Titan International Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell ITM Business to USCO S.p.A.

"It has been approximately ten (10) years since I left the President/CEO position to Paul Reitz and forty-three (43) years since Titan started with no employees and no sales. So, you might say I have seen a lot. The potential sale of ITM was first discussed with Titan's Board of Directors over ten (10) years when Titan was approached with an offer of less than $100 million. The deal Paul and his team completed has required a lot of patience and I know I could not have gotten this deal done because I do not have that level of patience. This deal is good for Titan and good for USCO. TWI received a fair price, and USCO will now have a strong track manufacturing business with a good brand and great people. Looking back a decade ago, the primary task for me was finding my replacement. Well, there is no doubt I chose the right man! Paul has led this team for over ten (10) years and done an excellent job. The last ten (10) years have been tough, but as President Trump said we are going into the Golden Age. India has been flooding our country with offroad tires and wheels using unfair practices as we have proven with the International Trade Commission. President Trump is focused on bringing back manufacturing to the USA, but it's a difficult situation in our industry that requires people understanding real manufacturing of converting raw materials into finished products. I feel that the White House sometimes loses its way with financial people having too much of a say and not enough people that understand real manufacturing. Our Board of Directors feels there are good opportunities out there to utilize the sale proceeds to explore the purchase of other businesses. TWI has a very bright future because of the depth of our product portfolio and manufacturing footprint. Titan is the world leader in both wheels and tires in the farm industry and let's not forget the decades of investment we have made with technical engineering and tooling into the large Ag wheels and tires that we produce. Our innovation pipeline of new products has been strong in recent years for farm, industrial and consumer products, and we have been achieving this at competitive cost levels for our customers at the same time. I am inflating my own ego, because of what Paul and his team pulled off with this transaction and how good I feel that Titan is entering the Golden Age of manu..."