Duke of York visits Michelin in Stoke

The Duke of York visited Michelin in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday (8 March 2012) where he met young apprentices and employees, was given a tour of the factory and offices at the company’s Campbell Road site and unveiled a plaque.

During the visit, His Royal Highness was given a presentation by Michelin UK managing director Eric Le Corre and met employees and local dignitaries before embarking on a tour of the Michelin Remix production facility with factory manager Sean Parry.

On the factory tour The Duke of York was shown various stages of the manufacturing process and spoke with employees working in those areas. This was followed by a meeting with Michelin engineering training instructor, Tony Cassidy and a group of Michelin engineering apprentices.

According to Michelin, His Royal Highness is keen to support the development of initiatives in youth skills and related employment initiatives and is working to help promote and encourage apprenticeship programmes such as the Michelin scheme. 

Following the factory tour, The Duke of York unveiled a plaque, made by the apprentices to mark the occasion of the visit, signed the visitors’ book and was presented with a ceramic tile showing a Panhard racing car taking part in the 1901 Gordon Bennett Cup, by apprentice Jordan Johnson.

Speaking after the visit, Eric Le Corre said: “It was a great honour to have The Duke of York visit Michelin here in Stoke-on-Trent and we took the opportunity to highlight our commitment to training, and in particular our apprentice scheme, which runs at our three UK production facilities; here in Stoke, in Ballymena and in Dundee. 

“We also had the chance to discuss Michelin’s involvement in the local community, which is especially pertinent as 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of our PRM (Performance and Responsibility Michelin) programme, which is Michelin’s equivalent of CSR (corporate and social responsibility).”