does tanfield have 2 good businesses ( smith electrics and upright)which are good value for the medium to long term hold ?

From yesterday's Kansas City Star.

Kokam America transplanted from South Korea, run by a Sri Lankan immigrant and based in Lees Summit may be the key to the next generation of local auto manufacturing. Kokam wants to build an 800,000-square-foot plant to manufacture batteries for electric-powered vehicles that U.S. automakers are feeling heat from Washington to build. President Barack Obama is pushing for 1 million American-made plug-ins on the road by 2015 and is offering ample federal incentives to help.

Last week, Gov. Jay Nixon visited Kokams current facility in Lees Summit, a relatively small plant that manufactures lithium polymer batteries for the military, aerospace and medical equipment.

Nixon is pushing the Missouri General Assembly to approve state incentives that would allow Kokam to build a $650 million plant in Lees Summit that would employ 900 people to make vehicle-sized batteries. The average salary would be $40,000.

We have an opportunity here, he said at a news conference after the tour. This is a fork in the road. This will expand into jobs and jump-start industries that need help with new technology and new products.

Sitting in the front row at Nixons event was Bryan Hansel, chief executive officer of Smith Electric Vehicles, another international hybrid, this one with British roots. In March, his company announced that it planned to build an assembly plant for plug-in electric delivery vans at Kansas City International Airport this summer.

But Hansel said the future of that facility, which will employ 120 people to start, depends on Kokam moving ahead with its massive battery plant in Lees Summit.

Hes got a one-year lease at a vacant maintenance hangar at KCI, with options for extensions, but he made it clear that a permanent presence in Kansas City depended on Kokam.

Where you have the worlds best batteries being built, thats where youll have vehicles being built, Hansel said. Its fundamental to us. If theres not a meaningful facility here, we wont be here long term.

Hansel said SEV plans to assemble 1,000 vehicles during its first year, with operations expected to begin this July.

Nixon, who traveled to Kansas City for the SEV announcement as well, believes the fledgling electric-vehicle industry is the real deal for Missouri.

SEV has people lined up to buy their products, he said. They had buyers before the first vehicles rolled off. Were not imagining something.

Don Nissanka, CEO of Kokam, said the batteries his company wants to build use technology developed in South Korea.

A vehicle can travel up to 150 miles before recharging, a process that takes two hours.

And its not just for clunky delivery vans.

A Kokam battery powers an electric version of the Lotus Elise, a British sports car.

The whole article is at:-
http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1191357.html

What's going on at TAN today? Up 12%!

Hi Toya, it would appear that Tesco's are trialing 2 EV's.

Tesco goes electric

Thanks Oily and Skinny - would be amazing if they went for them!

do you mean, "amazing if they went for them
or
"amazing if they went for them"
????

Sir Terry Leahy, Tescos chief executive, told The Sunday Times: As Arnie Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, has said, you have to make it cool to be green.

Toya - the article actually says - Tesco, Britains biggest supermarket group, is backing electric cars. The food retailer is to start providing charging facilities in its car parks for battery-powered vehicles.

Nothing about trialing 2 EV'S !

You're right Skinny - just had a look at it myself.. Anyway, TAN is doing all right today so that's fine

A nice little Director buy.

RNS Number : 1403T
Tanfield Group PLC
01 June 2009



Tanfield Group plc (the 'Company')

1 June 2009

Director Shareholding

The Company has been informed that Colin Billiet, Non-executive Director of the Company, has today purchased 305,000 ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company ('Shares') at a price of 16.25 pence per share.

Following this transaction, Mr. Billiet's interest in the Company comprises 599,000 Shares, representing approximately 0.16% of the Company's current issued Shares.

Director buys 305,000 shares at 16.25p each, equals 49,810.31 plus dealing charges.

This touches my arbitary 'significant-level' (50k+) - so I think this is good news that at least one Director sees some positive sp movement sooner or later. Now, let's see the others follow....

Sad news for LDV if it is true:-

LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. van maker LDV Group Ltd. Tuesday said it had resubmitted its application for administration after a planned rescue bid fell through.

Malaysian vehicle importer Weststar Group withdrew from its planned deal to acquire LDV from Russian automaker OAO GAZ Group (GAZA.RS), according to an article on the BBC Web site.

Weststar couldn't be reached for comment. A spokesman for LDV declined to comment.


Looking on the brighter side from TAN's point of view, LDV would have been building electric vehicles so you could say it is a rival gone.

A 328,226 (55k) share purchase went through at 15.57 today, no mention of a further director buy at present though. Still, that's no small confidence buy!

FWIW I thought LDV's attachment to "green/electric" was tissue-thin . . . . if they really wanted to do this, the time to start was four years ago, believing the "green revolution" would continue - they would have planned to phase-out petrol/diesel vehicles as the Market demandede . . . . . . so I suspect they didn't have any intention - at least until they started to go belly-up as sales fell dramatically.
LDV moving into "electric" would be a huge change of Mind-set and probably the wrong place to start.
At least Tanfield has some experience in this field, although I don't think "electric" sales will be huge, unless the Gov switches their scrappage-scheme ( maybe 5k from the Gov.), if folk buy dual-fuel/electrics.
I hold a few.
EDIT (3June09)-15.25mid . . . . 10% drop today, on sales 1.9m, against Buys 900k

Sainsburys adds 50 electric vans to delivery fleet.
http://www.logisticsmanager.com/Articles/11658/Sainsburys+adds+50+electric+vans+to+delivery+fleet.html

Also worth reading:-

http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=22338

Tanfield/SEV are featured in the half hour BBC 2 Money Programme at 10pm tonight, 'Gerry Robinson's Car Crash' is the title of the programme. BBC Wales is showing it at 11.20pm.

Tanfield/SEV should benefit from Boris Johnson's Electric London push, but I still feel that the main money will come from America. Apparently there is a US Postal Service van parked outside Tanfield's Tyne & Wear headquarters; putting aside the possibility that it has got lost during it's round, it would seem to indicate that the USPS may be considering SEV as an alternative vehicle supplier. As the USPS is strapped for cash, BEVs may not be top of the list of their priorities although if they were assisted by the US 'green' push, who knows?

TANFIELD agm today - starts 10:30 . Management looking for share consolidation
at ratio of 5 to 1 ie 15p share will become 75p with share holding reduced accordingly - Hopeful some good news will be released at same time.
imho dyor

Yep, let's hope we get some news and it's good as you say.... we've been starved of news.. would've thought that Tan would be working on a lot of developements/opportunities etc. (imo)