Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. confirms it has finalized the sale of its Union City, Tenn., facility to Titan Tire Corp., a subsidiary of Titan International Inc. Terms of the deal will not be disclosed by Goodyear at this time.
In July, Goodyear announced it has ceased production at the facility (see Goodyear closes Tennessee plant). Goodyear had announced its intention to close the plant by the end of 2011 (see also Goodyear announces financial results, plans to close plant).
Goodyear Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Kramer said in July that the company had planned to close the plant by the end of the year. “Since then, the product transfers to the other Goodyear plants have been completed more quickly than expected. We are now able to meet the needs of our consumer tire customers without further production in Union City.”
This purchase follows the deal closed by Titan in April for Goodyear ‘s Latin American farm tire business at a cost of approximately $98.6 million, according to the Titan Tire Corp. website. “The transaction includes Goodyear’s Sao Paulo, Brazil manufacturing plant, property, equipment and inventories and a licensing agreement that will allow Titan to sell Goodyear-brand farm tires in Latin America and North America,” the company said
“We are very excited to have purchased these great assets for Titan,” Maurice Taylor, chairman and CEO, said at that time. “Over the next 18 to 24 months, we believe Latin America revenue can grow up to approximately $400 million by adding OTR radials and other earthmover and construction tires to the facility. This expansion into Latin America supports our global vision of becoming the world’s premier farm tire manufacturer. The European portion of the transaction is pending as Goodyear works through the closing requirements.”
According to Modern Tire Dealer's January 2011 Facts Issue, the Union City plant was built in 1968. The unionized plant had a capacity to build 35,000 passenger and 13,000 light truck tires per day.
Stay tuned for more information on the Union City plant as it becomes available. To read a report on the sale from the Jackson (Tennessee) Sun newspaper, click here.
