Alliance Tires in Hadera, which since 2016 has been owned by Japanese company Yokohama Rubber, is set for a large wave of layoffs and could even be shut down, 75 years after it was founded, "Globes" has learned. The owner is looking for cheaper production alternatives and lower shipping costs, with most production exported, while costs have risen since the start of the war due to Houthi attacks in the Gulf.
Sources familiar with the situation at the Alliance factory told "Globes" that the Japanese owners will soon make a decision on the future of the Israeli tire factory, which has 450 employees and has been led for the past decade by CEO Ygal Trichter.
The factory's management told "Globes," "The global company has not yet taken a final decision and it is due soon. When the decision is made we will first update the employees and then put out an announcement."
The Alliance Tire factory was established in 1950 by a group of investors from Israel and the US in cooperation with Solel Boneh. In 1992, after the company encountered financial difficulties, it was acquired from the receiver by Eliezer Fishman and floated on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) the following year. After the company's fortunes were revived Fishman sold Alliance to Warburg Pincus in 2007 for $50 million.
The company underwent a further transformation with the transfer of production of basic tires transferred to India while Alliance specialized in agricultural tires which required more technological input. In 2013 Warburg Pincus sold Alliance to KKR, another foreign investment company, for $600 million, which in 2016 sold Alliance to Yokohama Rubber for almost $1.2 billion.
Alliance, under the name ATG - Alliance Tire Group - has developed special expertise in manufacturing and marketing tires for agricultural, industrial, construction, and afforestation machinery. At the time it was sold to Yokohama, it eas selling products to 120 countries worldwide, with the main focus on North America and Europe. Currently 20% of the company's activities are in Israel and the remainder in India. Prior to buying ATG, Yokohama Rubber did not manufacture tires in Alliance's areas of specialization and the acquisition aimed to broaden the Japanese company's product range.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 13, 2024.
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