Mitas aims for greater prominence after UK name change

Mitas is aiming to raise the profile of the company and better communicate the strength of its products and recent sales performance in the market following the official rebranding of the UK company as Mitas Tyres Limited. With an impressive number of OE contracts under its belt, Mitas is aiming to grow market share in both the OE and replacement markets and solidify its position as “the UK’s leading off-road tyre specialist”, according to the company. And despite the fact that company is well-known for producing Continental branded agricultural tyres under licence, as you might imagine, a key part of this strategy is to highlight the Mitas name in the UK and beyond.

Outlining the company’s strategy, Jon Ward, managing director of Mitas Tyres Limited – the UK subsidiary of Mitas a.s., the Czech Republic-based manufacturer of agricultural, construction, industrial and other off-highway tyres stated: “We feel that now is a good time for the Mitas brand to step into the limelight, as it now offers a range which is at the forefront of tyre technology.”

Jon Ward continued: “Recently, we introduced the Mitas RD-03 65-Series Radial Traction Tyre, Mitas RD-05, together with the AC85 and AC90 row-crop tyres which were developed specifically to meet the requirements of farmers in Europe and North America. One of the latest releases is the Mitas CR-01 for mobile cranes, a new generation of all-steel radial which provides higher resistance to punctures, reduced rolling resistance, lower fuel consumption, improved durability and greater comfort.

“The Mitas name has been in use since 1947 and is now well-established. Mitas now offers a comprehensive range of tyres for tractors, trailers and agricultural equipment, together with industrial Multi-Purpose (MPT) and Earthmover (EM) tyres. It is also present in the off-road motorcycle and aircraft tyre segments.”

In Europe, Mitas’ sales accounts for 28 per cent of the Original Equipment (OE) market and 19 per cent of the replacement market in the relevant segmetns. In the OE sector, Mitas products account for 19 per cent of tyres used by AGCO Group, 25 per cent by John Deere, 26 per cent by Case New Holland, 36 per cent by Claas, 55 per cent by Argo Group and a whopping 70 per cent by Same Deutz-Fahr, with deliveries to all of these companies forecast to increase further during the next five years.

Outlining the success of Mitas Tyres Limited in UK market, Jon Ward stated: “The annual turnover of Mitas Tyres Limited has increased significantly, from £13.25 million in 2008, to more than £20 million for 2011. We have enjoyed exceptionally strong growth in the UK across all major off-road sectors. In bucking the industry trend of stagnant or falling sales currently being experienced by many other tyre companies, we increased year-on-year sales by 29 per cent with strong growth across all market sectors. Mitas products have enjoyed a rapid increase in popularity in the replacement market and are now specified by the major UK based manufacturers of agricultural and construction machinery, including JCB, CNH and Terex. This success is due to a growing realisation amongst buyers of the high quality, good value and increasing choice offered by Mitas Tyres.