MILAN — Prometeon Tyre Group S.r.l., the newly organized company encompassing Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.'s commercial tire activities, has launched its own website and disclosed that the operations of China's Aeolus Tyre Co. Ltd. will be integrated into Prometeon before year-end.
As it stands now, Prometeon Tyre comprises four factories—two in Brazil and one each in Egypt and Turkey—with more than 7,300 employees and a commercial presence in more than 160 countries, according to a company description on the new site, prometeon.com.
Prometeon concentrates on truck, bus, agricultural and OTR tires using technology under a license agreement with Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. These activities generated $1.05 billion in sales in fiscal 2016.
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. disclosed the formation of Prometeon April 4 as part of its fiscal 2016 earnings report.
At that time, Pirelli disclosed a revised shareholding structure, noting that a 52 percent shareholding in Prometeon owned by Pirelli's TP Industrial Holding unit had been reassigned to Marco Polo Industrial Holding S.p.A., the investment vehicle set up in 2015 to facilitate China National Chemical Corp.'s acquisition of Pirelli.
Going forward, Prometeon said Aeolus, a company listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, will become—subject to the approval by its shareholders' meeting—Prometeon Tyre Group Co. Ltd. upon final completion of the transaction.
Besides TP Industrial's 52 percent shareholding, Prometeon's other shareholders are Cinda International Holding—a Chinese investment fund—with 38 percent and Aeolus with 10 percent.
Aeolus recently disclosed it is seeking to raise $840 million through a public share offering to cover the cost of acquiring a 90 percent stake in PTG.
In addition to Aeolus' activities being merged into Prometeon, the new company also will integrate a range of industrial/commercial tire activities under the control of China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina), including those of Guilin Tire Co. Ltd.
Once the integration of the various elements are completed, Prometeon Tyre will:
- Control production capacity of approximately 18 million tires a year;
- Employ about 18,500 workers globally;
- Offer a portfolio of products covering a range of market segments, from high-end premium products under the Pirelli brand, Tier 2 products under the Aeolus brand and more entry-level products under the Yellow Sea, Double Happiness and Torch brands;
- Operate two two strategic centers, in Beijing and in Milan.
At the same time, Prometeon disclosed it has secured a deal with Iveco Defence Vehicles, which calls for the development of new generation tires for vehicles that company produces.
To fulfill the contract, Prometeon is offering the Pirelli MG:01 tire, in size 265/70R19.5, which was developed at Pirelli's research and development center in Milan, which now will be under Prometeon's control
The MG:01—"M" for multipurpose and "G" for on-/off-road applications—has a tread compound that is compatible with traditional road, off-road and snowed-under conditions, guaranteeing maximum performance and optimal driveability for any type of use.