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

Hello Blanche
used to be a holder of these pre-consolidation, and have been waiting for the right moment to get back in - but still resisting at the mo, due to those abysmal figures.
Hangons post 271 says it all really....
Be a long time before cherry pickers are back on the menu for most hire cos, and
electric vehicles are sexy and fashionable at present, but do tan have the infrastructure to make decent profits from that divsn if sales get going ?

I'm still watching for a while, and if they stabilise around the current price (32p) then may put my little toe in - but this one is really a 'punt' now, and not what I would class as an investment.....

I agree - it is a pity to see how this dream has deteriorated. I'm glad I hold only a very small amount; not much point for me to bail out now as not worth anything anyway.

Not sure I would be buying in right now, as there seem to be so many other opportunities out there.

only too true friends or fellow sufferers

Up 12% with Buys about 50% up on Sells, -but- woefully lower than recent CONsolidation implied.

Is there room for them to demerger? - Oh come on . . . the only winners will be the City, printing "prospectuses" and any insiders that buy stock prior to the deal being a great success ( er hopeing, huh?)

I hold and suspect Management never was up to their job, BUT a bouyant Market for Access and Electric Vehicles (to demonstrate their Green leanings) meant that the Company was seen as successful.

The recent CONsolidation does not bode well.

Now, the situation is dire ( I refer to UK plc), so bigger players are not buying Access-kit if they can avoid it. Also the market for EV is slim, due to "greenwashing" being a minority sport.

BUT, as always there are Opportunities where Management can find a way . . . . sadly few are capable of anything like entrepreneurship, but most are hoping "something will turn up" so don't expect anything other than marking-time.

At times such as this [TAN]-Management needs to conserve Cash and IF they can, then the future is likley to be bright as they'll be ready for the OFF! - Possible in another 4-years - but that is anyone's guess.

Tanfield Trading Statement





TIDMTAN

RNS Number : 6502B
Tanfield Group PLC
30 October 2009

?
Tanfield Group plc ("Tanfield", or the "Company")


30 October 2009


Trading Update
* SEV US Corp to develop jointly with AM General, a prototype electric postal
delivery vehicle for the US Postal Service
* SEV US Corp customers win additional $4.5m Federal grant funding for 65 Smith
trucks through the Clean City Program
* Strong demand for Newton electric truck: SEV US Corp order book now stands 255
trucks
* Tanfield confirmed as largest supplier to UK's Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement
Programme
* Renewed focus on production ready medium duty electric vans and light duty
trucks (Newton and Edison)
* Withdrawal from electric car-derived van development : Termination of US Ford
Transit Connect project

Tanfield is pleased to announce further developments from its associate company,
Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp ("SEV US Corp").
SEV US Corp, together with AM General, a leading manufacturer of military and
commercial vehicles, headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, USA, is developing a
prototype electric version of the gasoline-powered Long Life Vehicle for the
United States Postal Service ("USPS"). There are currently approximately 178,000
Long Life Vehicles in service with the USPS. AM General will manufacture the
chassis and SEV US Corp will supply the electric drive train, including the
motor, battery pack, electronics and ancillary systems.
Darren Kell, CEO of The Tanfield Group Plc, said: "With AM General we combine a
global leader in specialist vehicles with a world leader in electric vehicle
integration. The goal is to deliver an electric vehicle that is perfect for the
United States Postal Service; a vehicle that is energy efficient,
cost-effective, reduces US reliance on oil and lowers greenhouse gas emissions."
As announced on 6 August 2009, SEV US Corp won $10m in grant funding from the US
Department of Energy (DoE), to facilitate its growth towards volume production
and to build a demonstration fleet of electric trucks. In addition, SEV US Corp
customers have been awarded funding for 65 Smith Newton electric trucks,
amounting to $4.5m, through the US Clean Cities Program. SEV US Corp is applying
for more funding through the US Government "green vehicles" programmes.
SEV US Corp has commenced production of the Smith Newton electric truck platform
at its assembly facility in Kansas City, Missouri. Appetite for the Smith Newton
truck is strong in North America and SEV US Corp now has an order book of 255
trucks.
In light of the swift growth in demand for the production ready Smith Newton,
SEV US Corp mutually agreed with Ford to terminate its development project with
Ford of an electric car-derived van based on Transit Connect. In the short to
medium term, forecast volumes did not justify the investment requirement and
limited the working capital available to support the growth of Newton. SEV US
Corp believes that investing in the existing Smith platforms represents a better
use of its financial resources, allowing it to take full advantage of a
potentially very sizeable market and to gain market traction more quickly. It
was concerned that the market for electric car-derived vans would become
increasingly competitive. In North America, Ford still intends to launch its
own electric version of the Connect.
In other markets, the Board of Directors believes that the best strategy going
forward for the Company is to focus on preserving and enhancing Tanfield's
market-leading position in the medium-duty commercial vehicle sector, through
its many variants of Newton truck and Edison van platforms. Tanfield remains
Ford of Europe's official collaborator on commercial electric vehicles,
initially focused solely on the Ford Transit platform, which is marketed as the
Smith Edison.
Whilst consolidating its market-lead position in this sector, Tanfield continues
to pursue an order for the delivery of over 50 Smith Edison vans with a leading
UK retailer. Additionally, Tanfield is now confirmed as the largest supplier to
Phase One of the UK Government's Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme.
Tanfield will supply a total of 57 Smith Edison vans in the first phase.
Darren Kell added:
"Tanfield is gaining real traction with its core products in the electric van
and truck sectors across the world"

Tanfield, the leading manufacturer of commercial electric vehicles and aerial work platforms, is pleased to announce that its trading division, Smith Electric Vehicles, has today received an order from J Sainsbury Plc ("Sainsbury's") for 51 Edison Electric vans.

About time too!

wow! 51 vans that should help their bottom line.

At least it is showing some signs of life.

London seems a good choice for start of a revival.

One could say it is a wheel in the right direction!

Up 15% - what happens if they sell 500 :-)

although plenty of spokes could still be put in the works

Hardly electrifying but it's something positive!

Skinny, I would get my money back!

Also, might believe in God!

Study Raises Cost Estimate for Electric Cars
By NICK BUNKLEY
Published: January 7, 2010
DETROIT As General Motors began assembling batteries for the coming Chevrolet Volt on Thursday, a new study cast doubt on the likelihood that electric cars will be widely popular in the near future.
The study, conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, said battery costs were not expected to fall as much as automakers have projected, making electric vehicles too expensive for most consumers even 10 years from now.

The firm predicted that electric cars would account for just 6 percent of the global market in 2020, or about three million of an estimated 54.5 million vehicles sold over all.

The findings contrast with the publicity that G.M., Ford Motor, Nissan and other manufacturers have been building for coming battery-powered models. On Thursday, G.M.s chairman and chief executive, Edward E. Whitacre Jr., called electric cars like the Volt, which has a small range-extending gasoline engine, the way of the future and said such technology will quickly become a very big part of General Motors.

The Volt, Mr. Whitacre said, is a sign of good things to come, not only for this company but for the U.S. auto industry and the car-buying public.

Mr. Whitacre was speaking at a ceremony to note the production of G.M.s first 400-pound battery pack at a new plant outside Detroit. The event took place exactly three years after G.M. introduced the Volt then a sporty concept car theoretically powered by technology that company officials acknowledged did not exist yet to great fanfare at the 2007 Detroit auto show.

The Volt is scheduled to go on sale by November.

Electric vehicles will be a large part of this years Detroit show, which begins Monday with two days of media previews. The energy secretary, Steven Chu, who joined Mr. Whitacre at the event on Thursday, said the vehicles were critical to helping Detroits automakers become successful again.

We urgently need to change how we power our cars and trucks, Mr. Chu said. America has fallen behind in the race to build cars of the future.

The Boston Consulting Group study, however, forecasts that most gasoline-powered cars will remain most popular for many years. It forecasts that they will represent 62 percent of sales in the United States and 58 percent of sales worldwide in 2020.

The main factor, the study says, is price. It predicts that the cost of a battery pack about the size of the Volts will fall by $10,000, or 64 percent, from 2009 to 2020. But even then it would take about 15 years for the cost of owning an electric vehicle to equal that of a gas-powered car.

Most consumers would buy an electric vehicle only if they could break even on ownership costs within three years, said Xavier Mosquet, who leads the consulting firms automotive practice in Detroit. He said a three-year time frame would require significant government incentives or a drastic change in one or more factors, like oil prices of about $375 a barrel, more than quadruple todays price.

Mr. Mosquet said about 9 percent of Americans surveyed said they would buy an electric car regardless of price.

A small fraction will buy one either because they think it is fun or it is the right thing to do, he told reporters after a speech to the Automotive Press Association. If you want to go beyond a niche market, you need to make it financially attractive.

But G.M. and government officials celebrating the start of battery production on Thursday said they were confident that the automaker, after many years of trailing its competition and making poor decisions, would lead the industry forward.

Were going to show those foreigners how you make cars, and were going to have success, Representative John D. Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, said.

dear oh dear oh dear .... how are the mighty fallen .... was one of my faves too many moons ago

Battery orders from TAN & SEV US

Valence have received orders from both sides of the pond for batteries to power the Smith Newton and Eddison vehicles.

Don't get too despondent cynic, Tanfield/Smith are still in business!

A bit of action, nothing announced by TAN yet though.

Proton Power Systems sign MoU with SEV

I think the news is good for TAN. and I need some good news at the moment.

Let us hope it is reflected in the price.

These have a had a bit of a run up of late - I can't find any news - anyone?