Titan to expand radial farm tyre capacity

Tire Business staff report

Quincy, Illinois -- Titan Tire Corp. plans to add 10 new 130-inch curing presses at its US plants to meet growing demand for the company's radial farm tyres.

The company, a subsidiary of Titan International Inc., will install the presses over the coming eight months in a “multimillion dollar” investment and, if demand warrants it, will install 10 more presses in the second quarter next year.

Titan did not specify which of its plants would get the presses. The firm makes farm tyres at its plants in Freeport, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa.

Titan Chairman and CEO Maurice Taylor Jr. cited two key reasons for increasing capacity.

“One, Titan has promised its major customers that there should be no shortages of radial tyres, and two, Titan believes that tyre sizes will continue to grow,” he said in a prepared statement. “To our knowledge, 130-inch presses have not been produced in the USA, until now. These presses will be American made. We anticipate this multimillion dollar expansion to be paid for out of current cash flow.”

Titan did not identify what company would make the presses, nor say how much the presses would affect capacity or employment.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)

Press release from Titan