Bandag sacks many executives in Europe in “right sizing”

Brussels -- Bandag Europe says it "has had to part with several field people, operating mainly in the South of Europe and CIS countries.

Some staff in the headquarters in Brussels were also affected. In total 16 people left the company."

The most significant losses were Peter De Cabooter, Director of Sales and Lennart Lindström, Product Manager Europe.

The company said, "In terms of sales growth and profitability, 2005 has been a challenging year. Given the general market trend in the

tyre business in Europe, most of our markets operating through the franchise model saw a fall in sales."

The statement added, "Over the past years Bandag, whilst offering an exclusive franchise package, parted from some dealers in

Germany and Austria because the dealers wanted to provide the market with a multi-branded offer, rather than the

program offered by Bandag."