Michelin Group has broken ground on a passenger-tire plant in Central Mexico. It is the company's 69th global facility.
Michelin Group's CEO Jean-Dominique Senard said: "Our actions here today demonstrate our confidence in Mexico's manufacturing environment, the skilled and talented workforce here and the infrastructure necessary to deliver tires efficiently throughout North America."
Senard said: "Michelin's customers for passenger-vehicle tires are demanding more and more of our innovative, high-tech tires to meet the performance requirements of the growing market in North America.
"This plant will improve our capacity to meet those demands, as a key element of Michelin's 'Service to the Customer' initiative in North America and worldwide."
The new plant, Michelin Group's 21st site in North America, was announced in July. The plant will comprise approximately 142,000 square meters (more than 1.5 million square feet) on approximately 98 hectares (more than 240 acres) in the Parque Industrial León-Bajio, or "Pilba," as the industrial park is known locally.
The plant represents Michelin Group's largest global investment for 2016, approximately €450m ($510m), as the Company recently announced.
Construction of the plant is expected to begin immediately, with completion currently scheduled for late 2018. Production will increase gradually thereafter, eventually reaching 4 to 5 million tires a year, primarily under the Michelin brand for high-performance and ultra-high-performance cars, light trucks, SUVs and cross-over vehicles.
The plant is expected to employ at least 1,000 people at capacity.
Michelin Mexico director Mike Boggs said: "We are excited to celebrate this occasion with so many of our valued customers and respected government leaders across León and Mexico who have helped us to reach this key milestone.
"We are eager to join the León business community and look forward to establishing long-term relationships here."
Mexico's secretary of the economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal said: "The new Michelin investment in Mexico represents a vote of confidence that strengthens the positioning of Mexico as an investment destination, because it comes from a company with a long tradition in the industry and widely recognized for its commitment to innovation."
Mexico Estate of Guanajuato governor Miguel Márquez Márquez said: "The arrival of Michelin is great news, as it marks a before-and-after in the automotive industry in the Estate, and it is the most important investment for León so far.
"This new investment will trigger social and economic development, as we are talking about one of the most important tire companies in the world making Guanajuato the nation's leader in premium tires production. This is great news for León, Guanajuato, and Mexico."
León mayor Héctor López Santillana said: "This announcement is a sign of the enormous confidence that world-class companies have in our state, a recognition of the strengths we have and our ability to become an international economic actor.
"Michelin has not only relied on the municipal government, but on the people of León and the talent of its people. With this new plant, León will provide greater dynamism to the expanding automotive sector in the Bajio region. We are confident that together, we will open a new era of opportunities and shared development."
