Acquisitions, newcomers help to shake up North American ranking

It may not be obvious at first glance, but the ranking of Top 50 Rubber Product Makers in North America was rocked a bit this year. That said, it did hold steady. At least, at the top.

Yes, Bridgestone Americas Inc. retained the No. 1 spot with estimated North American sales of tires, hoses, belts and air springs—among other products—in the $13.2 billion range. And the Nashville-based company sits comfortably at the top of the chart, its sales about $1.7 billion higher than No. 2 Michelin North America Inc.

But this is where some of that seismic activity comes in.

Goodyear's acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in 2021 was fully realized in the 2022 sales figures, and the impact appears to be significant. After all, the Goodyear, Cooper and other affiliated brands see dominate sales in the North American market.

Bolstered in part by Cooper's tire brand sales, Goodyear's estimated 2022 North American sales jumped $2.7 billion year-over-year, closing the gap between it and No. 2 Michelin. This year, just about $380 million separate the two companies on the chart, a marked difference from the $1.45 billion separation a year earlier.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the world's three largest tire makers—and coincidentally the continent's top 3 rubber products makers—jockey for position in the years ahead.

Because Michelin for one, is investing in its North American operations, in part to grow capacity for in-demand tires—think: fuel efficient, EV, OE and larger-rim diameter as well as commercial truck—and rubber products ranging from Camso tracks to Fenner Precision Polymer belts and seals.

Within the last week, Michelin announced a planned consolidation of some of its Pennsylvania-based Fenner operations within a 400,000-sq.-ft. space. And that move comes on the heels of the May disclosure of a $100 million investment targeted at expanding its Camso-branded agricultural rubber tracks facility in Kansas, which opened just three years ago.

But the Greenville, S.C.-based tire maker's biggest announcement this year came in March, when it noted that it had earmarked $220 million to expand capacity and upgrade operations at two tire plants in Nova Scotia.

Bridgestone, likewise, is investing in growing its North American operations. Last year, the Nashville-based tire maker said it would pour $550 million into its flagship truck and bus radial tire plant in Morrison, Tenn.

As expected, Continental A.G.'s North American sales—through both Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. and ContiTech USA Inc.—held the No. 4 spot after seeing an uptick in sales from around $5.05 billion in 2021 to $5.65 billion in 2022.

Parker-Hannifin Corp., ranked as North America's largest hose maker by Rubber News earlier this year, held the No. 5 spot in this ranking with North American sales growing about $310 million year-over-year.

In addition to hoses, Parker-Hannifin makes molded and extruded rubber goods.

It's not uncommon for companies on the ranking to jump a spot or two, or even slip a few notches.

But this year, there were a few companies making a lot of noise with their placement on the Ranking of Top 50 Rubber Products Makers in North America.

It started with Yokohama Tire Corp., which jumped six spots from No. 12, riding a wave of demand for its North American products. Sales surged rather organically for YTC, to the tune of about $760 million year-over-year. It's something Yokohama attributed in part to new fitments, upticks in vehicle production, successful marketing of its premium products and a record year for its ATG products.

Then, there's Danfoss A.S. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based hose maker scaled 17 slots to claim No. 21 on the ranking with estimated North American sales of around $790 million. A major reason for that? The acquisition of Eaton P.L.C.'s hydraulic hose business.

The $3.3 billion acquisition closed in August 2021, but the impact wasn't fully realized until 2022.

Eaton, after the divestment, maintains some rubber products manufacturing, mainly golf grips. It's ranked No. 47 this year with estimated sales on the continent of around $160 million.

Sliding in just under Danfoss, is Holcim Building Envelope, which made its debut on the North American Rankings at No. 22.

For Holcim, it started with the $3.4 billion acquisition of Firestone Building Products in April 2021, but it didn't stop there. In 2022, Holcim purchased Texas-based Polymers Sealants North America, a former division of Illinois Tool Works. It went on to purchase Malarkey Roofing Products and SES Foam, one of the largest independent spray foam insulation companies in the U.S.

Speaking of acquisitions, Datwyler Holding A.G. saw a boost from an acquisition of its own, jumping nine spots to No. 38 on this year's ranking, with North American sales estimated to be about $265 million.

Datwyler in May 2022, acquired QSR Inc. from Q Holding and its private equity owner, 3i. That deal gave the Swiss company about two quarters' worth of revenue from the electric seals connection business it purchased.

That acquisition will be fully realized in 2023's sales figures.

Helping to round out this year's ranking is New Age Industries Inc., which made its return at No. 49. The company reported North American rubber products sales of about $150 million in 2022.

When it comes to rubber products—the non-tire type—Freudenberg Group reigns when it comes to global sales. With an estimated 60 percent of its revenues coming from rubber products, the German company saw rubber products sales of about $7 billion last year.

Continental A.G. held the No. 2 spot with estimated global sales of around $6.2 billion. The German automotive giant—which ranks No. 4 on Rubber News ranking of Global Tire Makers, and No. 9 on Automotive News' ranking of global automotive suppliers—generates an estimated 15 percent of its global revenue from non-tire rubber products.

Hutchinson S.A. and Parker-Hannifin Corp. maintained the third and fourth spots with global sales of about $4.6 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively.

Rounding out the global top 10 was Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc. and Bridgestone Corp., both of which jumped two spots each. Cooper-Standard had estimated global rubber product sales of around $2.39 billion, while Bridgestone's global non-tire sales came in at an estimated $2.34 billion.

Making its debut on the ranking this year is Holcim Group, which came in at No. 12.

And it's likely to climb.

Holcim, after all, has big plans for its Building Envelope division, which is expected to hit $4 billion in global roofing product sales by 2025. Should it achieve that aim, it is likely to take its place near the top five, if it doesn't crack it completely.

For now, though, Holcim is holding down that No. 12 spot with estimated global rubber products sales of about $2.2 billion.