FIRST MICHELIN DURABLE TECHNOLOGY REMIX TYRES ROLL-OFF PRODUCTION LINE IN STOKE-ON-TRENT
Stoke-on-Trent – May 30, 2012
The first remanufactured tyres incorporating Michelin Durable Technologies have rolled off Michelin's new Remix truck tyre retreading operation in Stoke-on-Trent.
This follows a £20m investment programme to upgrade machinery and equipment at the site which will transform Michelin’s UK Remix operation into a world-leading production facility.
The funding for the modernisation of the factory has been supported by the Government under the Grant for Business Investment and is part of a long-term plan to sustain manufacturing in the North Staffordshire region.
Welcoming the good news, Eric Le Corre Michelin UK's Managing Director said: “I am delighted to announce that the first phase of this project has been completed and we are ready to see the first tyres incorporating Michelin Durable Technologies come off the new production line.
“This project has seen exciting and challenging technological developments at the site which will help take the factory into the future, and ensure we can continue to offer our customers products with even greater performance and economy in use.”
Mark Prisk, Business Minister, was on site to see the first four tyres roll off the new production line. He said: “I am delighted that Michelin is investing in the Stoke plant and making it into a world-leading modern manufacturing facility. Supported by Government, this investment is helping to protect over 400 skilled jobs.”
The project represents a significant development of the existing Michelin Remix tyre manufacturing operation. It will enable the plant to respond to the need for the latest generation of innovative tyre technologies for the UK and Irish markets, producing more durable and environmentally-friendly solutions for truck, coach and bus operators.
The new facilities, with high specification manufacturing equipment, will offer skills development opportunities to employees, increase productivity and provide improved working conditions. The investment will also significantly reduce solvent emissions, with the plant becoming a benchmark facility for the retreading industry worldwide.
The investment in the Stoke-on-Trent Remix factory enables Michelin to remould tyres incorporating Michelin Durable Technologies within the UK for the first time. Previously, these latest generation tyres were sent to Michelin factories in mainland Europe.
The first tyres incorporating Michelin Durable Technologies were launched in the UK and Ireland in 2006. They represented a major breakthrough in commercial vehicle tyre manufacturing, widely considered to be the most notable since Michelin’s introduction of radial tyres for buses, coaches and trucks in 1952.
Manufacturing quality retread tyres is a fundamental part of Michelin’s commercial vehicle tyre offer. One of the primary reasons fleets specify Michelin tyres is for the whole life cost advantages of a quality casing which is designed to offer at least four lives (new tyre, regroove of the new tyre, Remix , regroove of the Remix).
ends
MICHT/068/12
Michelin (www.michelin.co.uk)
Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tyres for every type of vehicle, including aircraft, bicycles, cars, earthmoving machines, farm equipment, trucks and motorcycles. Michelin employs 115,000 people, has sales organisations in more than 170 countries and operates 69 production sites in 18 countries throughout five continents. The Company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases and offers electronic mobility support services on ViaMichelin.com. Research and development is undertaken in technology centres in Asia, Europe and North America.
For further press information please contact:
Paul Cordle, Michelin Press Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 1782 402341 Email: paul-m.cordle@uk.michelin.com
James Keeler, Garnett Keeler PR, Inver House, 37-39 Pound Street,
Carshalton, Surrey, SM5 3PG
Tel: +44 (0)20 8647 4467 Fax: +44 (0)20 8544 4711 E-mail: james.keeler@garnettkeeler.com
PHOTO CAPTION: (Left) Eric Le Corre, Michelin UK's Managing Director, and (right) Mark Prisk, Business Minister, inspect one of the first Michelin Durable Technology Remix tyres to roll off the new production line in Stoke-on-Trent.
Tags:
