Pirelli has opened its 22nd global tire plant and its first in Mexico.
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Located in Silao, Guanajuato, the facility is focused on the premium segment, producing high performance and ultra-high performance tires for cars and SUVs. Distribution is destined for Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
Capacity will reach 400,000 tires by the end of this year, rising to 3.5 million in 2015. When fully operational in 2017, production is expected to be 5.5 million tires.
Pirelli’s investment will amount to about $300 million through 2015. An additional $100 million is expected to be spent upon completion in 2017.
Some 1,000 workers are expected to be hired by 2013. When fully operational, the plant’s employment roster will rise to 1,800 jobs.
“The opening of the new factory in Mexico represents an important step in our international development plan,” says Pirelli Chairman and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera.
“This is a country that offers excellent opportunities, both because of the positive dynamic of local demand and its strategic position, making it an ideal industrial base to serve the entire NAFTA area, which we think one of the most promising for the success of our premium strategy,” he reports.
In line with its strategic focus on the premium segment, in which the company aims to achieve world leadership in 2015, 30 percent of the production will serve a growing Mexican demand while the remaining 70 percent will go to the American market and Canada, to a lesser extent.
The new factory will augment the facility in Rome, Ga., which has an annual output of 400,000 tires. Total production in the region by 2015 will entail 3.9 million tires, rising to 5.9 million units in 2017.
The Mexican plant will deliver a reduction in logistical costs, offer more efficient customer service, lead to lower imports from Brazil and free-up NAFTA-bound production capacity there to concentrate on serving customers in Latin America.
A pattern of “constant technological innovation” at Pirelli’s sites means that by 2015 60 percent of its production will come from factories that are under 10 years old – and the company’s commitment to sustainability will enhance its “green performance” strategy, resulting also in lower rolling resistance, lower fuel consumption better road noise reduction, according to Tronchetti Provera.
The Mexican plant hosts a series of state-of-the-art sensors installed throughout the factory to reduce wasting water and electrical energy. In order to preserve the environmental balance, Pirelli also transplanted to the area around the factory all the trees that were uprooted for its construction.
The tire maker’s overall goals call for a 70 percent reduction in water consumption by 2015, a 15 percent improvement in energy efficiency and a lowering of CO2 emissions by 15 percent.
For more information, visit www.pirelli.com.
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