Michelin Leases 205 Acres in Poland

Michelin has signed the lease for a 205 acres plot of land in the north eastern Polish town of Olszryn, with a view to expanding its presence there, according to the town’s mayor. “I have signed a lease agreement with [Michelin Poland CEO] Pierre Michallat, which is very beneficial for the French group, for nearly 100 hectares of land next to the already existing Michelin sites in our town,” said Jerzy Malkowski, mayor of Olsztyn.

The French manufacturer has refused to give any details of its plans for the site, but Polish news sources have reported that the group plans to invest more than 500 million euros to expand in Olsztyn. The lease will last for 99 years and will cost Michelin 100,000 zlotys (roughly £17,000 per month), the PAP news agency reported. Mayor Malkowski said more details of the project would be released next week. “We agreed that details of the project would be announced on 16 February, when Michelin will have signed other documents with the government,” he said.

Since Michelin first came to Olsztyn in 1995, the company has progressively taken over the production sites of Stomil-Olsztyn, one of the main players on the domestic Polish tyre market. In 2003, Michelin’s production sites in Olsztyn showed a profit of 152 million zloty (38 million euros) for a turnover of 1.55 billion zlotys. Michelin’s main competitors in Poland now are Goodyear and Bridgestone, which also has manufacturing facilities in Poland.