Fiat, Ford form new company.

Fiat, Ford Form New Company

Fiat Group and Ford Motor Company announced recently that they have reached an agreement involving their worldwide tractors, farm and industrial equipment operations.

A new company, to be formed, will incorporate Fiat's subsidiary FiatGeotech and

The new company intends to preserve the individual market and product identities of both FiatGeotech and Ford New Holland.

FiatGeotech is based in Italy, and has plants in Italy, Brazil, France and the United States. FiatGeotech has over 13,000 employees and relies upon 2,300 dealers worldwide. Its revenues in 1989 reached $2.3 billion. Ford New Holland is headquartered in New Holland, Pennsylvania, and employs almost 18,000 people in plants and offices, primarily in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Belgium and Brazil. There are 3,700 Ford New Holland dealers worldwide. Revenues in 1989 were $2.8 billion.

Based on their 1989 results, FiatGeotech and Ford New Holland had sales of 95,000 agricultural tractors and an additional 30,000 tractors produced in joint ventures or under license. Sales of other agricultural and industrial products totalled more than 54,000 units.

Cesare Romiti, Fiat's president and chief executive officer, said, "Our primary objective, in creating this new company, is to profit from the existing strengths of the two subsidiaries. We recognize that these two organizations, when combined, will complement each other remarkably well with a truly global presence in virtually every world market. This arrangement, once again demonstrates Fiat's longstanding tradition of internationality."

Ford Motor Company's president and chief operating officer, Philip E. Benton, Jr., said: "Fiat considers agricultural and industrial equipment to be an integral part of its core business strategy and stands ready to support the new company in the continued development of best-in-class products of the highest

quality." He also said that, "Ford is confident that this arrangement is in the best interests of Ford New Holland's employees, customers, dealers and suppliers."

As the majority shareholder in the new company, Fiat intends to provide substantially comparable pay and benefit packages to Ford New Holland employees and the honor existing collective bargaining agreements.