Equipment Report

PTI purchases Heartland Equipment

Racine, Wisconsin-based Case Construction Equipment (Case CE) has announced that its Louisiana-based dealership group Progressive Tractor & Implement Co. LLC (PTI) has acquired the stores and territories of Arkansas-based Heartland Equipment.

Case says the move will help PTI expand its business into the northeastern Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee, areas and “help more customers in the region succeed with Case equipment.”

For PTI, the acquisition means it now has more than 500 employees and its overall footprint has grown from 22 to 27 locations.

After the acquisition, PTI will offer construction equipment in Jonesboro and West Memphis, Arkansas, in addition to existing Case CE locations in Opelousas, Lacassine and Lafayette, Louisiana.

“This is an important time for our organization,” says PTI owner and dealer principal Thomas Soileau. “We are thrilled to welcome the employees of Heartland Equipment into the PTI family and are excited to work with the wonderful people in these communities. We pride ourselves on our ability to provide first-class service to our customers and look forward to enhancing our reach and capabilities as we grow our business into northeast Arkansas and the surrounding areas of Memphis.”

Goodyear sells OTR to Yokohama

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has signed a definitive agreement to sell its off-the-road (OTR) tire business to Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd., a Japan-based tire manufacturer, for $905 million. According to Goodyear, which is based in Akron, Ohio, the transaction follows a previously announced strategic review of the OTR tire business in connection with the Goodyear Forward transformation plan.

“The acquisition of Goodyear’s OTR business is a strategic investment that will contribute to achieving ‘hockey stick growth,’” Yokohama Rubber says, adding that the acquisition is part of its Yokohama Transformation 2026 plan and positions the off-highway tire (OHT) business as a future “growth driver.”

Goodyear’s OTR tire business provides OTR tires around the world for surface and underground mining, construction and quarry operations and port and industrial end markets.

The company will retain its business providing OTR tires for United States military and defense applications.

Under a product supply agreement to be entered into with Yokohama in connection with the closing of the deal, Goodyear will manufacture certain OTR tires for Yokohama at some of its manufacturing locations for an initial period of up to five years after the closing of the transaction, according to Goodyear.

“The sale of the OTR business marks an important milestone as we continue to execute against our Goodyear Forward transformation plan,” Goodyear CEO and President Mark Stewart says.

The transaction is expected to close by early 2025. Goodyear says it intends to use transaction proceeds to reduce leverage and fund initiatives in connection with the Goodyear Forward transformation plan. Yokohama estimates the global OHT or OTR market size to be worth about $26 billion annually and says it is expected to grow by 6 percent per year.