Michelin Tyre plc (MTPLC) announces investment and restructuring to confirm its place at the heart of Michelin European operations
The MTPLC proposals include investments and increased production at Michelin’s Dundee factory and the modernisation of its logistics and warehousing infrastructure in Stoke-on-Trent and the run-down of the Ballymena factory by mid-2018.
The proposal to run down the truck tyre factory in Ballymena has been made in light of the significant downturn in demand for truck tyres in Europe since the financial crisis of 2007, which has seen the market decrease by over 5 million tyres.


An employee consultation process will begin immediately regarding the run-down proposal. The Ballymena factory currently employs 860 people, and MTPLC is committed to supporting those employees during consultation and in the forthcoming months.


In addition, Michelin Development, which has helped create more than 400 jobs in County Antrim in the last seven years, will release more than £5 million to help company start-ups, fund expansion at existing businesses and supply investment to attract new businesses to Ballymena. As part of MTPLC’s plans to maintain its position as a key part of Michelin operations in Europe, it is announcing investments of £65 million at its Dundee and Stoke-on-Trent sites.
Dundee will benefit from a five-year investment of more than £52 million to transform it into a state-of-the-art factory. The investment will increase production by 30 per cent through the installation of new tyre-building machines, enabling the production of larger tyres
which are a growing segment of the market. Tyre curing capabilities will be increased with the installation of electric presses, the first large-scale industrialisation of this technology at a Michelin production site. A new 20,000 square metre warehouse will be built on site to accommodate this increased production.

Following a modernisation project of the Stoke-on-Trent factory with a £21 million investment over the last few years, there will be an additional investment of £12 million in its production and logistics facilities.
