Mazda Motor Corp. said Friday it will sell the operating rights of its wholly owned subsidiary Mazda Earth Technologies Co. to Sandvik Tamrock Japan Co., an affiliate of Sweden's Sandvik Group, on Nov. 1.
Under the deal, Sandvik Tamrock Japan will take over the production of Toyo-brand construction equipment, together with sales and after-sales services relating to the equipment.
Mazda Earth Technologies will continue to produce construction equipment under a contract with the Swedish group until the transfer of manufacturing operations is completed in March.
The Hiroshima-based subsidiary, which has a workforce of 186 and generates annual sales of about 5.8 billion yen, will be liquidated by the end of September 2003.
The Sandvik Group is a leader in the global market for metal-cutting tools and tools related to civil engineering machinery, according to Mazda.