MOSCOW (April 20, 2012)—The new owners of OAO Sibur Russian Tyres have renamed the business, which comprises five tire factories, JSC Cordiant.
An investors group, headed by Vadim Gurinova, who led the business under CJSC Sibur Holdings for seven years, bought the Sibur Russian Tyres assets in January for an undisclosed sum. The name change took effect April 3.
“Renaming the company is not only a change of shareholders, but also to the evolutionary development of the company's transition from a strategy of consolidating fragmented industry assets to the strategy of innovative development,” said Dmitry Juice, general director of the new company.
The firm called Cordiant—originally a grocery brand—one of the three most recognizable brand names in the Russian tire market.
The new company's assets include: Yaroslavl Tyre Plant (car, truck and aircraft tires); OJSC Omskshina (truck tires) ; the former joint venture at the Omsk plant now known as Kordiant East (car tires); and JSC Voltair Prom (agricultural and implement tires). The company employs more than 10,000.
The company earlier said the assets now grouped under Cordiant accounted for about 20 percent of the Russian market for tires in 2010. The main brands of the company are Cordiant (passenger and light truck tires) and TyRex (truck and agricultural tires.)
The new management said earlier it has the abilities and resources to turn Sibur-Russian Tyres into one of the most effective Russian tire makers.