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High costs & bureaucratic hurdles – Michelin on Germany factory closures

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Germany’s days as an industrial superpower are coming to an end, opined Bloomberg on 10 February. The media firm blames competition from the USA, the energy crisis and declining Chinese interest in German products for this development, but there are further factors to consider. Michelin, which plans to close several plants within the country, suggests that an excess of bureaucracy is contributing to Germany’s unattractiveness as a manufacturing site.

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Related news:

  1. Not competitive enough – Michelin confirms plant closures in Germany
  2. Rubber association pessimistic about Germany’s tyre making future
  3. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
  4. Uncertain future for 3 Michelin plants in Germany
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Not competitive enough – Michelin confirms plant closures in Germany

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Germany’s position as a centre of manufacturing took another blow today with the confirmation that Michelin will gradually cease production at its Karlsruhe and Trier sites, as well as the manufacture of new tyres and semi-finished products in Homburg. Michelin will also transfer its Customer Contact Center from Karlsruhe to Poland. These changes are expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and will impact a total of 1,532 employees.

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Related news:

  1. Rubber association pessimistic about Germany’s tyre making future
  2. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
  3. Uncertain future for 3 Michelin plants in Germany
  4. ATU: Mobivia acquires Michelin’s minority shareholding
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Rubber association pessimistic about Germany’s tyre making future

Those of us living in countries that have experienced extensive deindustrialisation may be able to commiserate with workers in Germany’s tyre plants, including the many who have received unsettling news of late. Michael Berthel, chief economist of the German Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (WdK), recently commented that “the situation is not entirely healthy” – and this may be an understatement. Berthel believes an uncertain future awaits more than half of Germany’s tyre manufacturing locations.

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Related news:

  1. Goodyear’s Philippsburg plant to cease production by end of July
  2. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
  3. Uncertain future for 3 Michelin plants in Germany
  4. Goodyear’s German factory closures will cost ~$600 million, save $120 million yearly by 2027
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Bridgestone ends TBR production at Rangsit plant

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Stephen Goodchild / Tyre Industry Publications Ltd

Bridgestone Corporation completed the consolidation of its tyre manufacturing operation in Thailand today with the end of truck and bus radial production at its Rangsit plant. Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co. Ltd’s Chonburi facility has taken over this production capacity.

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Related news:

  1. Bridgestone closing Hong Kong aircraft tyre plant
  2. Bridgestone – 40% fewer plants by end of 2023?
  3. Bridgestone closing truck tyre plant in China
  4. Bridgestone sells shares in China truck tyre plant
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Qingdao has closed more than 30 tyre companies

Qingdao Municipal Government

The Qingdao Municipal Government of Shandong Province recently stated that it would build a rubber industry chain worth 100 billion yuan (RMB). According to reports, the city’s government departments will list rubber products and equipment as the focus of future industries and make every effort to promote these industries’ development.

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Related news:

  1. Deruibao Tire enters ‘restructuring’ proceedings
  2. Shandong provincial government ‘eliminating’ outdated tyre production capacity
  3. Sailun Dongjiakou factory construction underway
  4. Doublestar constructing tyre recycling plant
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Bridgestone – 40% fewer plants by end of 2023?

Bridgestone Corporation

Bridgestone Corporation has shared details of its Mid-Term Business Plan for the three-year period from 2021 to 2023, and this plan entails significant changes for the company’s manufacturing footprint. In a presentation given by chief executive officer Shu Ishibashi, Bridgestone outlines the direction this restructuring will take.

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Related news:

  1. Bridgestone to close Bethune, France plant
  2. Bridgestone Béthune closure ‘a premeditated assassination’ – Bertrand
  3. Béthune tyre factory closure ‘the only viable path’: Bridgestone
  4. Bridgestone restructuring manufacturing footprint, investing in Solutions to create ‘leaner’ company
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The top tyre stories of 2020

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Even for the best forward-planners, 2020 was a year of surprises. And while the word “unprecedented” has been worn out during the last 12 months, it is difficult to find another more appropriate term. With everything from business closures, to a global pandemic (and with the pandemic resulting in lockdowns, factory closures and spikes in online and mobile tyre business), there certainly has been a lot going on. That’s why in January we crunched the numbers relating to our website traffic in order to find our what exactly were the top 10 stories of 2020.

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Related news:

  1. Michelin temporarily closes some European factories, car tyre demand down 9%
  2. Green restart: Retreaded tyres as a decarbonisation aide
  3. Tyre demand declining 15 to 26 per cent in 2020
  4. Some Fintyre companies operating again in Germany
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Béthune tyre factory closure ‘the only viable path’: Bridgestone

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Bridgestone

Tyres & Accessories contacted Bridgestone for its response to the statement put out by French authorities following its decision to shutter its tyre factory in Béthune, France. Bridgestone addressed the characterisation of the closure as a “premeditated murder,” the idea that the plant has been deliberately allocated low-margin products, and that the plant had been passed over for investment.

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Related news:

  1. Bridgestone Béthune closure ‘a premeditated assassination’ – Bertrand
  2. Bridgestone to close Bethune, France plant
  3. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
  4. Bridgestone temporarily closes, slows tyre production at European factories
/by

Bridgestone Béthune closure ‘a premeditated assassination’ – Bertrand

The president of the Hauts-de-France region has labelled Bridgestone’s planned closure of its Béthune tyre manufacturing plant “brutal” and a “premeditated assassination.” For good measure, Xavier Bertrand added “we are dealing with cynics and liars” in his strongly-worded response to Bridgestone’s announcement. In a joint statement with the French government, Bertrand’s Hauts-de-France Region called on the Bridgestone group to “assume its responsibilities,” alleging that the company’s divestment from and allocation of low-margin tyres to the Béthune plant over the last decade has “automatically” led to its deficit in competitiveness.

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Related news:

  1. Bridgestone to close Bethune, France plant
  2. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
  3. Michelin giveth, Michelin taketh away – French investments, retreading plant closure
  4. Bridgestone temporarily closes, slows tyre production at European factories
/by

Axing for the sake of axing: Unions denounce closure of profitable Continental tyre plant

The union representing employees at a closure-threatened Continental factory has responded angrily to the decision, accusing Continental of “sacrificing” a “profitable tyre plant” as part of its savings programme. The IG BCE union particularly doesn’t understand the logic behind this step as it claims the tyre business in Aachen has achieved “double-digit” profit margins over the years and even operated in the black during the corona lockdown.

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Related news:

  1. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
  2. Aachen tyre plant: Continental blocking potential investors, says union
  3. Continental’s tyres and rubber business profitable in Q2, despite corona
  4. Continental shares set to continue outperforming estimates in 2021 – analysts
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Bridgestone to close Bethune, France plant

Bridgestone

Bridgestone has announced its plan to close its Bethune plant in France. The manufacturer said that the measure is being used to reduce production overcapacity and to improve cost efficiency. The proposal could impact 863 employees. Bridgestone added that it is “fully aware of the social consequences of this project and is committed to using all means at its disposal to define support plans for each employee.” The earliest the closure would take place is the second quarter of 2021. Bridgestone’s presence in France would continue through sales and retail operations, in which it employs about 3,500, the company said.

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Related news:

  1. Bridgestone Béthune closure ‘a premeditated assassination’ – Bertrand
  2. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
  3. Michelin giveth, Michelin taketh away – French investments, retreading plant closure
  4. Bridgestone temporarily closes, slows tyre production at European factories
/by

Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory

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Continental AG

Employees at Continental AG’s Aachen, Germany tyre factory were informed that the plant will be closed by the end of 2021. According to the German Handelsblatt newspapter, more than 1,800 employees will be affected by the closure. The announcement comes two weeks after Continental announced cost-cutting plans aiming at saving 1 billion euros by 2023.

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Related news:

  1. Bridgestone to close Bethune, France plant
  2. Bridgestone Béthune closure ‘a premeditated assassination’ – Bertrand
  3. Axing for the sake of axing: Unions denounce closure of profitable Continental tyre plant
  4. Continental’s tyres and rubber business profitable in Q2, despite corona
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Continental’s tyres and rubber business profitable in Q2, despite corona

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Marcus Prell, Continental AG

Continental has reported second quarter 2020 consolidated group sales of 6.620 billion euros. This equates to -39.8 per cent drop year-on-year. Pre-tax profits (EBIT) came in at -9.6 per cent of sales (-636 million euros). However, sales in the Rubber Technologies division, which includes tyres, were 2.962 billion euros and the adjusted EBIT margin was 1.2 per cent (around 36 million euros). Thus, Continental’s tyre business has managed to remain profitable despite the obvious pressures of the coronavirus context.

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Related news:

  1. Michelin temporarily closes some European factories, car tyre demand down 9%
  2. Continental AG measures ‘encouraging’, but R&D budgets and European tyre factories could be cut – analysts
  3. Cooper reports $6 million 2Q loss, international business beat 2019 result
  4. Continental closing Aachen, Germany tyre factory
/by

Shutdowns to cost European auto industry £29bn – GlobalData

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After a period of sweeping announcements by European automakers that they are halting production at European plants for several weeks, Calum MacRae, automotive analyst at GlobalData, has quantified potential effects on industry forecasting.

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Related news:

  1. UK car production falls 14.2 per cent in 2019
  2. Automotive forecasts revised down as crisis deepens – GlobalData
  3. Recovering demand ‘crucial to sustainability’ of VW restarted production
  4. Car scrappage scheme would quickly benefit UK economy – GlobalData
/by

Michelin temporarily closes some European factories, car tyre demand down 9%

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Michelin has confirmed that it has decided to close its tyre production facilities “located in the European countries most affected” countries for at least one week. Tyres & Accessories understands this means Michelin’s factories in Italy (Cuneo and Alessandria), Spain (Lasarte, Vitoria, Aranda de Duero and Valladolid) and France (Cataroux, Les Gravanches, Le Puy-en-Velay, Roanne, Bourges, Montceau, Cholet, La Roche-sur-Yon, Golbey, Avallon, Montagny, Vannes, Joué-Lès-Tours and Troyes

Read more

Related news:

  1. Tyre demand declining 15 to 26 per cent in 2020
  2. Bridgestone temporarily closes, slows tyre production at European factories
  3. UK the one bright spot in YTD EU truck sales
  4. Michelin closing Dundee tyre factory
/by

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