Off-road tire maker Titan sells former Texas production plant

Quincy, Illinois – Titan International Inc. has sold a former tire manufacturing facility in Brownsville, Texas, to an affiliate of Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based, national private real estate firm.

Titan, which consummated the deal in November, did not disclose the purchase price.

The 1 million-sq.-ft. facility, which sits on 108 acres, was built in 1997 and produced tires until the tire maker closed the plant in 2003. The facility sat empty for 16 years.

In recent years, several tenants have leased space there.

Paul Reitz, president and CEO of Titan, said the tire maker has "highlighted the sale of non-core assets as an important initiative throughout 2020 and the sale of this facility was certainly a part of that process.

This sale, along with the completion of other smaller transactions, will put us within the $16-$20 million (€13-€16 million) range for non-core asset sales expected to be completed during the fourth quarter as highlighted during our most recent earnings release.

"This transaction further strengthens our balance sheet and helps position us for future growth as we continue to see higher demand levels for our products heading into 2021."

In its most recent financial statement, Titan posted operating and net losses for the quarter and six months as sales dropped 26.7% during the quarter and 21.6% for the six months, marking the fifth straight quarter that Titan posted operating and net losses.

Quincy-based off-road tire manufacturer attributed the losses primarily to the negative impact of lower sales volume across most geographic regions, driven by most countries' efforts to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Titan's loss from operations was $12.7 million for the six months on sales of $627.6 million. The net loss was $30.5 million for the half-year.