Tanfield Group

Tanfield Group PLC
Public (AIM: )
Industry Electric vehicles, Aerial work platforms, Engineering
Founded 2003
Headquarters Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom
Key people
 Roy Stanley, Chairman
Website TanfieldGroup.com

The Tanfield Group, formerly Comeleon, has changed its main focus from automotive components and imaging equipment to electric vehicle manufacturing and specialist engineering. As Comeleon, the company made 3D images for mobile phones and other devices, but saw the bottom drop out of its key handset market in 2003. In 2004, Comeleon was absorbed by the Tanfield Group. The company has since expanded to include electric vehicles and aerial work platforms.

The group is made up of the following companies:

Snorkel

On 28 June 2007, the company acquired Snorkel International as another division of its Aerial Work Platform (AWP) market share. The geographical fit and little overlap in product range complements Tanfields initiative to expand into the global marketplace with a wide variety of products to offer their customers.

TX4E

Manganese Bronze, which manufactures the iconic London black taxi in Coventry, has signed a development agreement with electric vehicle manufacturer Tanfield to develop an all-electric urban taxi. The all-electric version of the TX4 black cab - to be branded the TX4E - will have a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) and a range in excess of 100 miles (160 km) on one battery charge.[1]

Smith Electric Vehicles

Smith Electric Vehicles was formed in England in 1920. Originally specialising in trolly busses under the name Northern Coachbuilders Ltd. Over the next 80 years the company developed a plethora of vehicles including milk floats.

Tanfield Group Plc acquired the company in October 2004, for £2.2m and 1 million new ordinary shares.[2] Tanfield immediately re-started R&D work to develop new electric delivery vehicles. Including the Newton and Edison .

Tanfield announced the formation of Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp (Smith US) in February 2009 and the company opened for business later that year. It has since grown to become America’s leading manufacturer of electric trucks.

In March 2010 Smith US made a £37m conditional offer, equating to 50p per Tanfield share, plus a "free" share in Smith US if it subsequently undergoes an IPO and joins the stock market in the near future.[3]

Controversy

On 3 July 2008 it was announced in the press that the London Stock Exchange was launching a probe after a collapse in the share price. The company was criticised by analysts for poor standards of disclosure and weak financial controls. The shares reached a high of 203.5p (valuing the Company at over £700 million) in July 2007 and fell to 5.53 pence (a value of £20 million). In April 2008, its annual results disappointed the City and raised questions about its disclosure standards and the high level of cash burn.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Black taxi firm plans zero emission electric vehicle
  2. ↑ "Tanfield Group PLC: Acquisition - replacement | Company Announcements". Investegate. 2010-05-20. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
  3. ↑ "/ Companies / Automobiles - Tanfield to sell electric vehicle operation". Ft.com. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
  4. ↑ : LSE launches probe after electric vehicle firm Tanfield sees shares collapse
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