group hopes to complete the acquisition of Camso Inc. and begin its quest to gain market share in the off-the-road tire market.

In a document published by Michelin in support of the $1.45 billion acquisition, the tire maker says Camso’s products “are a perfect complement to those of Michelin in the off-road, agriculture, industrial handling and construction sectors, which will ensure that the new entity will gain market share.”

It also described Camso as “a major enabler of Michelin’s strategy, doubling the group’s OTR sales.”

Here’s a look at some of the key figures:

Manufacturing

Combined, Camso and Michelin’s off-highway tire unit operate 26 plants — seven in North and South America; 10 in Europe and nine in the Asia-Pacific region.

Michelin’s production is heavily focused in seven facilities in Europe, plus one in North America and another in South America. It has no manufacturing presence in Asia-Pacific.

Sales per region

Both companies have a stronghold in North and South America. For Camso, 59% of the company’s sales are recorded in those two continents, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa account for 30%, and Asia-Pacific represents 11% of sales.

Michelin counts on the Americas for 26% of its global off-highway tire sales. While Europe is split into Northern and Southern regions (22% and 20% respectively) and Africa, India and the Middle East represent 8% of sales.

The products

Camso breaks down its business into four OTR business units: material handling, construction, agriculture and power sport. With net sales of $1 billion, material handling tires, wheels and services represent Camso’s biggest business, with 40% of net sales. Construction tires, wheels and tracks represent 32%; agriculture tracks, track systems and wheels account for 20%, while power sports tracks and track systems equal 8%.

Camso says it is No. 1 in these segments: solid tires for lift trucks; tracks and track systems for the farm market, and tracks for snowmobiles, quads and ATVs. It says it is in the top three for construction equipment with tires 25 inches and smaller.

Michelin’s off-highway tire portfolio includes 870 products, sold under four brands: Michelin, BFGoodrich, Kleber and Taurus. (The Camso brands will remain in place.)

Outlook for the future

The companies say the “cross-pollination” of Camso’s and Michelin’s research and development teams will help them better meet mobility challenges of the future. The combined product portfolios will also help them capture long-term growth in the OTR market that is being driven by macro-economic trends. Among those trends — an expected demand for food globally, resulting in more equipment sales in emerging regions; growing urbanization and the need to build to accommodate people; and anticipated increases in imports and exports in the U.S., resulting in more traffic in ports, airports and logistics hubs.