SAINT PRIEST, France,
Jan. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Meritor, Inc. (NYSE: MTOR) today announced that it has
completed the sale of the assets of its axle operation in Saint
Priest, France, to Renault Trucks
SAS. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110330/DE73783LOGO
)
"We believe this transaction takes us another step toward
optimizing our footprint in Europe," said Chairman, CEO and President
Chip McClure. "We will retain and
continue to invest in our Lindesberg, Sweden, and Cameri, Italy, axle facilities with new housing
technology, laser welding lines for our 17X and 18x carriers,
robotic automations and advanced gear manufacturing
capability."
Renault Trucks is expected to perform only final dressing and
painting in the St. Priest, France, operation. The divestiture affects
nearly 400 employees at the France
facility who will transfer to Renault Trucks.
McClure added, "Completing the sale of the St. Priest operation
supports our long-term strategy to position the company for
profitable future growth."
The company's facility in Cwmbran, United Kingdom, continues to be home to
Meritor's center of expertise for the design, development and
manufacture of advanced braking systems and components for the
commercial vehicle truck market.
About Meritor, Inc.
Meritor, Inc. is a leading global supplier of drivetrain,
mobility, braking and aftermarket solutions for commercial vehicle
and industrial markets. With more than a 100-year legacy of
providing innovative products that offer superior performance,
efficiency and reliability, the company serves commercial truck,
trailer, off-highway, defense, specialty and aftermarket customers
in more than 70 countries. Meritor is based in Troy, Mich., United
States, and is made up of more than 11,000 diverse employees
who apply their knowledge and skills in manufacturing facilities,
engineering centers, joint ventures, distribution centers and
global offices in 19 countries. Common stock is traded on the New
York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MTOR. For important
information, visit the company's web site at meritor.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements relating to future results
of the company (including certain projections and business trends)
that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "are
likely to be," "will" and similar expressions. Actual results may
differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks
and uncertainties, including but not limited to our ability to
successfully manage steeply increasing volumes in the commercial
truck markets, including working with our customers to adjust their
demands in light of the rapid acceleration of production:
availability and sharply rising costs of raw materials, including
steel, and our ability to manage or recover such costs; reduced
production for certain military programs and the return of volumes
of selected long-term military contracts to more normalized levels;
global economic and market cycles and conditions, including the
recent global economic crisis; risks inherent in operating abroad
(including foreign currency exchange rates and potential disruption
of production and supply due to terrorist attacks or acts of
aggression); the ability to achieve the expected benefits of
restructuring actions; the demand for commercial and specialty
vehicles for which we supply products; whether the liquidity of the
company will be affected by declining vehicle productions in the
future; OEM program delays; demand for and market acceptance of new
and existing products; successful development of new products;
reliance on major OEM customers and possible negative outcomes from
contract negotiations with our major customers; labor relations of
the company, its suppliers and customers, including potential
disruptions in supply of parts to our facilities or demand for our
products due to work stoppages; the financial condition of the
company's suppliers and customers, including potential
bankruptcies; possible adverse effects of any future suspension of
normal trade credit terms by our suppliers; potential difficulties
competing with companies that have avoided their existing contracts
in bankruptcy and reorganization proceedings; successful
integration of acquired or merged businesses; the ability to
achieve the expected annual savings and synergies from past and
future business combinations; success and timing of potential
divestitures; potential impairment of long-lived assets, including
goodwill; potential adjustment of the value of deferred tax assets;
competitive product and pricing pressures; the amount of the
company's debt; the ability of the company to continue to comply
with covenants in its financing agreements; the ability of the
company to access capital markets; credit ratings of the company's
debt; the outcome of existing and any future legal proceedings,
including any litigation with respect to environmental or
asbestos-related matters; the outcome of actual and potential
product liability, warranty and recall claims; rising costs of
pension and other postretirement benefits; and possible changes in
accounting rules; as well as other substantial costs, risks and
uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed herein
and from time to time in other filings of the company with the SEC.
These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date
hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise
required by law.
SOURCE Meritor, Inc.