Trelleborg Wheel acquires Brazilian tire maker

TRELLEBORG, Sweden—Trelleborg Wheel Systems S.p.A. has acquired Standard Tyres Group, a privately owned Brazil-based industrial tire manufacturer, to strengthen its presence in industrial tires in South America and reinforce its market position globally.

The acquired business is based in Lorena, Brazil, with one factory in Feira de Santana. It posted revenue of about $11.5 million in 2014 in part from sales to locally based units of global original equipment manufacturers of materials-handling vehicles.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Trelleborg said this “bolt-on acquisition” is part of its strategy to strengthen its positions in attractive market segments. The company's strength is in solid forklift tires, but it also offers pneumatic tires for materials-handling, construction, mining and earthmoving.

“Brazil has the largest materials-handling vehicles market in South America, with all major OEMs represented in the country, said Maurizio Vischi, president of Trelleborg Wheel Systems, a business unit of Trelleborg A.B.

“The acquisition not only provides Trelleborg with access to the OEM market in the region, but it also strengthens Trelleborg as a global supplier of solid tires to major, global OEMs. In addition, the acquisition will facilitate the expansion of sales into the rest of South America.”

Standard Tyres has four sales depots in Brazil and sales subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Czech Republic.

Standard Tyres has posted a corporate video on YouTube. See it by clicking here.